OPINION: In the rush to adopt new AI technologies, let us not forget about the human touch
OPINION: In the rush to adopt new AI technologies, let us not forget about the human touch
Publish Date: 2026-05-07 01:00:00
Source Domain: hechingerreport.org
by Joy Delizo-Osborne, The Hechinger Report
May 7, 2026
Right now, we are asking the wrong questions about AI in education.
The conversation is dominated by asking what the technology can do — How fast can it generate content? Personalize practice? Analyze data? But far less attention is being paid to what students need from the K-12 academic experience to develop critical thinking and analysis skills, and the role human relationships play in that process.
I see that gap clearly as a parent. My daughter — a student in an excellent public charter school — has selective mutism, which means that in many school settings, she can’t reliably use her voice with adults. And yet, every day, I watch educators work to find (analog!) ways to reach her and help her develop skills — through patience, consistency, challenge and care. They create conditions for her to feel safe enough to try, to risk and to grow.
That experience has clarified something for me, both as a parent and as the leader of a K-12 organization: Learning is not just about access to information or efficiency. It is built through human interaction — through trust, responsiveness, risk-taking and the steady presence of adults who know how to meet students where they are.
Related: A lot goes on in classrooms from kindergarten to high school. Keep up with our free weekly newsletter on K-12 education.
If we don’t anchor our decisions about AI and education technology adoption and integration in that reality, we are solving for the wrong problem.
In my role at a K-12 instructional provider that specializes in equipping educators with high-quality, standards-aligned math and literacy resources, I think often about which materials promote learning in ways that leverage the benefits of human interaction.
Because the complex work of educating our children is inherently human work. When done well, it’s the result of collectively creating and experiencing the world alongside each other.
That is…
