Publish at March 04 2026 Updated March 04 2026
Will there be a before and after to generative artificial intelligence accessible to the general public? Because if it's only been a few years (GPT public chat: November 2022), it seems as if this technology has already produced so much text, images and video, that we'll be able to see it all for centuries to come. All this raises a host of human questions, such as the notion of creation, intelligence, the place of humanity in activities, automation and so on.
The world of education has inevitably found itself in a grey area. On the one hand, these tools can easily prevent reflection and even learning, as algorithms lay down texts, summaries and give answers in a matter of seconds. On the other, preventing such technology from finding its way into classrooms and education systems is counterproductive. Especially as learners are already aware of their existence and make abundant use of them.
It would be utopian to believe that artificial intelligence is not already widely used in education. The school system is well aware of this, as it is crying out for a framework for its use. In a SOM survey of over 600 Quebec students aged 16 and over, published in January 2026, AI was used by almost 75% of respondents in a school setting. At university, the figure is 71%, compared with 1% of die-hards who refuse to use these tools. Most frequent uses :
Almost a third of respondents (31%) would admit to using AI in ways that contravene institutional rules. What's interesting in this survey is the ambivalence of learners, who increasingly admit to being dependent on the tool, while at the same time asserting (71% and 75% respectively) that it threatens academic integrity and leads to intellectual laziness. Two-thirds even believe that the answers offered are average to very poor. And yet, the need to use it several times a week and day is frequent. An anonymous student interviewed by Radio-Canada, which commissioned the study, commented:
I would say that AI leads to a lack of confidence in one's own thinking, and therefore, an inability to think for oneself.
A very interesting point of view, and a good representation of the relationship that can develop with a conversational robot. Given its speed of operation and the "certainty" of its answers, we end up doubting its knowledge, abilities and so on. For university teachers, this clearly demonstrates the importance of a pedagogical framework to guide usage.
Technically, in Quebec, this guide for higher education establishments (CEGEPs and universities) has been in existence since late summer 2025. This memo, which is intended to be general (and optional), came very late to the scene. It reiterates the priority of the human in the pedagogical relationship while promoting tutoring by AI; an approach denounced by some teachers who find that students already don't make enough use of the human tutoring slots available and who fear this dehumanization of studies.
The guide published by Quebec City is already a step in the right direction when it comes to reflecting on the uses of AI. Because teachers don't really blame students for using a tool that is within their reach and that, in some cases, can provide them with support to advance their work. Above all, they want the authorities to take the issue seriously and offer resources to better respond to the current situation.
A permanent advisory committee has been set up with a broad mandate, but the last meeting with the educational community in winter 2026 was rather unsatisfactory. More pedagogical uses were not addressed, while university and college federations were expecting more.
France's Ministry of Education also published its framework in the summer of 2025. Here again, the proposed modalities remain fairly general: be transparent in its uses (because yes, teachers can use it too), be careful about shared data, adapt assignments, etc.
Perhaps it's best to take a look at the one developed by professors Morris Nassi and Thomas Hormaza Dow of Champlain Saint-Lambert College in Quebec, which reflects on uses with the acronym RÉAGI :
This strategy could come close to the vision of Cadre21, to give another example, which proposes that educational establishments explore and experiment with uses, detect potentials and limits, and use these findings to create a governance framework that is genuinely close to the conclusions of teaching staff.
It seems clear that higher education needs to create frameworks, somewhat in a hurry, to strike a good compromise between prohibition and laissez-faire. However, primary and secondary schools find themselves with younger generations for whom AI will practically be part of their lives from birth. How do you educate them in this context?
CLEMI is banking, unsurprisingly, on the Media and Information Education present in the French school curriculum. This is very much in line with UNESCO's AI competency framework.
To use it without becoming dependent, without doubting oneself, to contribute something that would be truly impossible to do otherwise.
This kind of framework has also been devised for teachers in a reference framework by the same UN body. Here again, for each aspect, teachers are invited to acquire the basics, deepen them by starting to use them, and finally make use of the tools by reflecting on ethical, environmental, pedagogical and other issues.
The organization also takes this opportunity to point out that the subject requires a delicate touch, and that we must not fall into binary thinking. To close the door to this technology would be to deliberately blind ourselves; not to mark out uses would mean dehumanizing education and, in part, rendering learning obsolete.
References
Bussières McNicoll, Fannie. "Quebec (finally) publishes guides for using AI in CEGEPs and universities." Radio-Canada. Last updated: August 18, 2025. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2185975/guides-utilisation-ia-cegeps-universites-quebec.
Bussières McNicoll, Fannie. "Une rencontre sur l'AI qui laisse le milieu de l'enseignement supérieur sur sa faim." Radio-Canada. Last updated: February 16, 2026. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2228888/enseignement-superieur-intelligence-artificielle-ia.
Bussières McNicoll, Fannie, Nicholas De Rosa, andJeff Yates. "Exclusive survey: one in three students breaks the rules using AI." Radio-Canada. Last updated: January 28, 2026. https://ici.radio-canada.ca/recit-numerique/15239/sondage-intelligence-artificielle-ia-universite-cegep-etudiants.
"Framework for the use of AI in education." Ministère de l'Éducation nationale. Last updated: June 13, 2025. https://www.education.gouv.fr/cadre-d-usage-de-l-ia-en-education-450647.
Giroud, Nancie. "UNESCO publishes its AI Competency Framework for students." École branchée. Last updated: November 7, 2024. https://ecolebranchee.com/unesco-cadre-competences-ia-eleves/.
Hormaza Dow, Thomas, and Morris Nassi. "A framework for teaching judgment in the use of AI." Éductive. Last updated November 28, 2025. https://eductive.ca/ressource/un-cadre-de-reference-pour-enseigner-a-faire-preuve-de-jugement-dans-lutilisation-de-lia/.
"AI in education: a clear framework for better appropriation of uses." CLEMI. Last updated: June 24, 2025. https://www.clemi.fr/actualite/ia-en-education-un-cadre-clair-pour-mieux-sapproprier-les-usages.
"AI and the future of education: upheavals, dilemmas and prospects." UNESCO. Last updated: September 26, 2025. https://www.unesco.org/fr/articles/lia-et-le-futur-de-leducation-bouleversements-dilemmes-et-perspectives.
Munn, Yves. "AI in the classroom: tool or teacher?" Collimateur - Veille Pédagonumérique de l'UQÀM. Last updated: November 4, 2025. https://collimateur.uqam.ca/collimateur/lia-en-classe-outil-ou-enseignant/.
Pelchat, Maxime. "AI in education: from curiosity to concerted action." Cadre21. Last updated: July 7, 2025. https://cadre21.org/blogue/innovation/ia-en-education-de-la-curiosite-a-laction-concertee.
Ruel, Jonathan. "Guide pratique de non-utilisation de l'intelligence artificielle." Le Devoir. Last updated: November 15, 2025. https://www.ledevoir.com/actualites/le-devoir-de/933975/guide-pratique-non-utilisation-intelligence-artificielle.
"AI Competency Repository for Teachers." UNESCO. Last updated: January 16, 2026. https://www.unesco.org/fr/articles/referentiel-de-competences-en-ia-pour-les-enseignants.
Yang, Xingming, Sumayya Shaikh, Malak El Halabi, and Karine Revet. "ChatGPT at university: why framing is better than banning or laissez-faire." The Conversation. Last updated: June 23, 2025. https://theconversation.com/chatgpt-a-luniversite-pourquoi-encadrer-vaut-mieux-quinterdire-ou-laisser-faire-257364.
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