From elementary classrooms to college labs, AI is changing how students learn STEM. It offers personalization, collaboration, and efficiency, but it also risks skill loss, academic dishonesty, and teacher frustration. Context and guidance are key. When paired with training, structured use, and attention to ethical issues, AI can evolve from a destabilizing force into a scaffold for critical thinking and real-world readiness. It’s an urgent issue, because AI is developing so fast that the changes it can bring could well escape our ability to manage them.