Education · 2026-10-18

Why the dark history of IQ tests matters for AI and education

The authors of an article from The Conversation explain that knowing the past of intelligence tests is worth it when AI is used in schools and when evaluating people.

✨ What the article covers

The article on The Conversation website examines the history of IQ tests, that is, tests of 'intelligence'. The authors explain why this history matters for modern AI technologies and for education.

IQ tests appeared more than a hundred years ago. They were once used to assess people and explain inequality, and many critics believe such tests often reflected bias rather than real abilities.

📌 Connection to AI and school

Today AI systems increasingly assess students' knowledge, select tasks, or even predict academic performance. If such systems are based on old ideas about 'intelligence,' they may repeat the same mistakes.

That is why the authors stress that, before trusting assessment algorithms, it is useful to understand where ideas about measuring intelligence came from and what problems they had.

Sources: 🔗 Google News