As generative AI gained momentum, students quickly realized they could use the technology to do their schoolwork -- and schools started banning the technology. A new study shows that the tide has turned, and most educators are now in favor of AI. 

Education specialist McGraw Hill commissioned Morning Consult to survey 1,000 K-12 grade and higher education professionals in 19 countries about obstacles to student learning and the impact of technology on education. McGraw Hill's research, presented in "Global Education Insights Report: Learning Outcomes & the Digital Classroom," shows more than twice as many educators (41%) believe AI has a mainly positive impact on educational outcomes than those that think it has a mainly negative impact (19%).

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Morning Consult also found that the two biggest areas where AI can create a positive impact are reducing the time educators spend on administrative tasks (65%) and increasing their ability to personalize learning for each student (63%). 

AI chatbots such as ChatGPT make it simple for educators to create personalized content. Educators can input their current lesson plan and ask the chatbot to suggest how to personalize it to a student's needs, such as suggesting personalized activities, games, lessons, and more.

The study found that many educators are implementing AI in their workflows, with 32% saying they already use AI, 63% either already using AI or planning to in the next year, and 80% already using AI or planning to in the future.

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The survey of course also showed that there are still hesitancies associated with implementing AI, including the negative impact it can have on academic integrity, which led the list with 32%, followed closely by the negative impact on critical thinking (31%), memory retention (30%), and social skills and relationships (29%).

Concerns about AI are heightened at the higher education level, with 68% of educators feeling the technology could negatively impact academic integrity.

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The survey suggests that the biggest obstacles to adopting AI are costs (47%), lack of time to implement and train educators on how to use it effectively (38%), and data privacy (34%).

Many organizations are taking initiatives to make training accessible. For example, Google and MIT RAISE launched a free, two-hour generative AI course for educators last week that teaches professionals how to leverage the technology in their workflows.

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