New report looks at how AI is impacting trust between students and teachers
As generative artificial intelligence becomes increasingly common in schools, a new report is examining how the technology is reshaping relationships in the classroom.
"There's always been this sort of clashing between students and teachers when it comes to trust, but AI has just enabled that to grow," Lydia Bach, a 12th grade student, told "Good Morning America" in an interview that aired Wednesday.
The report, from the Center for Digital Thriving, a research and innovation center at Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, examines the challenges surrounding generative AI use in schools.
While much of the conversation around AI in schools has focused on cheating, researchers said the technology may also be making it harder for teachers to understand how their students are learning.
"Teachers can't see their students anymore," Beck Tench, principal investigator and co-founder of the Center for Digital Thriving, told "GMA." "They have a hard time understanding what their students know, but they also, don't get the questions that their students would normally ask them, because students are going to ChatGPT or other chatbots for those questions."
The report draws in part on a survey of more than 1,000 U.S. public school teachers and principals conducted in April and May 2025. Researchers also conducted interviews with young people, including student interviews from April through June 2026.
Some students, meanwhile, described feeling pressure to hide their use of AI.
"I think that AI in general, students are taught to feel ashamed of their use of it," Bach said. "So I think that kids feel the need to hide what they've been doing, and to not tell the adults around them that they've been using AI."
Researchers say they also heard from students who said they intentionally scaled back their best work because they feared being falsely accused of using AI.
The report describes the dynamic as "two-way suspicion," when students and teachers suspect each other of using AI, potentially eroding trust regardless of whether AI was actually used.
The findings come as schools across the country continue to grapple with how to approach AI in the classroom.
Earlier this month, New York City Public Schools implemented a moratorium on generative AI for students through eighth grade for the 2026-27 school year. High school students are not included in the moratorium and will instead receive twice-yearly AI literacy classes designed to help them think critically about the technology, according to the city's Department of Education.
The report from the Center for Digital Thriving recommends more open conversations between educators and students about appropriate AI use.
Molly Josephs, a high school educator, also emphasized the importance of connecting with students.
"Young people feeling heard and seen and less alone in the world is an incredible thing, and it changes not only the dynamics of your classroom, but it changes how they show up, and how they feel, and how they feel in a space," Josephs told "GMA."
Bach also said those conversations can help build trust.
"I have a lot more faith in teachers when they're willing to just openly discuss things with their students versus shutting them down," she added.
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