AI’s 50 Percent Learning Penalty: New Chinese Study Reveals Widespread Harm

A Chinese study tracking about 27,000 students (2023–2025) found that roughly 80% used generative AI for schoolwork and about 50% outsourced homework after five months, which coincided with substantial learning losses on monthly exams (average ~20%) and on high-stakes exams (HS: ~24%, college: ~18%), with no corresponding learning benefits. The author labels this the Generative AI penalty and argues that AI use in its current form harms cognitive development for a large portion of students, urging policymakers to mitigate risks and emphasize using AI only for tasks students already know how to do rather than substituting mental work.