Is AI Eliminating Productive Struggle, and With It… Learning?

Recorded live at the 2026 ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, this session featured Barry Malkin, CEO at Carnegie Learning; Jon Laven, Co-Founder and COO at Snorkl; Melina Uncapher, CEO and Founder at SETA-ED; Kip Glazer, Principal at Mountain View High School; and Kristin Vincent, Vice President of Product at Learning Commons.The speakers explored how, in a world where AI could help students at every step, one of the hardest questions had become when not to help. They examined the critical tension emerging as AI became embedded in classrooms: whether these tools were accelerating learning or quietly removing the productive struggle that made learning stick.This session focused on how productive struggle showed up in AI-assisted learning environments and where the line lay between meaningful support and cognitive shortcutting. Panelists discussed what rigor truly meant when students had access to instant feedback, hints, and solutions, and how learners could still build conceptual understanding, perseverance, and metacognition when scaffolds were always within reach.Bringing together perspectives from learning science, instructional design, classroom practice, and education technology, the conversation examined how educators and system leaders could design instruction that preserved challenge while leveraging AI to personalize learning and expand access. At its core, this session offered a grounded look at how AI could be used intentionally—not to replace thinking, but to deepen it—through principled design, smart implementation, and a clearer understanding of when to step in, when to step back, and how to ensure AI strengthened rather than softened the learning experience.