AI Teacher Assistants Need Better Safety Measures, Common Sense Media Report Finds

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 6, 2025—Common Sense Media today released a comprehensive risk assessment of AI teacher assistants, finding that while these tools offer genuine benefits for educators, they pose moderate risks when implemented without proper training, oversight, and integration into schools.

The assessment focused on popular AI teacher assistant platforms including Google Classroom's Gemini Teacher Assistant, Khanmigo's Teacher Assistant, Curipod, and MagicSchool, evaluating them in areas including effectiveness, safety, and bias. Common Sense Media rated the category of AI teacher assistants as "Moderate Risk" overall.

"AI teacher assistants have real potential to support educators, but they're not plug-and-play solutions," said Robbie Torney, senior director of AI programs at Common Sense Media. "Without proper training and oversight systems, these tools risk undermining the high-quality curricula that schools have invested in and can act as 'invisible influencers' shaping what students learn in ways that neither teachers nor students realize."

The report's key findings include:

Risks Without Proper Implementation:

• Undermining curricular coherence: AI teacher assistants risk fragmenting learning when used without integration into existing research-backed curricula.
• "Invisible influencers" in student learning: AI-generated material can have long-term learning impacts in ways that aren't obvious or easily detectable.
• "Outsourced thinking:" Many platforms make it too easy to push AI-generated material directly to classrooms without review, essentially outsourcing educational decision-making to AI.
• Inadequate for high-stakes uses: Tools that generate individualized education plans (IEPs) and behavior plans lack the comprehensive data needed for these critical documents, which impact students' educational trajectories, and can demonstrate problematic bias based on perceived student backgrounds.

Opportunities With Proper Guardrails:

• Enhancing existing materials: These tools work best when building on established, high-quality curricula, rather than starting from scratch.
• Saving time for what matters: When used carefully, these AI tools can handle routine tasks, freeing educators for direct student interaction and creative teaching.
• Supporting teacher expertise: The most effective implementations amplify rather than replace educator knowledge and judgment.

Given these findings, Common Sense Media recommends that school districts and educators:

• Build on existing curricula: Use AI to enhance established, high-quality instructional materials, rather than starting from scratch or replacing them.
• Establish review processes: Always evaluate AI-generated material for accuracy, bias, and appropriateness before classroom use.
• Invest in comprehensive training: Provide professional development on AI capabilities, limitations, and safe implementation practices.
• Avoid high-stakes uses: Don't use AI for critical documents like individualized education plans or behavior plans that require comprehensive student data.
• Create clear policies: Establish district guidelines for appropriate AI use, privacy standards, and quality control processes.

Common Sense Media offers comprehensive resources to ensure that AI tools enhance education without compromising student safety or learning quality, including AI training materials, toolkits for school districts, and guides for parents.

The full risk assessment and supporting materials are available here. For more information on Common Sense Media's AI risk assessments, visit https://www.commonsensemedia.org/ai-risk-assessments.

About Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive. Our ratings, research, and resources reach more than 150 million users worldwide and 1.4 million educators every year. Learn more at commonsense.org.