Homework definitely is an issue, and a big one. I don’t find it useful at all, and sometimes it can actually be detrimental, because until it’s checked it can reinforce errors and make them more difficult to correct later… I’m not a teacher, but from a layperson’s perspective I would be totally fine with zero homework. People need some downtime to relax, and kids are people too (or so I’m told), so they should have time to rest, play games or do whatever after school…
I think the whole issue is much deeper, and stems from the fact that we (as in humanity, not any particular country) have perverted the very reason and purpose of education (assuming it ever was clear and uncorrupted, but that’s another story).
Overwhelming majority of students don’t learn because they want to. They don’t want to become well read and spoken, they don’t want to be able to answer questions without having to check on their phones, and so on and so forth. They “learn” because they have to. Because if there aren’t enough check marks next to their name in an Excel spreadsheet somewhere, they’re going to get in trouble. And that’s why, if there’s an easier way to get those check marks, of course they’re going to use it!
Why spend days or weeks reading a long book if I can read an AI summary in 5 minutes and put a checkmark in the “read a book” column? Why spend time on writing an essay, if I can have ChatGPT do it and get a checkmark in the “essay” column?
I don’t have a solution to this problem by the way, because I used to be a nerdy kid that actually enjoyed learning and craved more of it, but the real problem is not AI or LLMs, it’s the whole approach to education (and to work afterwards: see the “oh shit, only a month until HR eval, what the hell were my personal goals that I made up at the beginning of the quarter?” situation so many of us face…)
Because if there’s anything a link aggregator needs, it’s MORE reasons for people to not read linked articles! Will they also add AI responses? That way users wouldn’t need to bother with reading OR writing!