1. School in a decade: from memorization to human connection and resilience

• Shai Piron and Dr. Elazar Ben Lulu asked: in the near future, will students enroll in "Claude Religious School" or "Gemini Anthroposophic," and will schools close?

• Dr. Limor Leibovitz's answer:

  School is not going to disappear, but its current structure – created back in the Industrial Revolution (fixed hours, sitting in rows, uniform frontal teaching) – is changing fundamentally.

  • Personalized, simulation-based teaching: teachers can set up dedicated bots that simulate historical figures, philosophers or groundbreaking scientists. Instead of reading passively or watching a video, the student holds an inquiring dialogue with the figure.

  • A change in the teacher's role: when the machine can deliver information at a personal level, the teacher's value as the sole source of knowledge declines – but their value as a developer of emotional resilience, social skills and humanistic values soars to new heights.

  • An opportunity for values and community education: if technology saves technical teaching time, the education system can devote many hours to personal dialogue, emotional resilience, democracy and social solidarity.
     

2. The danger of "cognitive offloading": why an excellent product doesn't prove learning

• Sami Peretz and Israel Fisher asked: what does it mean for the teacher's authority when a student pulls up a precise answer in an instant, and doesn't submitting AI-generated work at university and school weaken thinking?

• Dr. Limor Leibovitz's answer:

  One of the main risks identified in research is cognitive offloading – handing all the processing and thinking load over to the machine.

  • The quick-result trap: AI lets a student produce work that looks rich and polished without going through the process of learning, error and mental effort that develops the brain.

  • Double offloading: the risk exists both for the student (who stops making an effort) and for the teacher (who may rely on automated systems for grading or planning without critical review).

  • Prior knowledge as quality control: a person with deep knowledge can use AI as a brilliant personal assistant to upgrade their performance; a person without knowledge will mistakenly accept every hallucination or error of the machine as established fact.

  • Lifelong learning: in a world where technical skills become outdated within a few years, the most critical skill is knowing how to learn, how to inquire and how to form an independent position.
    ​

3. From New York to Israel: between a blanket ban and AI literacy

• Goni Cohen asked: why are leading school districts around the world (such as New York) backing away and trying to block the tools, while Israel's Ministry of Education adopted a more open approach?

• Dr. Limor Leibovitz's answer:

  The attempt to block technology reflects an extreme swing of the pendulum:

  • The initial ban and its reversal: in January 2023 New York blocked ChatGPT, and four months later reversed course after realizing the ban created a disconnect between schools and the real world. Advanced technology pilots followed (including robots and digital teaching assistants).

  • The new voices – Parents for AI Caution: parents raise legitimate concerns about data privacy, screen dependence and algorithmic bias that may discriminate against students from diverse socio-economic or language backgrounds (such as immigrant communities).

  • The balanced Israeli approach: blocking is "building walls" that don't hold, because children use the tools at home and on their smartphones anyway. The right approach is careful adaptation: teaching safety rules, ethics education and critical use from a young age with adult guidance.
     

Key concepts for parents and educators
 

What is cognitive offloading in the context of AI?

Cognitive offloading is a process in which a person uses external technological aids to reduce the mental load required to perform a task. With generative AI tools, the danger is that the student gives up processes of abstraction, gathering information, cross-checking data and independent writing. The result may look perfect from the outside, but the brain doesn't build the neural connections and deep understanding needed for real learning.
 

What is the teacher's role in the age of AI?

The teacher's role is making a historic shift from "sole channel of knowledge" (Sage on the Stage) to "thinking facilitator, emotional companion and values mentor" (Guide on the Side). The teacher doesn't compete with the machine on memorizing facts, but teaches students how to ask precise questions, verify data, collaborate with others and cope emotionally with challenges and crises.
 

Is blocking AI in schools effective?

According to Dr. Limor Leibovitz's research and public appearances, a total ban is neither effective nor sustainable. Children and teens are exposed to these tools in their natural environment, at home and on their phones. Blocking the systems at school creates a pedagogical disconnect and prevents students from learning safe, critical and ethical use under the guidance of a mature educational authority.
 

Frequently asked questions

1. From what age should children be allowed to use AI tools?

In the Israeli education system, the recommendation for independent use of dedicated, supervised tools begins in middle school (around ages 12–13).

