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By Phoebe Pin
Topic:Education
Wed 15 Apr 2026 at 6:34am
The polling shows students are using AI to boost their productivity. (ABC News: Greg Bigelow)
Polling by the NSW Office for Youth has found up to 70 per cent of young people across the state are regularly using AI for their studies and in their personal lives.
Sydney student Hafsa Faizan is among those who are advocating for the technology to be better implemented in schools.
But concerns remain about the impact of AI on critical thinking skills, the environment and future employment opportunities.
While some use artificial intelligence (AI) to plan their holidays or generate funny videos, Sydney high school student Hafsa Faizan uses the technology to hone her debating skills.
The 14-year-old from Austral in the city's south-west started high school just as chatbots powered by AI filtered into the mainstream media.
While websites like ChatGPT are blocked on her school's computers, Hafsa said AI had significantly enriched her at-home learning.
"I mainly use it to make my studying more active than passive," she said.
"Rather than reading notes, I like to turn them into flashcards and quizzes to help me remember things better.
Hafsa Faizen, 14, says AI can be a useful study tool. (ABC News: Greg Bigelow)
"I'll finish an assignment then I'll give it to AI to provide me feedback on what I could improve on any arguments that it suggests."
Hafsa said she had also implemented AI into her hobbies outside of school.
"I do a lot of debating competitions and recently to prepare for them, I've had AI give me topics and then arguments and rebuttals," she said.
Hafsa is one of thousands of students who have incorporated AI into their learning, with recent polling by the NSW Office of Youth finding 70 per cent of the 2,300 young people surveyed used the technology regularly in the past 12 months.
Many said AI had a positive impact on their life by providing learning support, increasing productivity and boosting creativity and idea generation.
But others were concerned about becoming over-reliant on AI, and the potential impact on job opportunities and the environment.
Up to 70 per cent of NSW school students are regularly using AI in their studies and personal life, a new study shows. (ABC News: Greg Bigelow)
NSW Advocate for Children and Young People Katherine McKernan said government and the education sector each had roles to play in addressing such concerns.
"Young people are really leading the way in terms of using and embracing AI and seeing its potential … what we need to do is catch up in terms of the supports that we're providing and the systems and regulations of things," she said.
Katherine McKernan says young people are leading the way on embracing AI. (ABC News: Greg Bigelow)
The research also showed one in four young people surveyed were turning to AI chatbots for personal advice and mental health support, an area which Ms McKernan said needed to be monitored.
"That's something that we really need to be mindful of in terms of … understanding the parameters and how to use it in a safe way that's actually going to be supporting a young person," she said.
"The Department of Education is developing an EduChat AI tool that can be used within schools and for students, which I think is a really good example of encouraging safe use and use in a way that is going to encourage learning."
Hafsa has explored the role of AI in education in a TEDx Talk, and said her ideas had been met with mixed feedback.
"I've met people who disagree and that's completely valid because there are concerns that need to be addressed," she said.
"We don't have access to [AI] in school and I don't think that's the right way to approach it because it's really just shying away from it rather than figuring out how we can use it to help us."
Hafsa said AI cannot replace the role of teachers in schools, but could play a supporting role.
Hafsa says schools should not shy away from AI. (ABC News: Greg Bigelow)
"In a classroom setting, one teacher cannot take care of 30 students and be specifically helpful to each and every one," she said.
"They can provide the overall information for everyone to have access to, but everyone's at a different pace of learning … and I think AI is able to target everyone's weaknesses and strengths."
Looking to the future, Hafsa said the workforce should not be afraid of embracing AI.
"I do think to an extent AI will replace certain jobs, especially those that are repetitive, but we've seen this happen with many technological advancements," she said.
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