It's an understatement say that the development of critical thinking skills in US schools is lacking. For example, it's estimated that 1 out of 3 Americans believe that all life has existed in it's present form since the beginning of time.[1] Educating these people is difficult because they are trained by their parents and religious leaders to mistrust professors[2] and other experts from an early age. It's much easier to ban bots.

[1] http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/02/10/darwin-day/

[2] http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/13/republicans-...