A study by David Stromberg of Stockholm University, Victor Lei, and Wu Yanhui of the University of Hong Kong tracked 27,000 Chinese students aged 12 to 18 and found a gap between AI-assisted homework performance and unaided exam results. About 80% of surveyed students reported using AI models including Doubao and DeepSeek, while the 20% who did not use AI served as a control group. Over six months, students using AI increased their average homework scores by 18% across subjects, according to figures reported by The Economist on August 18. Under exam conditions without AI access, those students scored 20% below classmates who had not used the tools during the period. The researchers’ full study had not been independently verified by other institutions at the time of publication. A 2024 University of Pennsylvania study found a similar pattern in math: students using ChatGPT or an AI tutoring program did better during practice but did not retain that advantage on a later closed-book test. A Brookings Institution tip sheet cautioned that AI can support learning when used intentionally, while overreliance that substitutes for thinking, social interaction, or creativity may hinder cognitive and social-skill development.

Artificial intelligence systems are now capable of generating research-level mathematics. Concurrently, the United States is diminishing the educational pipeline that cultivates individuals who can comprehend the outputs of these AI systems.

The Anthropic Education Report presents the AI Fluency Index, which measures individuals' skills in effectively using AI tools as their adoption increases. Previous reports focused on the usage of Claude by university students and educators.