School researchers reviewed nearly 200 studies on how artificial intelligence affects children and young people's ability to learn and think. They found that we know very little about how AI use impacts younger school children. The researchers wanted to find out how AI tools affect students' critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. They analysed 173 international studies that had looked at the use of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) in school and education. Findings: AI on its own neither strengthens nor weakens these abilities. The researchers revealed that we still have limited understanding of school-age children. The studies are not considered objective, and they have a strong regional imbalance.

"It is striking how little solid knowledge we have about how AI use affects basic skills in younger pupils. This is problematic, because the influence occurs while schoolchildren are still developing," says Hilde Storrøsæter, Ph D research fellow at NTNU's Department of Teacher Education. Storrøsæter has analysed 173 international research articles on the use of generative artificial intelligence in school work and education.

The most widespread use of generative AI is through chatbots, such as Chat GPT) in school work and education. Her study was conducted with a group of colleagues from Czech universities. The goal of the literature review was to find out whether AI tools strengthen or weaken children and youths' ability to think critically and solve problems independently. Many people believe that these skills have never been more important than now, in the 21st century.

"The most important finding is that AI in and of itself does not make us any better or worse at thinking. It's easy to believe that the tools will either strengthen or weaken learning. We found a clear dual effect. The same technology can do both," said Storrøsæter, who is also a geographer and teacher who focuses on subject-matter pedagogy. "The study confirms the dual nature of AI. The same technology can have both constructive and destructive effects. We were surprised that this came across so clearly," says Hilde Storrøsæter, a Ph D research fellow at NTNU's Department of Teacher Education.

AI tools support important skills when they are used to challenge, ask questions, compare different viewpoints and build one's own line of reasoning. "But when AI becomes a shortcut to a ready-made answer, the chance of overdependence, more superficial thinking and weakened independent problem solving increases," Storrøsæter says.

The Norwegian Media Authority's survey on the media habits of 9 to 18-year-olds shows that the use of Google searches fell from 72% in 2024 to 47% in 2026 for this age group. The report shows that 39% of Norwegian 11 to 12-year-olds use AI. The website ung.no – Norway's online information and communication channel for young people aged 13 to 20 – is also losing traffic because young people are switching to AI tools to find answers to their questions. The number of visits to ung.no fell from 24 million to 18 million from 2024 to 2025.