AI-optimism, vigilance and biases: support and influence from AI in classroom discussions about social issues

This study explores students’ use of generative AI in classroom discussions about controversial issues. A case study was designed around a two-lesson module developed and implemented by three social studies teachers in one upper secondary school in Sweden. The module was based on structured discussions of two social issues, gender-segregated schools and busing for desegregation, and invited students to use AI-powered chatbots as a source of information. Students’ pre- and post-tests, threads from AI chats, written notes, and conversation recordings were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative content analysis. It shows that students’ ideas became closer to AI-generated content. This movement is not ideologically neutral but can be described as a shift to a more traditional frame of discussion that centers around essentialized differences between the two genders. We also describe differences between AI-optimists and vigilant students, with the latter seeing AI as a tool with limited uses. We identify the role of social approaches to information verification in classroom discussions, the challenges AI adds to students’ use of sources and evidence, and how teachers may support students' vigilant use of generative AI.