The rapid rise in popularity of generative artificial intelligence tools has transformed daily life in Brazilian schools in recent years. According to Giselle Santos, an educational innovation consultant at the Instituto Escolas Criativa, the years 2024 and 2025 were marked by curiosity, urgency, and rapid experimentation, but also by excesses and significant gaps in the debate on ethics, privacy, and responsible use.

Giselle addressed the topic in an interview on the first episode of “Conexão Bett” in 2026. During the conversation, she analyzed the real impacts of AI on education and the challenges that lie ahead in the near future.

According to the expert, a review of the past two years reveals parallel trends in the use of artificial intelligence in schools. “In 2024, there was a huge rush: either people were very afraid and didn’t use it at all, or they used it excessively, in a completely uncritical way,” she says.

By 2025, although there had been more experimentation and openness toward the use of AI, Giselle believes the process remained largely unstructured. “With each new release, a new wave of hype emerged, fueling rapid adoption without time for planning or clear guidelines,” she says.

This scenario is directly reflected in the behavior of children and adolescents in the digital environment. Data from the “TIC Kids Online Brasil 2025” survey, released by the Regional Center for Studies on the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), show that 65% of children and young people between the ages of 9 and 17 have already used generative AI tools for some activity on the internet.

The survey reveals that 59% used AI for school research or studies, 42% to search for information, 21% to create content, and 10% to talk about emotions or personal problems.

Watch the full interview:

AI in Children's Lives

Giselle points out that the problem isn’t just about access. The consultant warns of serious mistakes made especially in the use of AI with children, such as disregard for the age ranges recommended by the platforms themselves, a lack of transparency regarding data sharing, and the indiscriminate use of tools that capture images, voices, and biometric data.

“Often, students are simply carrying out an activity assigned by their teacher, without any understanding of the consequences—such as the use of their data by third parties—or the possibility of revoking their consent,” he explains.

Another sensitive issue highlighted by the expert is the proliferation of AI-based interactive toys capable of recording speech, recognizing emotional patterns, and generating behavioral profiles starting in early childhood.

At the same time, Giselle acknowledges that AI can offer significant benefits, especially in terms of accessibility—such as through the use of alternative communication tools for nonverbal students—provided that its implementation is carefully planned.

What can we expect in 2026?

Looking ahead to 2026, the general assessment is that the education sector is entering a decisive phase. After the initial excesses, there is a growing need for a “correction mechanism,” driven by regulatory advances—such as the ECA Digital—and by more mature debates on accountability.

According to Giselle, the trend is for AI to become an integral part of schools’ educational infrastructure, with clear protocols, data governance, and teacher training guided by actual levels of proficiency and readiness. “Before teaching students how to use prompts, we need to establish protocols. We’ll bring the school community together to decide what is and isn’t allowed, and how to respond when something goes wrong,” she concluded.

Share on social media: