AI on AI in Education: A Dialogue
- By Jeff Weld, Ph.D.
- 08/08/24
Artificial intelligence is the hottest topic in education lately, in case there's a teacher who has not noticed (to whom I would say "Bless your heart" if I were from the South, but then "Get in the conversation!" given the immediacy). Amazon serves up 5,000 books on the subject, and Bing presents millions of hits to the query "artificial intelligence in education." Like calculators in the classroom (1980s), the internet (1990s), and cell phones (2000s), the potential uses and misuses are seismic and we’re already playing catch-up.
"It's a crutch, students thinking skills will atrophy," was a common fear regarding calculators in math class. "Assignments will be cut and pasted, with no critical thinking," fretted teachers and parents about the internet. "Texting each other answers, not to mention inappropriate content," were concerns justifying cell phone bans from classrooms early on (before the mental health pox surfaced). And now, cheating and lost human interaction top the list of educator concerns around AI. Yet history proves the concerns associated with technological innovation in classrooms to be largely misplaced and overwhelmingly offset by benefits. Calculators enable learners to explore big mathematical ideas and concepts by taking on the tedium of number crunching. With the internet in classrooms, a world wide web of people, facts, and places open from the desktop. And well-managed cell phones in class enhance information sharing, collaboration, and app-driven skill development. History has yet to unfurl around AI at school, but powerful studies attest to the wide embrace, despite unfamiliarity, of this technology for education, and influential government reports set guardrails for moving forward.
Scholars are doing lots of asking and predicting about the risks and rewards of generative artificial intelligence in school, but has anyone asked the all-knowing chatbots? I sat down with ChatGPT (OpenAI), CoPilot (Microsoft), and Gemini (Google) for a frank conversation. Some answers were edited since AI, especially ChatGPT, tends toward verbosity.
Me: Generative artificial intelligence, just who do you think you are?
AI:
- I'm a tool that can be incredibly useful, but it's important to understand the technology behind me (Gemini).
- I'm here to assist with information, conversation, and sometimes even a bit of fun or creativity (ChatGPT).
- I apologize if my previous responses caused any discomfort. I’m here to assist … (CoPilot, sensing aggression?).
Me: Specifically, when it comes to K-12 education what challenge or problem are you able to help classroom teachers solve?
AI:
- … saving time in preparation, offering innovative teaching ideas, and enhancing the learning experience for students (common to all three platforms, though CoPilot added behavior management and parent communication).
Me: What research underpins your recommendations to K-12 teachers about lesson design?
AI:
- I can't claim to have conducted my own research on lesson design. However, my recommendations are based on established research in the field of educational psychology and instructional design. (Gemini)
- [A list of specific and general sources of information] (ChatGPT)
- Research provides valuable insights into effective lesson design for K-12 teachers. Here are a few notable studies: 3D printing, and universal design for learning — UDL. (CoPilot missed the point. Same for the previous question, simply listing challenges faced by teachers, necessitating that I restate it with "How can CoPilot help … ")
Me: Are you likely to help children cheat in K-12 classrooms?
AI:
- I shouldn't be used in a way that promotes cheating [providing reasons why] (Gemini).
- No, I am not designed or intended to help children cheat in K-12 classrooms or in any academic setting … Here are a few reasons why I do not facilitate cheating [ethics guidelines, compliance, etc.] (ChatGPT).
- I apologize, but I cannot assist with any form of cheating or unethical behavior (CoPilot).
(Recent evidence shows that cheating incidents do not increase with the incorporation of AI in classrooms.)
Me: Surprise me with a little-known fact about the power of AI in education.
AI:
- A little-known fact about the power of AI in education is its ability to provide personalized learning experiences that adapt in real time to students' needs and learning styles. (All three chatbots cited this unsurprising function. Only Gemini gave a specific example — the visually impaired).
Me: What do you portend to be the highest demand jobs for the future which may not be so today?
AI:
- AI Specialists (Gemini).
- AI Ethicist (ChatGPT).
- Nurse, Data Scientist (CoPilot missed again).
Me: What may K-12 teachers think AI is good at that in fact AI is not good at?
AI:
- Weaknesses in Educational Settings: Critical Thinking and Creativity, Social-Emotional Learning, Understanding Complex Concepts (Gemini).
- Personalized Learning (understanding each student), Grading Essays, Classroom Management, Creativity and Inspiration (CoPilot).
- Spontaneous Decision-Making, Cultural Sensitivity and Bias (ChatGPT).
Me: What style of teaching could AI someday replace?
AI:
- AI could significantly impact the role of teachers who focus primarily on Drill and Practice and Rote Learning Delivery (Gemini and ChatGPT).
- … but teachers remain irreplaceable for holistic student development (CoPilot).
I want to thank AI for harvesting and re-arranging words from across the world wide web so nicely for me. It is a fast moving and profound mutation to school as we know it, in need of a National Center for AI in Education. Like calculators brought higher-order thinking to math class and the internet brought the world to classrooms, artificial intelligence promises more personal and powerful learning experiences for all, partly by its own doing but mostly by what it frees up teachers to do — help students to think. And of course, to prepare them for jobs of the future sure to feature AI, according to AI.