The push for AI in education ignores what students actually need: teachers, peers and real human connection.
Updated: 1 minute agoFirst lady Melania Trump, accompanied by a robot, arrives at the"Fostering the Future Together Global Coalition Summit" at the White House, Wednesday, March 25, 2026, in Washington.
Last Wednesday night, cable news and social media lit up with what was described as a historic moment: Melania Trump walking alongside a humanoid robot. The machine, designed by Figure AI to assist with domestic chores like laundry and dishes, was unveiled at an education summit.in a case linking their platforms — Instagram and YouTube — to serious mental health issues among users. If that juxtaposition feels jarring, it should. On one hand, the United States appears ready to confront the consequences of a decades-long experiment in exposing our youth to a stream of short-form content where harmful material has too often gone unchecked. On the other hand, we are still rushing headlong toward the next wave of technological advancements with a familiar naivete about their potential harms.One can only hope there will be less collateral damage to our children than what social media has already wrought. But any English teacher familiar with Isaac Asimov’s “The Fun They Had” can tell you: It doesn’t end well.Written in 1951, Asimov’s story imagines a future in which children no longer attend school together. Instead, they sit alone in their homes, learning from machines that deliver lessons tailored to each student’s level. There are no classmates, no shared laughter, and no unstructured, spontaneous moments of creation. Learning may be efficient and individualized, but it is profoundly empty. Near the end of the story, the two children discover a printed book describing schools of the past. Real schools. Places filled with other children and human teachers. Places where learning was messy, social and collaborative. Their surprise takeaway was not that this environment was primitive, but that it was rich. They find themselves wishing they could have experienced it.In many classrooms across America today, students sit behind Chromebooks, tethered more to screens than to one another. Ed-tech companies have spent years persuading educators, administrators and lawmakers that “personalized learning” platforms and app-based instruction would accelerate achievement.Researchers like Jared Cooney Horvath have raised serious concerns about the cognitive impact of screen-based learning. Horvath argues in “The Digital Delusion” that “the result is unmistakable: falling performance, fractured attention, and the slow erosion of rigorous thought.” His work builds on Jonathan Haidt’s “The Anxious Generation,” which shows that children who spend more of their time on screens are at greater risk for anxiety and depression. Parents are taking note. Across the country, grassroots movements are pushing back, advocating for phone-free schools and calling for a return to teacher-led rather than Chromebook-based instruction. Districts in New York and California have begun reevaluating their dependence on devices, while some parentsAsimov once warned that the greatest danger to humanity was not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge, and he voiced concern about humanity’s willingness to abandon reason for comfortable illusions. Watching Melania enter a summit focused on expanding access to educational tools alongside a robot felt like a symbol of where American education is headed. The spectacle of it all invites us to believe the myth that newer technology produces better outcomes in the classroom despite mounting evidence suggesting the opposite.The question is not whether technology belongs in our lives or even in our schools. It is whether we have the discipline to set boundaries, to decide where it enhances human flourishing and where it diminishes it. A humanoid robot does not belong at the center of an educational vision. Not when children are already struggling to connect, to focus, to think deeply and independently. Not when the last great technological wave aimed at them is only now being reckoned with in courtrooms. We do not need more machines promising to optimize childhood. We need more adults willing to protect it.Valerie Sawicki-Bellomo is a freelance writer and former English teacher with 11 years of experience in New York City schools.The Anchorage Daily News welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Trump Mulls Backing Messiest Candidate Just to Please MAGAThe president has been torn between Texas GOP runoff candidates Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Read more »
Rick Barnes Gives Strong Opinion on Michigan Head Coach Dusty MayThe decorated head coach of the Volunteers discussed Dusty May and Michigan ahead of the Elite 8 matchup between the two teams
Read more »
Keystone Kash’s Pathetic Play to Please Trump ExposedThe FBI director is reportedly trying to cobble together a case against one of the president’s most vocal critics.
Read more »
Opinion: To fix what matters, Anchorage voters should say yes to the municipal bondsFrom safer streets to smaller class sizes, the municipal package targets the basics that keep a city livable and growing.
Read more »
Opinion: Bridges, billions and a blurred purpose define the West Susitna access planEvery dollar spent on the West Susitna Access Road Project is a dollar not spent on maintaining the roads Alaskans rely on every day.
Read more »
Opinion After Driving: The Aston Martin Valhalla Is a Poster Child for Modern Performance MadnessAston Martin’s million-dollar, 1,064-hp hyper supercar is a drama-free rocket ship that leaves you questioning reality.
Read more »