A randomized classroom study suggests that giving teachers AI teaching assistants can reduce student motivation and exam performance, especially among students taught by weaker instructors. Researchers working with a ChatGPT-based assistant randomized 193 teachers and more than 2,800 middle and high school students in a private school chain in Turkey during spring 2025. Teachers assigned to the AI condition used the tool mainly to generate lecture notes, assignments, and exams over 10 weeks. Students in that group rated classes less enjoyable, less interesting, and less important, and the study’s authors reported lower standardized final-exam scores. Lead author Alp Sungu, an assistant professor at the Wharton School, argued the pattern reflects “crutch” use—delegating work rather than improving teaching interaction—echoing earlier concerns about student AI misuse.