59% of kids use AI to look up information—but it could weaken ‘critical thinking skills,’ says expert

Parents and kids alike expect AI to play a major role in their futures.

Seventy-one percent of parents and 60% of kids and teens believe that by the time young people are adults, people will be so dependent on AI — specifically large language models like ChatGPT and Gemini — that they won't be able to function without it, according to a new report by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that helps families make informed decisions about media and technology.

In fact, 12-to 17-year-olds are already leaning into AI: 59% use it to search for information and facts, Common Sense Media found.

"A lot of kids, including those in the surveyed age group, are turning to AI to help them study for school," says Tiffany Zhu, assistant professor of global ethics and technology at Old Dominion University. "Many are asking AI questions when they are looking for quick information instead of typing questions into a search engine."

Whether or not that shift is positive is still unclear. Here's what experts say parents should keep in mind.

While some chatbot-generated content is harmless, some can also be problematic.

As far as their algorithms go, "we don't have great visibility into what goes into the large language models," says Michael Robb, head of research at Common Sense Media, adding that "misinformation and bias are certainly still a part of the outputs."

"If not used carefully," says Zhu, these bots "could also encourage black-and-white thinking and hinder [kids'] critical thinking skills."

Researchers at Dartmouth and Stanford, for example, identified stereotypes against certain minority groups in some chatbots. And researchers in Japan found patterns of hallucinations, or factually inaccurate outputs, in various bots as well.

Companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google have looked into and acknowledged the various biases and hallucinations their bots can exhibit.

"I generally think that the majority of the burden should be on AI companies and the government to regulate and improve the design of popular AI tools," says Zhu.

But for parents who want to ensure kids use AI to their benefit, Robb recommends having a conversation with them about these tools.

Let kids know that "it's worth double checking and trying to understand where the information is coming from," he says, since chatbots can sometimes provide incorrect answers.

Many chatbots let you see where they're pulling their info from. Kids can click those links and see if they trust those sources, he says. They can also look up the information elsewhere and see if it matches.

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