A majority of New Zealand teachers say artificial intelligence is getting in the way of students learning to think for themselves, according to a new report from the Education Review Office that calls for an urgent national framework for AI use in schools.
The report found nearly 60% of teachers believe AI is having a negative impact on students' critical thinking. It also identified inconsistent approaches across schools, with some departments banning AI outright and others encouraging it for research.
"There is an urgent need for a more coherent system-wide approach to help schools use AI safely, consistently, and effectively, to enhance teaching and learning," the report said.
Students and teachers told the Education Review Office that AI had positive impacts when it was used as a tool for problem solving and checking work - rather than doing the work for them.
Students describe growing dependence
Several Year 11 students at Rongotai College in Wellington told 1News they were using AI tools in the classroom more and more, and some said it was replacing their own thinking.
"Since AI, it's made me rely on it more, so I haven't had the chance to think for myself," one student said.
"Whenever I am trying to think of questions about everyday life, school, schoolwork, I've become really dependent on asking ChatGPT for help," another said.
Teacher Sonya McAteer said her school allows students to use AI for basic tasks, but pushes them to question what the tool produces.
"They are allowed to use AI to get definitions the same way they can use a normal dictionary or an online dictionary. Beyond that, we will then question what they tell us their definition is and do you agree with that? Where do you think AI got that from?" she said.
McAteer said she spends up to two hours on top of marking checking assessments for AI plagiarism. She said few students intentionally set out to cheat.
"It's something that the students are naturally moving towards, partly to save themselves time, very few of them intentionally use it to cheat."
Some departments at the school allow AI for research purposes. Others, like the English department, require students to sign a waiver saying they must not use AI.
Neuroscientist warns of homogenised thinking
Adam Green, a neuroscientist at Georgetown University in Washington DC, told 1News there was strong evidence AI limits creativity.
"When we come up with ideas without AI, we travel through the history of our own lives. So, we build these semantic networks in our brains," he said.
He said everyone's unique experiences make up their semantic networks, and AI replaces those with a shared pool of ideas.
"When we generate ideas with AI, instead of traveling through our own life story, our own semantic networks, we're traveling through this massively shared common network of ideas and if we let those ideas replace our own, then that journey becomes much more homogenised."
AUT psychotherapist and AI ethics advisor Brigitte Viljoen said the government needs stricter AI policies for schools. She said New Zealand's approach is too reliant on voluntary guidelines rather than enforceable rules.
"The Government's taken a soft touch approach to AI regulation in New Zealand, more guidelines than actual regulation, and this is concerning because it's not providing guardrails, giving transparency, and also accountability to AI companies," she said.
Government response
Education Minister Erica Stanford welcomed the report in a statement to 1News.
"This report gives the Ministry of Education and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority an evidence-based pathway for updating AI guidance and a clear direction on what areas need further work."
Stanford said the Ministry of Education has advised it broadly accepts the recommendations to strengthen responsible use of AI.
"AI must not get in the way of students developing and demonstrating their own knowledge and skills."
Why this matters for education professionals
Teachers are being asked to manage AI's effect on learning with little central direction. The report's findings suggest that without a national framework, schools will continue to set their own rules - creating uneven experiences for students and adding to teachers' workloads. For educators, the immediate question is how to set classroom boundaries that let students use AI without outsourcing their thinking.
Resources like this AI Learning Path for Teachers can help educators understand how to integrate AI tools while protecting critical thinking. More broadly, AI for Education coverage tracks how schools and policymakers are responding to these challenges.
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