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BC
October 5, 2025The “active learning” framing is marketing spin for what’s essentially Socratic questioning with variable quality. I’ve tested similar prompt patterns locally – asking models to quiz rather than explain directly. It works when the model understands the domain well enough to generate meaningful follow-up questions, but breaks down quickly in specialized topics where the model starts hallucinating plausible-sounding but incorrect quiz questions.
The “occasional inaccuracies” disclaimer greatly downplays the problem. When testing models on technical content, I’ve observed error rates of 15-30% on factual claims, and even higher for recent information or niche topics. The problem isn’t just occasional mistakes—it’s that the model confidently provides incorrect information in the same tone as correct details, making verification necessary but cumbersome for students who assume AI outputs are trustworthy.
The “limited emotional intelligence” critique misses the bigger pedagogical problem: the model can’t actually assess whether you’ve learned something or are just pattern-matching responses. In my testing, models accept superficial answers as demonstrating understanding when deeper probing would reveal gaps. A human tutor recognizes when a student is bullshitting; the model takes your word for it and moves on.
The over-reliance warning is backwards. The risk isn’t students becoming dependent on AI for answers – it’s students building confidence in knowledge they don’t actually have because the AI confirmed their misunderstandings or filled gaps with plausible fiction. Testing this locally, models regularly validated incorrect explanations I intentionally fed them, then built on those errors in subsequent questions.