Authors: Dr. Puttaraju M. V, Madhu H. G
Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, has rapidly become part of students’ everyday search, writing, problem-solving and communication practices. This article examines the impact of AI on students through a structured review of policy documents, peer-reviewed scholarship and selected higher-education reports. The study asks how AI changes access to information, reading and writing practices, creativity, decision-making, assessment, academic integrity and learner agency. A transparent secondary-research method was used: sources were screened for relevance to education, student outcomes, ethics, governance and digital inclusion; claims were then synthesized into benefit, risk and governance categories. The analysis shows that AI can provide rapid feedback, accessibility support, multilingual assistance and personalized learning pathways, but these gains are conditional. Uncritical dependence may weaken verification habits, sustained reading, original composition and independent judgement; inaccurate outputs, hidden bias, privacy risks and unequal access can also widen educational disadvantage. The paper proposes a human-centred model in which AI augments rather than replaces student reasoning. It recommends explicit AI literacy, redesigned assessment, disclosure of AI assistance, teacher-guided verification, privacy safeguards and equitable infrastructure. The central conclusion is that the educational value of AI depends less on the mere availability of tools than on the quality of pedagogy, institutional rules and students’ capacity to question, verify and ethically use machine-generated outputs.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20796362
