Phones, AI and the case for Tech scepticism
In this episode, David and Martin discuss phones, AI and the need for educational scepticism. They ask why schools are increasingly banning phones while being encouraged to embrace AI, and whether this contradiction reveals a deeper problem: education has allowed others to define the terms of technological change.
They explore the arguments for banning phones, including attention, authority, social life and the conditions of learning. They look at new evidence on lockable phone pouches, which suggests that bans reduce phone use but do not, by themselves, transform attainment. They then turn to AI, asking what it can usefully do, what it cannot do, and where it risks replacing the effort and judgement on which learning depends.
The central argument is that schools should not wait for tech companies to do their thinking for them. The sector needs to decide what technology is for, where it belongs, and what human capacities education must protect.
Key questions
• Are phones and AI really separate debates?
• Why should schools ban phones?
• Is a phone ban a school improvement strategy, or just a condition for improvement?
• What should we make of evidence showing little average effect on test scores?
• What can AI usefully do for teachers and pupils?
• What must never be outsourced to AI?
• Are schools at risk of letting tech companies define learning?
• What principles should guide technology adoption in schools?
Key claims
• Phone bans should not be judged only by test scores.
• Phones corrode attention, authority and the shared social world of school.
• A ban clears space; it does not fill it.
• AI can support expert teachers, but it cannot replace educational judgement.
• AI is dangerous when it gives pupils the product without the process.
• Schools need scepticism, not panic.
• The education sector should lead the debate before policy and procurement make the decisions for it.
Sources and links
• Carl Hendrick note on the new phone ban evidence:
https://substack.com/@carlhendrick/note/c-254294042?r=18455&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action [https://substack.com/@carlhendrick/note/c-254294042?r=18455&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action]
• NBER working paper, The Effects of School Phone Bans: National Evidence from Lockable Pouches:
https://www.nber.org/papers/w35132 [https://www.nber.org/papers/w35132]
• DfE guidance on mobile phones in schools:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mobile-phones-in-schools/mobile-phones-in-schools [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mobile-phones-in-schools/mobile-phones-in-schools]
• DfE guidance on generative AI in education:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/generative-artificial-intelligence-in-education/generative-artificial-intelligence-ai-in-education [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/generative-artificial-intelligence-in-education/generative-artificial-intelligence-ai-in-education]
• DfE generative AI product safety standards:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/generative-ai-product-safety-standards/generative-ai-product-safety-standards [https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/generative-ai-product-safety-standards/generative-ai-product-safety-standards]
• Year 11 intervention thread:
https://x.com/Yorkshire_Steve/status/2051592439614386237 [https://x.com/Yorkshire_Steve/status/2051592439614386237]
• hb_history post:
https://x.com/hb_history/status/2051198226489803082 [https://x.com/hb_history/status/2051198226489803082]
• NPorter post:
https://x.com/NPorter_/status/2050578907955392577 [https://x.com/NPorter_/status/2050578907955392577]
• Greg Ashman post:
https://x.com/greg_ashman/status/2050769058669511126 [https://x.com/greg_ashman/status/2050769058669511126]
