How much AI is too much?

How can students and educators responsibly incorporate AI while prioritising transparency, fairness and developing authentic skills? The answer – for now, is not so clear cut.

Credit:ismagilov

Ledetta Asfa-Wossen

20 March 2026

Integrating AI into teaching, learning and assessments without compromising integrity is a challenge many schools are dealing with and it’s a delicate balance. We went to hear what Annie Chechitelli, chief product officer of academic integrity firm Turnitin had to say at the BETT education conference.“When gen AI was introduced on November 30 2022 it came suddenly. A lot of advancements in technology happen, we think, quickly, but not as quickly as that. Usually you've got a little bit of time to adjust. To learn it and see patterns, especially as teachers. You get to embrace it over time, learn its pitfalls and find out where it can help you in your job and help your students. But that didn't happen here.”Educators are now left to navigate gen AI and leverage its power while also trying to bolster and protect human skills that will continue to be vital for future generations, explained Chechitelli.How much AI is too much? ‘It’s somewhere between I don’t know and it depends,’ she added.“I'd like to tell you that we're going to have answers in the next year or two but I don't think that's the case. I think instead we need to come together as an education community and start talking and understanding transparently ways it can help, and ways it can't help.”

AI use and reliance

According to a KPMG global AI attitude study from 2025, more than 75% of students have felt that they could not complete their work without the help of AI.“The same study found that four in five students say they put less effort into their studies and assessment knowing that they can rely on AI. These numbers are alarming but they're not the whole story. These are statistics.”Chechitelli went on to describe the numerous ways both students and educators are positively using gen AI, from research and curriculum design to adaptive teaching, lesson planning and producing more interactive, creative and visually appealing presentations.She cited research that shows how AI has increased potential for reducing teacher workload, from administrative tasks to organisation. Similarly for students, it can assist with coherence when it comes to writing, areas such as syntax and grammar.Chechitelli also spoke about the differences between productive and non-productive uses of gen AI and the need to always “approach it with authenticity”.

Impact on learning and assessments

When it comes to AI in education, the use of gen AI in learning and assessments is an ongoing area of concern for institutions.Last year, MIT announced early findings in their study on the impact of LLM’s such as Chat GPT on critical thinking and the cognitive cost of using an LLM for writing essays in an educational context.The study, although not peer-reviewed, suggested reliance on LLM’s can result in a ‘cognitive debt’ and impact learning, depending on how people engage with gen AI. It also implied that once students use AI, they can become more comfortable with outsourcing their thinking.“The bottom line is gen AI has great potential and great pitfalls. But the answer is actually not that new. Many times when I speak to teachers, the answer is the same it's been for a long time – it’s about formative assessment over time. It's about understanding the student’s process, not just the final product. The final product is a useful artifact but we need to think about the entire process of learning that students go through and at what point that learning happens,” stated Chechitelli.“I'd argue there's not a moment. It's the entire length of the process and it's not perfect, it's difficult to navigate. And so the more time you can put into those types of formative learning moments and having the teacher understand what's happening and how the student is learning – the better.”Chechitelli added that with the numerous AI and ed tech tools available now it can be hard to know where in that process it's okay to offload learning and what parts of learning are critical to a student’s development.“In the past, we've used writing as a mechanism to think or to help students think. Writing was an important part of the thinking process. So what parts can we keep and what parts can we not keep?”Chechitelli argued that while education is going to evolve, and should evolve with AI. It's important to know how and where AI is used and called for more transparency so that students understand where and when to use it and educators have a guideline to work from.We are in an age where students should routinely save their drafts and outlines and be prepared to have a conversation with a teacher about their work and show their process of learning, stated Chechitelli. AI usage is not just a worry for students, parents too are concerned about their children being falsely accused of using AI.“This is a real thing, and we have to help students and educators navigate this space so we can ensure academic integrity, but at the same time, not ruin anyone's future or not get in the way or demotivate them based on an unfair accusation.”

Clarity needed for students and teachers

According to a Centre for Democracy and Technology survey, 71% of teachers said student use of AI has created an additional burden to understand if work is their own.“I'm actually surprised this number isn't higher. I'm thinking that if you just included humanities, it would be much higher. I think it’s made teaching very difficult today. We need to be able to spot it, but it's not about it being there. It’s about how it was used, and why it was used. Our customers aren’t using our AI detector as a judge and jury, and they shouldn’t. It’s always about starting a conversation with a student about how they used it? Was it useful? What made you think that that was the appropriate use? Having these conversations is really important.”On top of this, students are getting mixed messages too, said Chechitelli. On one hand they are being told the future of work requires AI literacy and yet they see constant news on the dangers and challenges of AI and how it can erode their own critical thinking.It’s about guardrails, ultimately, “as academic integrity is way more complicated now,” said Chechitelli.“I would never tell a teacher not to use AI. That's up to each individual teacher and depends on each individual assignment. Every assignment is going to be different and similarly what the teacher's trying to achieve with each assignment. And I do believe AI is here to stay, but we do need to help young people properly navigate it.”Even while teachers are coping with increased class sizes, budget cuts and figuring out how to inspire and engage students in a digital-first era, she shared that in a shifting AI landscape, policies for gen AI need to be nuanced and updated as technologies develop.For many education institutions, defining the parameters around usage continues to be a challenge but AI detectors are not a completely faultless solution with reports of some students being wrongly accused of cheating with AI adding to existing fear and confusion.“I always tell institutions, the number one thing is to have these conversations. You can change your policies over time but at least have them. Don't ignore that it’s happening around you. It's super important to be transparent with your students because they're struggling with understanding how much [AI] is too much.”

63% of students are worried about being falsely accused of using AI to cheat80% of parents share their children’s concern about being falsely accused of cheating using AI 61% of students in grades 6-12 said they didn’t know or were unsure if there were policies on using AI for schoolwork

Did you know?

Over two-thirds of teachers said clear AI use guidelines in schools need to be a top priority for K-12 leaders. About two thirds of students in grades 6-12 also said that AI in the classroom will significantly improve their educational experience and introduce them to new ideas.Source: Project Tomorrow report: Students Speak Up about AI in their learning lives (2025)

Find out more about the Think Global People and Think Women community and events.

Subscribe to Relocate Extra, our monthly newsletter, to get all the latest international assignments and global mobility news.Relocate’s new Global Mobility Toolkit provides free information, practical advice and support for HR, global mobility managers and global teams operating overseas.

©2026 Re:locate magazine, published by Profile Locations, Spray Hill, Hastings Road, Lamberhurst, Kent TN3 8JB. All rights reserved. This publication (or any part thereof) may not be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of Profile Locations. Profile Locations accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.