As Sir Ken Robinson argued, “Creativity is as important now in education as literacy, and we should treat it with the same status.” That principle matters even more in the age of artificial intelligence. If students use AI only to produce answers, they risk outsourcing the very creativity, judgement, and intellectual struggle that education is meant to develop. But if they use AI as a tutor, editor, and thinking partner, the technology can support the creative process rather than erase it.
A New Tool, Not a Shortcut
Students are already using artificial intelligence for schoolwork, and the real question is no longer whether they should use it. The better question is how they should use it. A recent Globe and Mail article frames the issue as a parenting and teaching challenge: children are using AI, so adults need to teach them how to think for themselves while using it responsibly. That is the right starting point. AI should not be treated as a forbidden machine, nor should it be treated as a magic answer engine. It is a tool, and like every powerful tool, it requires judgement, honesty, and discipline.
“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” – Sir Ken Robinson
Ethics and Honesty
The ethical problem begins when students submit AI-generated work as if it were entirely their own. That is plagiarism, even if the words were produced by software instead of copied from a book or website. A student who asks AI to write an essay, solve the problem, or create the assignment without disclosure is misrepresenting authorship. The work may look polished, but the honesty is missing. Schools should therefore teach clear rules: students may use AI for brainstorming, outlining, feedback, explanations, practice questions, and editing support, but they must disclose when and how it was used.
“The fact is that given the challenges we face, education doesn’t need to be reformed; it needs to be transformed.” – Sir Ken Robinson
Does Learning Actually Happen?
Learning happens through effort. It requires confusion, trial, revision, memory, and personal expression. If AI performs the thinking, the student may receive a better grade while becoming less capable. That is the central danger. A student who uses AI to explain a difficult math concept, challenge a weak argument, or test their understanding may learn more. A student who uses AI to avoid reading, writing, calculating, or reasoning may learn less. UNESCO’s guidance on generative AI in education emphasizes that these tools should protect human agency and genuinely benefit learning, not replace the learner’s role in the process.
“We need to educate our children for unpredictability.” – Sir Ken Robinson
Authenticity and Quality
AI can improve quality, but it can also flatten authenticity. A student’s writing is supposed to reveal their vocabulary, structure, curiosity, uncertainty, and growth. When AI over-polishes the work, the assignment can lose the student’s voice. Teachers may receive essays that sound mature but feel strangely generic. That matters because schoolwork is not only about the final product. It is evidence of development. Authentic work does not have to be perfect. In fact, imperfection often proves that real learning is underway.
“Teaching is a creative profession.” – Sir Ken Robinson
Teaching Responsible Use
The solution is not panic. It is instruction. Parents and teachers should talk openly with students about AI instead of forcing the conversation underground. Common Sense Media has reported that many parents know about generative AI but have not discussed it with their teens, while schools vary widely in how clearly they communicate rules for AI use. That gap creates confusion. Students need practical standards: cite sources, verify facts, disclose AI assistance, never submit generated work as original, and use AI to strengthen thinking rather than replace it.
“We don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it.” – Sir Ken Robinson
The Right Answer
Yes, it can be right for students to use AI for schoolwork, but only when the student remains the author, thinker, and accountable learner. AI should be a tutor, editor, coach, and study partner. It should not be a ghostwriter. The ethical test is simple: did AI help the student learn, or did it help the student avoid learning? Used honestly, AI can support education. Used dishonestly, it weakens both character and competence.
About the Author:
Michael Martin is the Vice President of Technology with Metercor Inc., a Smart Meter, IoT, and Smart City systems integrator based in Canada. He has more than 40 years of experience in systems design for applications that use broadband networks, optical fibre, wireless, and digital communications technologies. He is a business and technology consultant. He was a senior executive consultant for 15 years with IBM, where he worked in the GBS Global Center of Competency for Energy and Utilities and the GTS Global Center of Excellence for Energy and Utilities. He is a founding partner and President of MICAN Communications and before that was President of Comlink Systems Limited and Ensat Broadcast Services, Inc., both divisions of Cygnal Technologies Corporation (CYN: TSX).
Martin served on the Board of Directors for TeraGo Inc (TGO: TSX) and on the Board of Directors for Avante Logixx Inc. (XX: TSX.V). He has served as a Member, SCC ISO-IEC JTC 1/SC-41 – Internet of Things and related technologies, ISO – International Organization for Standardization, and as a member of the NIST SP 500-325 Fog Computing Conceptual Model, National Institute of Standards and Technology. He served on the Board of Governors of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) [now Ontario Tech University] and on the Board of Advisers of five different Colleges in Ontario – Centennial College, Humber College, George Brown College, Durham College, Ryerson Polytechnic University [now Toronto Metropolitan University]. For 16 years he served on the Board of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Toronto Section.
He holds three master’s degrees – in business (MBA), communication (MA), and education (MEd). As well, he has three undergraduate diplomas and seven major certifications in business, computer programming, internetworking, project management, media, photography, and communication technology. He has completed over 80 next generation MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) [aka Micro Learning] continuous education programs in a wide variety of topics, including: Economics, Python Programming, Internet of Things, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive systems, Blockchain, Agile, Power BI, Big Data, Design Thinking, Security, Indigenous Canada awareness, and more.
Martin in a volunteer, a photographer, a learner, a technologist, a philosophizer, and a romantic optimist.