{"id":79842,"date":"2026-03-17T01:14:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T05:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=79842"},"modified":"2026-03-17T01:14:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T05:14:55","slug":"almost-80-of-australian-uni-students-now-use-ai-this-is-creating-an-illusion-of-competence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/almost-80-of-australian-uni-students-now-use-ai-this-is-creating-an-illusion-of-competence\/","title":{"rendered":"Almost 80% of Australian uni students now use AI. This is creating an \u2018illusion of competence\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

In Australia, artificial intelligence is becoming a near-universal feature of education.<\/p>\n

As of 2025,\u00a0nearly 80% of university students<\/a>\u00a0reported using AI in their studies. Overseas, reports are even higher. This year, a\u00a0UK survey<\/a>\u00a0of undergraduates found 94% were using it to help with assessed work.<\/p>\n

This has ushered in widespread concerns about students\u00a0using AI to cheat<\/a>\u00a0on their work and exams. But in a\u00a0new report<\/a>\u00a0with colleague Leslie Loble, we argue there is a far greater risk.<\/p>\n

There is a\u00a0growing body of evidence<\/a>\u00a0that suggests using AI can undermine the effort required for sustainable, deep learning. This so-called \u201ccognitive offloading\u201d from human to AI is especially risky for younger students as they are still building their basic knowledge and skills.<\/p>\n

The \u2018performance paradox\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Our report highlights a phenomenon known as the \u201cperformance paradox<\/a>\u201d. This is where students\u2019 short-term performance on tasks may improve with AI. But their long-term learning is being harmed.<\/p>\n

An example of this is seen in a 2025\u00a0randomised experiment<\/a>\u00a0with high school students in Turkey using an AI assistant (that could tutor them through answers). In classroom tasks, they appeared to solve maths problems more effectively using AI. However, their actual learning fell off a cliff as soon as the AI was removed in an assessment.<\/p>\n

These findings suggest while AI can boost immediate results, it can simultaneously diminish the durable knowledge that is the true goal of education. In the meantime, students can overestimate how much they have learned. AI gives them the\u00a0illusion of competence<\/a>.<\/p>\n

AI is so easy to use<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Generative AI can certainly provide clear, polished responses to students. Research tells us this can\u00a0signal<\/a>\u00a0to the learner that deep mental engagement is no longer necessary.<\/p>\n

This same\u00a0research<\/a>\u00a0also shows students are then less likely to plan, monitor and revise their work. This is because the tool is doing this for them.<\/p>\n

This situation creates a cycle where the ease of AI-generated responses erodes a student\u2019s actual knowledge base, making them more dependent on the tool and less able to judge its accuracy in the future.<\/p>\n

Critical thinking is\u00a0not a generic skill<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 it is deeply intertwined with knowledge.<\/p>\n

In other words, it is difficult to critically analyse a response about the second world war (is it biased? Have they got the dates wrong?) if you don\u2019t know anything much about the different participants and their perspectives.<\/p>\n

How can we respond?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

To address this, universities and teachers must move from treating AI as an \u201canswer oracle\u201d to using it as a partner in thinking and learning. There are two key ways to do this.<\/p>\n