Learning Network: The winners of our “Growing Up With A.I.” challenge

February 26, 2026

Good morning! We are delighted to share with you the results of our fall multimedia challenge, in which both teens and teachers reflected on what coming of age alongside A.I. might mean for the generation in high school now. — The Learning Network

The Winners of Our “Growing Up With A.I.” Challenge

An illustration of a tired-looking teacher facing a row of three desks full of robots, labeled ChatGPT, Gemini and DeepSeek. The chalk board shows a math equation; a poster reads "Think for Yourself."

Jiyan Turan

Every fall we invite teenagers to address a big question facing their generation, and we allow them to do it in whatever medium they like, whether words, images, audio or video.

This time around, our focus felt obvious, and, because we hoped teachers and students would explore it together, we invited educators to submit too. “What’s it like to think, create, teach and learn at a time when artificial intelligence is transforming our world?” we asked, and over 2,500 people answered — in poetry, paintings, essays, sculptures, rap songs, charts, cartoons, podcasts, videos and at least one satirical Terms of Service agreement.

We are thrilled to share with you our favorite student and teacher pieces, which both address our question and pose important questions of their own.

We hope you’ll read the two together, and we also hope you’ll leave comments for these creators telling them what you noticed, what you learned and what will stay with you after you close these pages.

Recent Times reporting about A.I. and schools

Students at North Star Academy Washington Park High School in Newark can use A.I. chatbots to explore career pathways or hone their writing skills. Juan Arredondo for The New York Times

Artificial intelligence companies are urging teachers to prepare students for an “A.I.-driven future.” What that means varies from school to school.
Meanwhile, teachers say they want to equip high school students to drive artificial intelligence, rather than be mere passengers steered by chatbots.
A new study from the Pew Research Center finds teenagers think chatbot-assisted cheating has become “a regular feature of student life.”
Finally, is A.I. changing the way you teach writing? The Times Education section wants to hear from high school teachers and college professors.

More teaching resources from The Learning Network

A graph showing where the world gets its A.I. with companies based in China, the United States, Switzerland and France on the left, and the places they are operating facilities on the right.

Source: Oxford University

An A.I.-focused “What’s Going On in This Graph?”: Although we often think of artificial intelligence as existing solely online, it actually requires massive, physical data centers to function. As the world increasingly relies on A.I., companies and countries worldwide are racing to build these new computing hubs. Invite your students to post about what they notice and wonder.
A free webinar for classrooms about how A.I. is changing our lives : On March 4 at 1 p.m. Eastern, bring your students to learn from Kashmir Hill, a Times Tech reporter, and Joanna Kao, a senior editor leading the Pulitzer Center’s A.I. Accountability Network.

Student Activity: Are A.I.-generated songs sad and empty? Discuss.

In this short video, the Times music critic Jon Caramanica argues that they are. Ask your students …

What moments in the film stood out for you? Why?
Were there any surprises? Anything that challenged what you know — or thought you knew?
Do you listen to music created by artificial intelligence? Do you think it’s any good?
Will A.I. generated songs ever achieve the originality and emotional power of music made by humans?

We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to LNfeedback@nytimes.com. More next week.

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