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Students Learn to Use Generative AI Before Learning to Question It: Ordinal Trajectories of Academic Use and Caution from Adolescence to University

Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Students are adopting generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) at increasingly early educational stages, yet little is known about whether caution toward its outputs develops at the same pace. This study examined ordinal trajectories of academic GenAI use and caution, assessed as perceived reliability, from adolescence to university. Two coordinated surveys assessed use frequency and perceived reliability for the same 11 academic activities in an exact-age sample of 1,598 students: 1,167 secondary students aged 12-17 and 431 higher-education students aged 18-25, who also rated seven additional research-oriented activities. Between ages 12 and 17, the odds of higher use increased per year of age, whereas caution showed no significant change. The use-caution trajectories diverged significantly, first at ages 14-15 and more strongly at 16-17. In higher education, overall use showed no linear increase, but task-specific models revealed a shift from examination study and immediate question resolution toward translation and linguistic revision. Caution likewise showed no linear trend across university ages. However, fourth-year students had greater odds of strong caution than those in Years 1-3, particularly for advanced research tasks. These findings suggest that students use GenAI intensively before developing equivalent caution toward its responses: the divergence emerges during adolescence, whereas the first clear sign of correction appears only near degree completion. These findings highlight the need to introduce critical AI literacy education early in adolescence, combining practical experience with task-specific evaluation strategies.
DOI: 10.35542/osf.io/cm438
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225572239
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