If you’re a parent, an educator, or just someone who’s been to school, you’ve probably developed an opinion about generative AI in classrooms. You might fear the demise of the five-paragraph essay, the ever-increasing ease of cheating, or, worse, the end of critical thinking altogether.
But don’t worry: The anxiety surrounding large language models in schools is anything but unprecedented. In 1975, teachers fretted that handheld calculators would undermine students’ capacity to “handle basic skills like reading, writing, and arithmetic,” according to a report in The New York Times. Others, though, believed calculators could “free students to concentrate on basic principles.” Sound familiar?
More such tales of anxiety can be found in The Pessimists Archive, a website that chronicles the moral panics associated with a variety of technological marvels going back to the 1850s. At the turn of the last century, the worry was over books. “Children Read Too Much,” “Novel Reading Causes Suicide,” and “Too Many Books in Our Schools” were a few of the headlines.
The cyclical nature of these alarmist reactions “reveals the kind of cognitive biases and psychology” behind fears of change, says Louis Anslow, who heads up the archive. The rejection of new technologies often isn’t based on any particular damning evidence but instead simply taps into parental angst over the uncertainty of the world their kids have inherited.
These overblown reactions also might give tech too much credit and education systems too little. The idea that any one tool has the power to “revolutionize” education systems relies on the premise that these systems are fragile and susceptible to overhaul. In reality, says Anslow, educational institutions are “quite impervious to change,” and new tech ends up “tacked onto the old system.”
Safinah Ali, an assistant professor at NYU Steinhardt’s Department of Administration Leadership and Technology, thinks this tendency to overestimate the impact of new technology ignores the multidimensional nature of learning. “I do think that things shift, but I think overall learning as an act doesn't change,” Ali says. “Learning is more than just retrieving some information and some knowledge. You have your social circles, you have friends, you have this teacher-student interaction. Those things all stay.”
Just like with the introduction of spell-check or the internet, teachers need to meet the moment and adapt their methods to take advantage of generative AI. Ali expects that, in the future, teachers will steer away from simply asking students to memorize and reproduce knowledge and instead evaluate students based on creativity, critical thinking, and even empathy. Students might also be evaluated based on how well they can use generative AI and whether they can do so without compromising their capacity for original thought.
When it comes to tools like ChatGPT, parents and educators are generally more skeptical and less tech-savvy, and therefore slower to adopt and understand them—which may make kids more likely to misuse it. Prohibit the tool and students will just use it to cheat; teach them its valuable use cases and they might not.
Ali believes people underestimate students’ drive when confronted with new technology. “We interact with students all the time. They're very hungry to learn, very hungry to up-skill, and actually so good at using these modern tools,” she says. “I often hear things like, ‘Oh, Gen Z doesn't want to learn anymore because they have all this information.’ I don't buy that at all.”
Below you’ll find some of the most consequential technological developments in education over the past five decades. Each was met with varying degrees of skepticism, either through doom-inducing op-eds or broad institutional pushback, but most were ultimately embraced by students and teachers alike.
Handheld Calculators
Introduced to the public: First calculators introduced in 1970-71, graphing calculators in 1985
Cost: Bowmar introduced its first four-function handheld calculator in 1971 for $245 (about $1,986 today when adjusted for inflation). Hewlett-Packard sold its first scientific handheld in 1972 for $395 ($3,100 today); Texas Instruments introduced one later that year for just under $150 (roughly $1,177). In 1985, Casio sold the first commercial handheld graphing calculator for $75 (just under $230).
Adoption by schools: At first, many schools banned calculators for “making calculations too easy,” but students and educators soon saw value in the new tool. In 1985, Connecticut became the first state to require calculators be used on its state tests. In 1988, Chicago provided free calculators to students in fourth through eighth grade. Students taking the SATs were permitted to use calculators starting in 1994—just three years later, 95 percent of students taking the SAT brought one to the exam.
Public Panic:
“The students may see it as a way to ‘get by,’ which will not only hinder their further development in mathematical operations but may also lead to a decrease in their current mathematical ability. The most important reason for not allowing grade school children to use calculators is because it defeats the purpose of having math class.”
“Students Speak Out,” a letter to The Washington Post, 1988
Computers
Introduced to the public: Took hold in schools in the 1980s but didn’t become widespread until the 1990s.
Cost: The Apple IIe, released in 1983 and commonly used in schools, cost $2,364 (just under $7,800 when adjusted for inflation).
