AI Chat Bot Use in the Classroom Gone Wrong: Implications for Students,Teachers,and Schools

Abstract

This article presents a case where a teacher makes an experimental assignment choice using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). Ninth-grade creative writing students are asked to complete a poetry project using GenAI as a tool to brainstorm or reinforce their work. Because students are prompting GenAI with a creative assignment, the tools may respond differently than they do with non-creative prompts. For example, prompting GenAI to help in a creative writing context may cause the tool to forgo sharing mental health resources and encourage a user to pursue certain dangerous actions. In this case, a bullied student uses his AI tool beyond the assignment parameters, resulting in his suicide.

Keywords

bullying (school based)cyberbullying GenAI suicidal ideation suicide

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ajibewa

T. A.

Kershaw

K. N.

Carnethon

M. R.

Heard-Garris

N. J.

Beach

L. B.

Allen

N. B.

(2025). Peer bullying victimization, psychological distress, and the protective role of school connectedness among adolescents. BMC Public Health, 25, Article 2763. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-24002-6

Akdeniz

Doğan

. (2024). Cyberbullying: Definition, prevalence, effects, risk and protective factors. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar, 16(3), 425–438.

Baillifard

Gabella

Lavenex

P. B.

Martarelli

C. S.

(2025). Effective learning with a personal AI tutor: A case study. Education and Information Technologies, 30, 297–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12888-5

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Anti-bullying policies and enumeration: An infobrief for local education agencies. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://odphp.health.gov/healthypeople/tools-action/browse-evidence-based-resources/anti-bullying-policies-and-enumeration-infobrief-local-education-agencies

Chen

L. M.

Liu

K. S.

Cheng

Y. Y.

(2012). Validation of the perceived school bullying severity scale. Educational Psychology, 32(2), 169–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2011.633495

De Luca

Nocentini

Menesini

. (2019). The teacher’s role in preventing bullying. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 1830. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01830

Espelage

D. L.

Hong

J. S.

Valido

. (2023). Cyberbullying. In Harris

K. R.

Graham

Urdan

(Eds.), Handbook of Educational Psychology (4th ed., pp. 654–673). Routledge.

Espelage

D. L.

Ingram

K. M.

Hong

J. S.

Merrin

G. J

. (2022). Bullying as a developmental precursor to sexual and dating violence across adolescence: Decade in review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 23(4), 1358–1370.

Farrington

D. P.

(2012). Understanding and preventing bullying. In Tonry

(Ed.), Crime and justice: A review of research (Vol. 17, pp. 381–458). University of Chicago Press.

10.

GLSEN. (n.d.). Model district anti-bullying & harassment policy. https://www.glsen.org/activity/model-district-anti-bullying-harassment-policy

11.

Gouseti

James

Fallin

Burden

(2025). The ethics of using AI in K-12 education: A systematic literature review. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 34(2), 161–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/1475939X.2024.2428601

12.

Hall

(2017). The effectiveness of policy interventions for school bullying: A systematic review. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 8(1), 45–69. https://doi.org/10.1086/690565

13.

Hatzenbuehler

M. L.

Flores

J. E.

Cavanaugh

J. E.

Onwuachi-Willig

Ramirez

M. R.

(2017). Anti-bullying policies and disparities in bullying: A state-level analysis. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(2), 184–191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.02.004

14.

Hong

J. S.

Lee

(2020). The effects of bullying on schoolchildren. In Ringel

Brandell

J. R.

(Eds.), Trauma: Contemporary directions in trauma theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 256–273). Columbia University Press. https://doi.org/10.7312/ring18886-010

15.

Hymel

Swearer

S. M.

(2015). Four decades of research on school bullying: An introduction. American Psychologist, 70(4), 293–299. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038928

16.

Jadva

Guasp

Bradlow

J. H.

Bower-Brown

Foley

(2023). Predictors of self-harm and suicide in LGBT youth: The role of gender, socio-economic status, bullying and school experience. Journal of Public Health, 45(1), 102–108.

17.

Marsh

V. L.

(2018). Bullying in school: Prevalence, contributing factors, and interventions. Warner School of Education, University of Rochester. https://www.rochester.edu/warner/cues/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/bullying_FINAL.pdf

18.

Miles

P. J.

Campbell

Ruxton

G. D.

(2022). Why students cheat and how understanding this can help reduce the frequency of academic misconduct in higher education: A literature review. The Journal of Undergraduate Neuroscience Education, 20(2), A150–A160.

19.

Office of the Surgeon General. (2023). Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation: The U.S. surgeon general’s advisory on the healing effects of social connection and community. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37792968/

20.

Olweus

. (1993). Bullying at school: What we know and what we can do. Blackwell.

21.

Ray

McDermott

C. D.

Nicho

. (2024). Cyberbullying on social media: Definitions, prevalence, and impact challenges. Journal of Cybersecurity, 10(1), tyae026.

22.

Sam Altman . (2025). We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made [Post]. X. https://x.com/sama/status/1978129344598827128

23.

Swearer

S. M.

Garcia

A. G.

Damme

A. M.

Palmon

Asay

N. J.

Scalora

M. J

. (2020). Effective bullying prevention and intervention strategies for school professionals. In Worrell

F. C.

Hughes

T. L.

Dixson

D. D.

(Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of applied school psychology (pp. 388–408). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108235532.023

24.

U.S. Department of Education. (2018). Anti-bullying policies and enumeration: Fact sheet. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-HE20_7300-PURL-gpo221082/pdf/GOVPUB-HE20_7300-PURL-gpo221082.pdf

25.

van Aalst

D. A. E.

Huitsing

Veenstra

. (2022). A systematic review on primary school teachers’ characteristics and behaviors in identifying, preventing, and reducing bullying. International Journal of Bullying Prevention, 6, 124–137. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42380-022-00145-7

26.

Zhang

Hong

J. S.

Hao

Lee

N. Y.

Piquero

A. R

. (2022). A latent transition analysis of youth bullying victimization patterns over time and their relations to delinquency. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(7–8), NP5442–NP5470. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260520958635