AI Does Not Belong in Schools

You may disagree, but shouldn't we be cautious?

I have been an English teacher since 2006, and the rush to implement AI systems in school first led to my concerns about it and the decision to start this newsletter. Before the big push to use AI in school, I wasn’t paying much attention to AI.

Let me as clear as I can on this. Students need to learn to think, and any AI system that helps them to plan, research, organize, or perform any other thinking process is simply wrong.

I’ve been vocal about this at my school. Some people laugh and others look at me with curiosity. Regardless, I’m not going to encourage or even allow my students to use AI for any assignments. Luckily, I was already planning on retiring from teaching in June 2024, so I can hold off until then, but I do wonder how bad it is going to get in the future. I should add that I am having my sixth-grade students read articles about AI, although the articles are about potential negative effects and dangers of implementing AI. I don’t feel bad about this. Instead, I see it as helping my students develop a balanced perspective on AI.

I am not alone in this, although it sometime feels that way lately at school. There are many articles and others speaking out about their concerns. On Dec. 1 the TechBusinessNews.com.au website published an article titled, “ChatGPT May Lead To The Downfall Of Education And Critical Thinking.” What a great title!

The article begins with a profound statement: “While artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT have the potential to revolutionize the way we interact with technology, they may also have unintended consequences when it comes to education and critical thinking.”