Teens are turning to AI for answers about their personal lives, not just homework help

The survey also asked teens a few open-ended questions. Some teens told researchers they asked the AI ​​private questions that they were too embarrassed to ask their parents or friends. “Teenagers tell us I have easier questions to ask robots than humans,” Weinstein said.

Weinstein wants to learn more about the quality and accuracy of AI responses to teens, especially those with mental health issues, and how privacy is protected when students share personal information with chatbots.

THE second reportpublished on June 11, was produced by Impact Research and commissioned by the Walton Family Foundation. In May 2024, Impact Research surveyed 1,003 teachers, 1,001 students aged 12-18, 1,003 college students, and 1,000 parents about their use of and views on AI.

This survey, carried out six months after the Hopelab-Common Sense survey, demonstrated the speed with which uses are developing. The study found that 49 percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported using ChatGPT at least once a week for school, an increase of 26 percentage points since 2023. Forty-nine percent of students in undergraduates also said they used ChatGPT every week for school, but there was no comparison data from 2023.

Among 12- to 18-year-olds and college students who used AI chatbots in school, 56% said they used it to help them write essays and other writing assignments. Undergraduates were twice as likely as 12- to 18-year-olds to say that using AI amounted to cheating, 22% versus 8%. Earlier 2023 Student Cheating Investigations by Stanford Academics The university has not detected an increase in cheating with ChatGPT and other generative AI tools. But as students use AI more, their understanding of what constitutes cheating could also evolve.

More than 60% of students who used AI said they used it to study and take tests and quizzes. Half of the students who used AI said they used it to expand their knowledge, perhaps as if it were an online encyclopedia. There was no indication in this survey whether students verified the accuracy of the information.

Both surveys noted differences by race and ethnicity. The first Hopelab-Common Sense survey found that 7% of Black students, ages 14 to 22, used AI daily, compared to 5% of Hispanic students and 3% of white students. In the open-ended questions, a Black teenage girl wrote that, through AI, “we can change who we are and become someone else we want to become.”

The Walton Foundation survey found that Hispanic and Asian American students were sometimes more likely to use AI than white and black students, including for personal use.

These are all early snapshots that will likely continue to evolve. OpenAI should be part of Apple universe in the fall, including its iPhones, computers and iPads. “Those numbers are going to go up and they're going to go up very quickly,” Weinstein said. “Imagine if we could go back 15 years, to when social media use was just beginning among teenagers. This looks like an opportunity for adults to pay attention.

This story about ChatGPT in Education was written by Jill Barshay and produced by The Hechinger report, an independent, nonprofit news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Register for Proof points and other Hechinger Newsletters.