Dubai Educators Say Children's Reliance on AI Chatbots Is Already a Problem

"It's not down the line. It's a problem already," Neil Hopkin, director of education at Fortes Education, told The National at the GESS Dubai education conference on Tuesday. He said some children were starting to treat chatbots as friends, even though the technology cannot give the emotional support of a parent, teacher or trusted adult.

The warning matters as AI spreads into classrooms across the UAE and into children's homes through apps, toys and devices. The concern raised by educators is less about cheating on homework than about children taking private questions to systems that cannot recognise when someone needs help.

"AI doesn't do that. It can fake some of that, so it can fake empathy," Hopkin said. "We've seen that as a problem in the way that some of the chatbots talk with young children, and very quickly the child believes that this is a friend when it's not." He said chatbots often agree with users or reinforce their existing views instead of questioning them, which could be especially worrying when a child turns to AI during a difficult moment. He also warned that some AI-powered toys and devices could collect large amounts of personal information about children and their families.

Regional research points in the same direction. Researchers at Ajman University found a link between seeking help from AI and symptoms of anxiety, stress and depression in a study of 433 university students in the UAE, published in March. They said AI could appeal to young people because it let them seek help privately, without fear of being judged. A separate study of 360 students at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, also published in March, found that 11.9 per cent had used AI chatbots for mental health support; 54.7 per cent said they preferred traditional therapy, against 23.1 per cent who preferred chatbot-based treatment.

Kulangara Jacob Johnson, director of the Centre for Design and Innovation for Public Purpose at American School of Dubai, shared the concern about dependence. "I think being dependent on anything is a problem. And the dependency, in my opinion, is becoming an obsession," he said.

Johnson was more cautious about the idea that heavy AI use erodes children's ability to think for themselves, arguing that they may be developing different ways of learning. "It doesn't mean that they're losing his cognitive ability. They are redefining what cognition is," he said. The task for schools and parents, he said, is to make sure children keep questioning what AI tells them, for example by using chatbots to challenge their ideas rather than to hand them answers.

Ahlam Bolooki, chief executive of the Emirates Literature Foundation, made a similar point to The National recently. "The danger in children being exposed to AI so early on might mean that they are satisfied with the early answer and they don't dig deeper," she said.

Neither Hopkin nor Johnson supports a ban, saying children already use the technology every day. Johnson urged parents to talk openly with children about AI and explain that its answers are not always correct or appropriate. Hopkin said parents, teachers and technology companies need to work together to make sure children use AI safely, and that schools will remain central to building relationships and empathy.

"I don't see AI replacing teachers," Hopkin said. "What I do see is that the nature of teaching will change."