Kolkata, September 28, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Artificial Intelligence may have reduced the effort required for some tasks, but it has not made hard work optional for learners, Prof Sudeshna Sarkar of the Computer Science and Engineering Department at IIT Kharagpur has said.
Addressing common myths about learning in the age of AI, Prof Sarkar stressed that technology is most effective when it strengthens the learning process rather than replacing it.
“Technology has been changing very fast, but what has not changed is the effort that you have to spend to learn. You have to keep up with technology and continue to learn,” she said.
On the growing use of AI for instant explanations, Prof Sarkar drew a distinction between receiving information and developing genuine understanding. She said that struggling with a problem, attempting different solutions, failing and recalibrating are important parts of the learning process.
“AI can give you instantaneous explanations, and that is convenient. But when students struggle with a problem, trying to solve it, failing, recalibrating, that produces true understanding,” she explained.
She said such experiences help students internalise knowledge and apply it in new contexts, making the learning more valuable.
Prof Sarkar also stressed that struggling with a problem should not be equated with failure. “Getting stalled is failure. Wrestling with a solution and reaching it teaches much more than shortcuts. Students develop a sense they can transfer to new situations,” she said in an X video shared by IIT Kharagpur.
“AI has reduced the effort but not made hard work optional. What is important today is constructing the ability to understand and apply knowledge to different situations,” she added.
She emphasised the importance of higher-order learning skills and critical understanding to enable students to go beyond AI-generated answers and develop solutions to new problems.
Meanwhile, IIT Kharagpur announced an ongoing project through the National Digital Library of India aimed at providing learners with AI-enabled academic support.
“For every learner, the right guidance at the right moment can make a difference. Yet providing personalised, one-to-one academic support at scale remains a challenge,” the institute said.
In collaboration with Fermi AI, IIT Kharagpur is developing an AI-enabled learning experience designed to guide and encourage students to think through problems themselves.
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