AI and education: Five common myths experts challenge.

Stanford's Accelerator for Learning held five events in winter 2025–26 where researchers and educators examined five common myths about AI in classrooms, including whether AI will replace teachers and whether it simply enables cheating. Participants emphasized the continuing importance of human relationships in learning and discussed the need to redesign assessment practices.

Stanford's Accelerator for Learning held five events in winter 2025–26 to examine how artificial intelligence is shaping classrooms and schooling. The gatherings brought together educators, researchers, policymakers, and students to discuss how AI can support learning, how to build effective tools, and how to protect young people from risks. The conversations focused on core questions about what should remain human in education and how assessments and instruction should adapt. Key points: - The events addressed five widely held myths about AI and education, including the ideas that AI will replace teachers and that it only increases cheating. - Speakers argued that human connection and classroom communities remain essential, and that teachers often enable students to get meaningful value from AI tools. - Some participants suggested teachers' roles may shift toward coaching and facilitating learning with AI rather than being replaced by it. - At the Responsible Assessment in the AI Era conference, experts proposed moving beyond end-of-course tests toward more frequent, data-driven formative assessments, scenario-based designs, and personalized approaches with human oversight. - Representatives from testing organizations and researchers noted the importance of co-design with educators and of assessments that probe synthesis, analysis, and multi-stage problem solving rather than rote knowledge. - Stanford faculty emphasized that instruction should aim to produce adaptive learners as knowledge, tools, and work continue to change. Summary: Experts convened by the Accelerator highlighted that AI tools are not a substitute for teachers and underscored the social and pedagogical role of classrooms. They discussed redesigning assessments to be more formative, adaptive, and human-supervised while involving educators in design. Undetermined at this time.