AI isn't making students lazier - instead it's making them more paranoid according to research by Up Learn
Three quarters of students and teachers find it hard to trust AI's accuracy, while almost two thirds of students worry they're becoming too reliant on the technology
LONDON, Sept. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The debate around AI in schools has largely centred on plagiarism and cheating, yet new research, from online learning platform Up Learn, shows both students and teachers are more concerned about accuracy and overreliance than they are about corner-cutting.
In a survey of over 2,800 students and teachers, accuracy ranked as the top AI concern for both groups – cited by 74% of students and 73% of teachers who use the technology, providing a rare point of agreement.
Cheating, however, was cited by only one in four students and sat behind student fears of becoming too reliant on AI (65%), and losing the ability to think for themselves (47%). This gap makes sense given how students are actually using AI – students were far more likely to use AI for explaining difficult concepts (80%) and creating summaries (61%) than for essay-writing support (40%). Most are turning to AI to enable learning rather than outsource it.
Four in ten students using AI (41%) said they were concerned it isn't aligned with their exams, while teachers raised the same issue at a higher rate (48%). Among students using AI specifically to generate exam practice questions, 45% simultaneously doubted it was aligned with the exams they were preparing for.
Beyond accuracy, more than half (56%) of teachers don't believe AI is saving them time given how much they have to check its outputs, and a third (33%) cite privacy and safeguarding concerns.
Yet both groups keep using AI at scale. Seven in ten students (70%), and teachers (69%) are actively using it, with 42% of student AI-users turning to it daily or more, and 76% of teacher AI-users drawing on it at least weekly.
If students are turning to AI to learn rather than cheat, the question is not about discipline, but whether the tool is fit for purpose.
Guy Riese, CEO and founder of Up Learn, says: "AI is solving an education gap. Students are using it to understand things they've been taught but haven't grasped and they are rightly sceptical about the answers they get. This is where we need to support students - by helping them turn that scepticism into a skill: knowing when AI has got it right, and when to look again. AI is part of the new normal, students need to be equipped with tools and techniques that enable them to use it with trust."
For students looking to start the new school year strong, Riese suggests three questions to ask of anything they're learning from:
Can I check it? Before using any resource for your learning, can you see where the answer came from? Was that answer built by subject experts? Both need to be yes before you rely on it.
Is it aligned to what I'm going to be examined on? General knowledge about a subject is not the same as being prepared for a specific exam specification. General-purpose tools will only provide the information you think to ask about, so it's better to use something built specifically for the exam you're preparing for.
Am I doing the thinking or watching it be done? Learning should feel hard – this is known as 'desirable difficulty' and it's how you know it's working. Decades of cognitive science research have shown that the best way to learn is actively. Practising knowledge retrieval through techniques like repetition is the best way to truly absorb information and set yourself up for success when exams come around.
Notes to editors
Methodology
Research was conducted by Up Learn via an online UK survey of 2,591 students and 248teachers and in its contact base between 1 May and 17 August 2026.
About Up Learn
Up Learn is an adaptive attainment platform for GCSE and A Level, built by teachers and educational scientists. It combines expert teaching, adaptive learning and cognitive science, with AI supporting rather than replacing learning. It is trusted by 685+ schools and used by 1 in 3 A Level students in the UK.
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