Wealthy parents are increasingly encouraging their children to use artificial intelligence (AI) for schoolwork, prompting researchers to warn that the trend could negatively affect students' academic performance. According to a new report published by the RAND Corporation on November 12, higher-income parents are not only using AI more frequently themselves, but are also far more likely to push their children to rely on the technology for homework and studying.
The nationally representative survey supported by the Gates Foundation and conducted among 1,000 parents and 1,800 youth aged 12 to 18 in the United States found that 67 percent of parents earning more than $150,000 annually actively encourage their children to use AI for schoolwork, compared to 45 percent of lower-income parents. Furthermore, 17 percent of high-income parents reported instructing their children to use AI as broadly as school policies permit, nearly double the rate of lower-income families.
RAND researchers Heather L. Schwartz and Melissa Kay Diliberti noted that over the past 15 months, the gap in AI usage between high-income and low-income families has widened significantly from 15 percentage points to 21 percentage points. The findings indicate that students' perception of whether their parents encourage AI use is one of the strongest predictors of how heavily they rely on the tools.
Researchers warned that bypassing independent critical thinking in favor of immediate AI assistance threatens to undermine genuine learning and lower test scores. While wealthier families typically invest in resources that give their children an educational advantage, the report highlights that unchecked reliance on AI could uniquely place affluent students at risk of academic setbacks.
To address the issue, the researchers urged parents to clearly distinguish between using AI as a tutor to build understanding and using it to complete assignments outright. The report also recommended that schools implement clear classroom guidelines limiting chatbot access during initial brainstorming and problem-solving phases, while advising families to set boundaries on AI use across personal smartphones and tablets.
Reference: Schwartz, H. L., & Diliberti, M. K. (2026). Higher-income parents use AI more and encourage their children to do the same. RAND Corporation.