P.S. Weekly PodcastAI in Education

AI in the classroom: Friend or foe to creativity?

By 
Chalkbeat Staff
 | May 8, 2025, 10:00am UTC
An AI-generated illustration of two high school students standing next to each other on cellphones with books floating around them with an image of space in the background.
For Episode 5's look at AI's impact on education and creative writing, The Bell made an AI-generated image of producers Annie He and Roberto Bailey. (Chalkbeat doesn't use AI to generate or edit images.) (Courtesy of P.S. Weekly)
P.S. Weekly is a student-produced podcast that casts light on important issues in the nation's largest school system. The Bell's team of 10 student producers who come from different public high schools work alongside Chalkbeat NY's reporters to bring you stories, perspectives, and commentary you won't get anywhere else.

Sign up for Chalkbeat New York’s free daily newsletter to get essential news about NYC’s public schools delivered to your inbox.

There’s no way to ignore the rise of AI in schools.

Students are embracing it. Educators are battling it. Policymakers are trying to get ahead of it. There’s no turning back.

But are there some classes where AI just doesn’t belong?

Producers Annie He, a senior at John Dewey High School, and Roberto Bailey, a junior at Hunter College High School, explore how AI use among students is exploding and question its effect on creativity.

Writing teachers are especially worried. To combat these new, rapidly evolving tools, some teachers are resorting to old ones: pencil and paper.

P.S. Weekly is available on major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Reach us at PSWeekly@chalkbeat.org.

P.S. Weekly is a collaboration between Chalkbeat and The Bell, made possible by generous support from The Pinkerton Foundation.

Listen for new P.S. Weekly episodes Thursdays this spring.

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