AI, learning and the importance of intellectual ‘friction’

Ms Stone highlighted the importance of sustaining the disciplines of reading, writing, and problem solving, arguing that these practices build the intellectual resilience that AI cannot replace.

Reading builds intellectual stamina – the very opposite of the attentional havoc wreaked by watching 25-second videos for hours a day. And attention is fundamental to learning.

She emphasised that writing remains one of the most powerful tools for developing thought:

“Committing things to paper extends our working memory and allows us to develop more complicated ideas. The writer of anything of substance must read widely, produce a conceptual framework, find the right words, wrestle with syntax and organise the logic of their arguments.”

Ms Stone explained that the educational value of school lies not in the finished product, but in the cognitive effort that the process demands:

Pupils aren’t asked to solve maths problems because the teacher doesn’t know the answer. They aren’t asked to write essays on Macbeth because the world needs more 1500 word analyses by teenagers. We ask them to write because the process develops their minds.

Addressing the rise of AI tools, she drew an analogy with high-tech running shoes, warning that using AI too early or too often risks weakening essential mental muscles:

“I think of AI like those running shoes with carbon fibre springs in the sole. If someone like me trains in them daily, my legs will adjust to the extra power and become weaker. But if someone like Mo Farah pounds out the miles in normal shoes for years, and then pulls on the carbon fibre shoes on race day, he’ll get a world-beating boost.”

She concluded that while AI is new, the core principles of learning are not.

“How we learn is determined by the fundamental structures of the brain, so whilst AI is a new technology, the guard rails on its educational uses are clear. The most reliable way to use it is to introduce it later rather than earlier – when the foundations of knowledge are solid and thinking skills are fluent.”

Her message ended with a reminder that meaningful learning cannot be automated:

“There’s no shortcut: learning deeply requires friction and effort. Schools must not copy workplaces by using AI to produce a better product with as little effort as possible. That effort you just eliminated? That’s the learning.”

AI in education

Reading builds intellectual stamina – the very opposite of the attentional havoc wreaked by watching 25-second videos for hours a day. And attention is fundamental to learning.

Pupils aren’t asked to solve maths problems because the teacher doesn’t know the answer. They aren’t asked to write essays on Macbeth because the world needs more 1500 word analyses by teenagers. We ask them to write because the process develops their minds.

“There’s no shortcut: learning deeply requires friction and effort. Schools must not copy workplaces by using AI to produce a better product with as little effort as possible. That effort you just eliminated? That’s the learning.”

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