Adoption by schools: Apple played a crucial role in getting computers into classrooms, in part by promoting legislation to offer tax breaks to computer manufacturers that donated computers to schools, museums, and libraries. In the early 1980s, Apple donated close to 10,000 of its Apple IIe computers to California schools as part of the company’s Kids Can’t Wait program.
In 1984, there was a 1:92 computer-to-student ratio in US public schools. Twenty-four years later, in 2008, the ratio was 1:4. By 2021, 90 percent of school district leaders surveyed by Education Week said they were providing one “school-issued digital learning device” per middle and high school student. Eighty-four percent said they were doing the same for their elementary school students.
Public Panic:
“A. Daniel Peck, an education professor at San Francisco State University, is typical of an increasingly vocal body of skeptics. ‘We're in a computer religion explosion to the detriment of basic-skills education,’ Peck says. ‘We ought to be looking at the extent to which the computer splurge is diluting education; it most certainly is not helping.’ Peck has organized an ad hoc committee of educators and business people, called the Committee on Basic Skills Education, to combat the march of computers into the schools. A position paper by the group calls for help to ‘stop the bandwagon’ before ‘the educational system goes overboard on its reliance on microcomputers.’”
“Computers: Too Much Too Soon,” The Washington Post, 1983
The Interactive Whiteboard
Introduced to the public: 1991
Cost: In 2009, they cost from $700 to $4,500 (from about $1,069 to $6,874 when adjusted for inflation).
Adoption by schools: Close to one-third of K-12 classrooms in the US had an interactive white board (or “wall screen”) by 2009. From 2004 to 2009, global sales rose from 170,000 to 700,000—mostly to schools.
Public Panic:
“There are real concerns about the high cost of whiteboards. Many educators would prefer to see investment go into other technologies, like laptops or tablet devices. Educators are also concerned that whiteboards emphasize teacher-centered lessons over student-centered lessons.”
“Interactive Whiteboards Allow More Sharing,” The New York Times, 2012
The Internet
Introduced to the public: The World Wide Web was launched in 1991, but mainstream use of the internet kicked off when Mosaic, the first graphical web browser, was released in 1993.
Cost: In 1996, unlimited access to the internet through AOL cost $19.99 a month (about $42 when adjusted for inflation).
Adoption by schools: In 1994, 3 percent of US public schools had internet access. By 2001, that had risen to 87 percent. The Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program, established in 1996 as part of the Telecommunications Act, helped subsidize the internet for schools and libraries. By 2001, the E-Rate program committed $5.8 billion to applicants throughout the nation.
Public Panic:
“Yes, the Internet is a fantastic, vibrant, and evolving medium that is changing the world. However, this is not a technology destined to improve our schools. [President Bill] Clinton's Internet infatuation offers a pathetic but telling symbol of just how much the history and role of technology in education is misunderstood. This infatuation is about politics and pandering, not promise and potential.”
“Just Say No Net in Schools,” WIRED, 1997
The iPad
Introduced to the public: 2010
Cost: $499 at launch (just under $750 when adjusted for inflation)
Adoption by schools: Thirteen million iPads had been either sold or donated to schools across the US by August 2014.
Public Panic:
“A group of Los Angeles teachers and students says their school district’s plan to distribute iPads to every student is too good to be true. The teachers say the money could be better spent than on cutting big checks to software and technology corporations. They suspect the iPad plan is a Trojan horse brought in to increase reliance on standardized curriculum and testing.”
“An iPad on Every Desk: A Trojan Horse, Teachers Say,” Labor Notes, 2013
Generative AI
Introduced to the public: OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022.
Cost: OpenAI’s ChatGPT has a free version, a Plus version for $20 a month, and Pro version for $200 a month. It also offers a ChatGPT Edu program for universities. Gemini, Google’s AI assistant, has similarly priced tiers, a free Gemini for Education program, and a Pro version.
Adoption by schools: Students were quick to jump on the generative AI train: In 2023, a year after its release, about 13 percent of teens in the US used ChatGPT for schoolwork-related purposes. By 2024, that rose to about 26 percent. School administrators and districts were hesitant to accept LLMs into their classrooms. Just months after ChatGPT’s release, school districts across the US, including major metropolitan areas like New York and Los Angeles, blocked student access to the service on their school’s networks and devices. In July, Microsoft and OpenAI announced a new initiative to make AI training accessible to educators across the country.
Public Panic:
“‘There’s a lot of cheap knowledge out there. I think this could be a danger in education, and it’s not good for kids,’ said one educator of OpenAI’s viral chatbot.”
“Teachers Fear ChatGPT Will Make Cheating Easier Than Ever,” Forbes, 2022