In elementary school, exposure should be like a crosswalk: we don't let a child cross alone; we practice with them hand in hand. Use should happen alongside a parent or teacher in focused projects (such as learning a language together, creating a story or researching a topic), with clear limits on time, privacy and critical thinking.
 

2. How can parents support good learning with AI at home without becoming "police"?

Instead of dealing only with bans and checking whether the child "cheated on homework," adopt a conversation of partnership:

• Ask your child to teach you: ask "How did you ask the machine?" "What prompt did you give it?"

• Practice doubt: look together for where the machine made a mistake, hallucinated or phrased something inaccurately.

• Encourage original creation: use technology as a springboard for a real project (building a game, planning a trip, learning a new topic), not just as a tool for finishing school tasks quickly.
   

3. What are the most important rules for ethics and privacy when using AI?

1. Don't enter identifying details: never enter full names, personal photos, addresses or medical/private documents into open language models.

2. Check sources and bias: make sure historical, scientific or social information isn't biased by the model's training data, and cross-check with academic and reliable sources.

3. Transparency and academic integrity: a student who uses AI must say so openly, specify which part of the task the machine helped with, and follow the school's ethics rules.
    

About Dr. Limor Leibovitz

Dr. Limor Leibovitz is a researcher, lecturer and international consultant in creativity, educational entrepreneurship and advanced learning technologies.

• Author of the groundbreaking book The AI Generation and creator of the leading podcast of the same name, which brings the frontier of research and practice to professionals and parents.

• She works with school principals, municipal education departments, teaching teams and global organizations to implement future-oriented pedagogy.

• She leads training programs that combine critical thinking, digital literacy and the development of human creativity.
   

The AI Generation: talks and workshops for parents, educators and organizations

The AI revolution is changing the rules of the game in education and parenting. Sessions led by Dr. Limor Leibovitz are not only theoretical; they give teachers, parents and organizations practical, research-based tools from entrepreneurship, innovation and futures studies.

We'll learn how to integrate AI into teaching and learning to develop critical, flexible and creative thinking, build practical outputs relevant to participants' needs, and hold an in-depth conversation about online safety, digital boundaries and the resilience of families and children in a changing world.
 

Who are the talks and workshops for?

• Teachers, school principals and educators.

• Leaders of pedagogical innovation and student teachers.

• Training managers and learning leaders in organizations.

• Parents, social entrepreneurs and youth-movement leaders.
   

What do participants get?

• Hands-on experience with innovative methods you can use right away.

• Tools for integrating AI into teaching and learning.

• Practice in building future scenarios and ways of coping.

• Support materials and demo videos for continued use.

• Tools for meaningful conversations at home that build children's and families' resilience.

 

Length: 1 to 2.5 hours

Location: in person or online (by arrangement)
 

Talks and workshops to choose from:
 

1. Love in the Age of the Algorithm: Loneliness, Screens and AI (talk)

What happens when screens and chatbots become our children's emotional refuge? How do we deal with emotional dependence on machines, build antifragility, and bring human connection back to the family and the community?
 

2. A workshop for parents of children and teens on resilience, creativity and digital safety (talk / workshop)

How is AI shaping our children's future? In a practical workshop based on the book The AI Generation and its holistic model for raising resilient children, we'll learn to identify risks in current AI tools – generative video, voice cloning, image and text generators, and bots on social networks – and turn them into an empowering educational opportunity.
 

3. Building AI agents: the automation revolution in organizations and education (hands-on workshop)

A hands-on workshop for teachers and organizational learning. The world is moving from AI that chats to AI that acts (agentic AI). In this workshop we won't just learn how to talk to AI, but how to build it as an agent that carries out complex tasks, makes decisions and solves problems autonomously.
 

4. Accelerating pedagogy in the age of AI (hands-on problem-solving workshop)

In an era when AI is changing the face of education, it's time for the education system to create creative, groundbreaking solutions too. In a practical, eye-opening workshop, we'll learn how to use AI-based tools to drive initiatives, solve pedagogical challenges and build an innovative learning environment.
 

5. NotebookLM: from conversation to in-depth research (hands-on workshop)

Where emotion, cognition and technology meet. How can we move from generic conversations with AI to in-depth, precise research based on our own sources? In this hands-on workshop we'll dive into NotebookLM – Google's revolutionary tool that turns piles of documents, videos and links into a smart, synced notebook grounded in reliable sources.