Daniel Buck argues that using artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce teachers’ routine workload can undermine the core work of teaching rather than improve it. He contends that tasks often labeled “administrative,” such as drafting emails, planning questions, and reviewing student work, actually drive reflection, judgment, and relationship-building. Buck, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former school administrator, warns that outsourcing these activities also outsources the thinking behind them. As he writes: “Far from being side tasks, they are the work of teaching itself.” He also argues that AI-generated feedback can weaken trust and reduce teacher understanding of student needs. For practice leaders, Buck frames AI as a potential efficiency tool that may also erode professional judgment, training quality, and human connection if overused.
