“When no one was going to pay for the public schools anymore and they were all like filled with guns and drugs and English teachers who were really pimps and stuff, some of the big media congloms got together and gave all this money and bought the schools so that all of them could have computers and pizza for lunch and stuff, which they gave for free, and now we do stuff in classes about how to work technology and how to find bargains and what’s the best way to get a job and how to decorate our bedroom.” (M.T. Anderson, Feed)
You can’t go too far these days without seeing or hearing some AI related news. From ChatGPT in school to AI replacing actors, musicians, and writers in Hollywood, this nascent technology seems to have invaded all walks of life. Honestly, after the Summer of AI, I’m pretty sick of hearing about AI.
I find all the fawning, blind acceptance over AI problematic. In some giant instance of FOMO people continue to clamor to monetize ‘what AI can do for you’ programs. Sure, sure keep an open mind you say. I’m sure in 2050 AI in school will be like calculators in today’s classrooms. But, I have quite a bit of trepidation around how AI will impact school and society. To quote from the book of Public Enemy, “Don’t believe the hype. It’s a sequel.”
Maybe I’m just tired of self-serving CEOs selling a solution to a problem that their marketing department conjured up so they could make millions of dollars while screwing people over. Speaking of - if you thought robotic automation displacing American workers was a problem now, just wait until AI replaces the majority of workers in the US.
Somewhere someone (or group of someones) opened Pandora’s Box. It probably began with someone asking, “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” and soon they developed a cool toy without understanding the consequences or impact that technology would have on the world. So now we have an emergent technology capable of replicating human action that will, if left unchecked, has the potential to replace human beings. The roots of Skynet are now in place, but let’s not start freaking out yet.
Can we just pump the brakes a bit on AI? Here’s the thing people sell us on technology that will make our lives better, safer, easier, or more fun. The majority of that technology doesn’t really do much for us. In fact most of that technology replaces personal responsibility or discourages individuals from thinking for themself. “Welcome to the Attention Economy.”
A few examples from recent history include social media, all those recent automotive safety features, and e-bikes. In each case someone pushed these technologies and infused them into our lives without much thought (beyond profit) regarding the potential impact of these technologies on the lasting impact on human dynamics. Now the rest of us have to sift through the mess and figure out how to live with the consequences.
Perhaps too easy a target but connecting the world represented a central intention of social media. Turns out those connections are superficial and really not all that meaningful. Oh and there’s the social and emotional damage done to youth as a result of fixating on their feeds.
Almost all newer cars come with a variety of standard features that include drift protection, automatic braking, and hands free driving. All of this was done in the name of safety, and yet our roads are not more safe and in many cases more dangerous despite the infusion of safety technology. How could this be? Well, the driver no longer really has to pay attention. Instead of supporting safe driving behavior, these technologies actively promote less attentive, more distracted drivers. And finally let’s finish with the plague of e-bikes (which are in fact mopeds).
I abhor E-bikes . Billed as a way to encourage more people to ride bikes this technology aims at lowest common denominator human behavior. The bike industry only cares about selling more bikes, not what happens when people use their bikes. In my experience, the majority of E-Bike riders have too much speed and power without the requisite skill or knowledge of how to use that power or operate at speed. E-Bikes represent why more isn’t always better.
Sure, these technologies all have some upside and some appropriate uses, but with multitudes of people fawning over the latest and greatest technology appropriate uses fall by the wayside.
All of these technologies, including AI, have some things in common. First, the individual transfers power to a machine. Second, individuals surrender personal responsibility. Third, interactions, activities, and commitment become superficial. Just back while the machine thinks for you, does the work for you, or carries you onward.
AI has and will continue to have an impact in schools. Students rushed to AI programs to complete their assignments. Teachers soon thereafter started using AI to prep material and write grade reports. Why? Largely in response to the fact that those assignments are BS and because being a teacher really sucks these days in many parts of this country. Some creative educators have found ways to implement AI more intentionally into their curriculum. That’s cool, but maybe they're just assisting Cyberdyne Systems' eventual subjugation of human beings.
Ok forgetting how our world may soon reflect a science fiction novel from the 1950s, let’s finish with a focus on schools.
Not long ago I spent two hours helping a tutoring client revise an essay he wrote with an AI program for his history class. Hours later, after we fixed the misguided facts and switched out a majority of the words so it sounded more like his work, I made a few hundred dollars and he had a solid essay. While I enjoyed the money, I couldn’t help but think that if he had done the work himself he could have finished in half the time. “Hey Siri, what’s 6 times 8?” was bad enough, but AI may have even more grave consequences on learning in the future.
Understanding potential consequences should happen before not after the mess is made. If science fiction has taught us anything it’s that unchecked technology such as AI can have a horrendous impact on students and how we live our lives. As AI gains more of a foothold in schools, we will continue to dilute learning. Schools will become the educational equivalent of kiddie pools and students will be unable to think for themselves thanks to all the technology designed to make their life better.
AI has provided schools with an opportunity. However, it isn’t the opportunity most people think it is. We have a chance to rethink and reconsider what we teach and how we teach. Students use AI when they feel their assignments and their schooling have little meaning. Teachers use AI when they can’t keep up with the overwhelming demands of and rampant disrespect for their profession. Tech firms will bill AI as a way to make learning and teaching easier or more effective. Folks will buy what they’re selling since it’s easier than addressing the real issues and in 20 years teachers will have been replaced by video and AI.
So y’all can keep your AI for now. Enjoy making things easier, safer, etc. I’ll continue to focus on making school meaningful and engaging with a healthy mix of old school techniques blended with a dash of new school ideas. Pretty sure my students will outperform your students in the long run.