Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly permeating many aspects of our everyday lives and nearly every sector of society. In education, AI innovations are increasingly recognized for their transformative potential for enhancing teaching and student learning. In this article, I focus specifically on the evolution of AI in early childhood education (ECE), serving children from birth to age 8. To shed light on this phenomenon, I synthesize pertinent literature to yield conceptual, empirical, and practical insights. I begin with a historical perspective, tracing the origins of Turing’s conception of machine intelligence and the term “AI” to the current practical applications of AI in ECE and AI use by, for, and with children. I then examine developmental appropriateness and ethical considerations surrounding AI use. Next, I identify new opportunities and challenges for early childhood teachers, offering practical recommendations for education leaders and proposing future research directions. Finally, I conclude by reimagining an AI-powered future of ECE, emphasizing the need for supportive practices, active engagement, and the cultivation of positive dispositions among all key stakeholders, who must keep pace with the evolving AI landscape by navigating new opportunities, emerging challenges, and innovative developments. Additionally, I reimagine a transformative educational landscape enriched by student-centered, innovative teaching practices that catalyze learning in an AI-child interactive environment. In this reimagined and progressive educational landscape, the children are empowered with equal opportunities and equitable resources to naturally learn about and from developmentally appropriate AI tools as well as leverage them in ethical and responsible ways to enhance their learning.

A team of neurologists and AI specialists at MIT’s Media Lab has led a study looking into the brain impacts of large language model (LLM) use among people who engage with them for study or work. They report evidence that the use of LLMs may lead to an erosion of critical thinking skills. In their study, posted on the arXiv preprint server, the researchers asked groups of volunteers to write essays while connected to EEG monitors.

Over the past few years, the use of LLMs such as ChatGPT has become commonplace. Some use them for fun, while others use them to help with school or work responsibilities, and the team at MIT wondered what sort of impact LLM use might have on the brain.

To find out, they recruited 54 volunteers. The initial group was then split into three small groups, all of whom were asked to write a 20-minute essay on the topic of philanthropy—one group was asked to use ChatGPT for help, the second was asked to use Google Search, and the third “Brain-only” group was given no tools or resources at all. The participants remained in these same groups for three writing sessions.

I honestly don’t know how I should be educating my kids. A.I. has raised a lot of questions for schools. Teachers have had to adapt to the most ingenious cheating technology ever devised. But for me, the deeper question is: What should schools be teaching at all? A.I. is going to make the future look very different. How do you prepare kids for a world you can’t predict?

And if we can offload more and more tasks to generative A.I., what’s left for the human mind to do?

Rebecca Winthrop is the director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. She is also an author, with Jenny Anderson, of “The Disengaged Teen: Helping Kids Learn Better, Feel Better, and Live Better.” We discuss how A.I. is transforming what it means to work and be educated, and how our use of A.I. could revive — or undermine — American schools.

00:00 Intro.
03:03 The future of education?
11:20 Modes of engagement.
17:27 Personalizing education.
26:25 The case for A.I. in schools.
35:09 Who gets left behind?
46:07 How A.I. can increase equity.
49:35 Becoming more human.
55:54 Willpower, literacy, and regulation.
01:01:10 Advice for parents.
01:05:20 Book recommendations.