ChatGPT and Beyond: How to Handle AI in Schools

Have you ever heard anyone joke about robots taking over the world? Those quips were based on a reality that felt impossibly far ahead, but now there's a certain anxiety behind them. Artificial intelligence, or AI, is very real and pretty powerful. And while tools like ChatGPT have captured headlines, we interact with AI every day we're online. 

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So what is it, exactly? It comes in several forms, from simple automation to social intelligence. Algorithms control what ads we see online, the movement of self-driving cars, and those bots that pop up to answer questions when we're shopping online. Programs like Sora can create entire videos from a text prompt. And while no AI has achieved true, Westworld-style self-awareness yet, there are plenty of examples of "companion" AI chatbots meant to stand in as friends. There are even AI-generated personas and social media stars!

We also see AI at work in schools. Some edtech uses adaptive learning, which is a form of AI, and facial recognition also qualifies. But generative AI—like writing tools that can create whole essays based on a simple prompt (like ChatGPT and Bard)—is a relatively new frontier, especially in classrooms. While predictive text is something we encounter in Google Docs or text messaging, it's pretty novel to have a program deliver an entire piece of writing based on simple questions or requests. And while its ability to create truly original content isn't that sophisticated just yet, it's still a concern for many educators.

Current Concerns

As technology evolves and becomes more sophisticated, it's understandable that we're uneasy about actual and anticipated challenges. Here are some current concerns:

• Abuses 
  • Deepfakes are pictures, videos, and audio files that look or sound like someone you know (a celebrity, a political figure, or even a family member). This can also include nude images or pornographic videos generated with AI and without a person's consent. Kids are already using so-called "nudifying" apps to generate nude images of classmates.
• Biases and misinformation
  • AI can only learn from its source(s), so it takes on the biases, misinformation, and problematic content of the original material. And if the team of developers isn't representative, it's almost guaranteed that implicit bias will be woven into the framework of the tool, as facial recognition has illustrated.
• Environmental impacts 
  • Generative AI requires an enormous amount of energy and other resources, including fresh water as a cooling mechanism. In an age when we already have many climate concerns, the growing use of AI only adds to these issues.
• Ethics 
  • Because AI tools scrape content from a wide variety of sources, the material produced is a mixture of many other people's work, and there's often no consistent or complete credit for creators. Plus, data privacy is a murky and multi-layered issue when it comes to generative AI.
• Plagiarism
  • One of the biggest worries for teachers is plagiarism

    . Already, students are handing in AI-generated essays as their own. 

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How to Handle Concerns

With all of these worries and uncertainties, it's no wonder that some educators are overwhelmed by the whole idea. But try not to panic! There are things we can do and resources we can use.

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How to Handle Abuses

• Get in front of potential problems by teaching AI literacy and having discussions about the technology's harmful applications.
• Make students aware that deepfakes exist online already, so it's good to be skeptical about audio and video that's especially shocking or shared widely to get an emotional response. People can still spot some imperfections, but they're getting more difficult to identify!
• Talk about consent when it comes to content. Just like you should ask before taking a picture or video of someone, it's important to get someone's approval before even thinking about feeding their image into an AI tool. Encourage kids' empathy by asking how they might feel if someone posted something embarrassing about—or of—them. 
• Be clear about the consequences of using AI to generate pornographic images. Tell students that they may see apps to create nude pictures advertised on platforms like TikTok. Though they may be curious or think it's funny (because the pictures aren't "real"), using AI to generate nude pictures of someone is harassment and likely illegal. It doesn't just harm the victim—law enforcement could get involved. Victims should tell a trusted adult, report to authorities, and can also report the incident to CyberTipline.org.

How to Handle Biases and Misinformation

• Show students examples of images generated by AI tools with specific prompts, and discuss the biases illustrated in the output.
• Use media (like sci-fi movies, shows, and books) to introduce discussions about algorithmic bias, the flaws of facial recognition, and more. 
• Remind students to include requests for source links when they're using AI to do research. (Some tools will supply links to their source material, when requested.) Ask students to check each link.
• Tell students about AI hallucinations. Explain that AI can combine information from its data sets to generate complete fabrications. AI tools can also claim to feel love, experience various human senses, and more. So it's important for students (especially younger ones) to understand that an AI chatbot may sound like a real person, but it's designed that way—by real people.

How to Handle Environmental Impacts

• Give students age-appropriate context about global climate change and Earth's resources. 
• Inform students about the heavy resource load required to use generative AI. How about cellphones? Computers? How does advanced technology impact the planet?
• Highlight the people working to limit these negative impacts and find solutions to environmental issues.

A focus on transparency is needed as more and more corporations start including AI in their products. — Andrea, 17

How to Handle the Ethics Involved

• Talk about the sketchy ethics of how generative AI works, but also get into a larger discussion about the impacts of technological developments and how we could/should be handling them.
• Talk about the existing digital divide and what new developments will mean for people who can't afford them. What happens as tools like this start to cost money for more features?
• Discuss the protection of intellectual property. What guardrails do we need if we want to get ahead of potential problems?
• Talk about data privacy. What information does AI currently collect, and what might it gather in the future? How does it use the information you give it? Talk about the potential impacts of an AI that can piece together data about you from everywhere online.

How to Handle Plagiarism

Programs like ChatGPT lack the ability to form emotional connections with readers. We cannot rob writing of human emotion. — Rose, 18

What It Means for the Future

Because the development of technology won't slow down enough for us to think about—and plan for—all of its implications, we can explore this uncertainty with students.

• Smarter and faster
  • Over time, AI is only going to get more powerful and further woven into everyday life, probably in more ways than we can currently expect, both positive and negative.
• New access issues 
  • In terms of school, better AI tools won't necessarily match pace with more access to them. We're already grappling with a digital divide, and ChatGPT has a paid version. That means any advantage that some kids get will give them yet another edge over kids whose families or schools can't afford it. 
• Increased privacy issues
  • We also don't know all of the impacts that AI will have on privacy. If we've learned one thing, it's that data is a hot commodity. Plus, because AI continuously learns from our inputs, whatever personal information we include is potentially up for grabs. 
• Changes to job markets and skills
  • Finally, we can only guess at all of the ways AI will change the job market. Preparing students for a world we can't quite even imagine is a true challenge.

How to Handle Considerations for the Future

• Be futurists: Ask students what they think AI is doing to reshape the job market, and what skills they think they'll need.
• Create a project-based assignment that lets students do some research around this tech that will surely shape their lives. 
• Talk about what regulations should apply to AI and what policies the government should develop.

As technology rapidly improves, we learn to embrace it and ChatGPT should be no exception. — Audrey, 17

Other Ways to Use It

On the flip side of all of these concerns, however, is the utility: What if you could just ask an AI program to write a lesson plan, a letter home, an email? Play around with it and figure out how AI might serve you. It is a tool, after all! What if AI could give you some of what so many teachers deeply need but never have enough of (other than money)—TIME!

• Make it work for you! Take a look at this post from Ditch That Textbook to get some great ideas for use.
• Have students use coding to write their own algorithms.
• Have students write to a prompt and compare their results with those of an AI program. Dig into the differences.
• Use AI to generate art, noting the origins of its materials. 
• Get into the math behind algorithms and machine learning.
• Discuss the many uses of AI in science: How can something like an algorithm or generative AI help move scientific research forward?
• Talk about the impacts of new technologies—including AI—on civilizations and societies in history and today.

I typically talk about what the most common college application essay topics are, but this year I made ChatGPT write those essays! We'll talk about what the AI did well and didn't do well and ways they could use it to help them with their college application process: Make a list of the application deadlines and required essays or a schedule of when all the application materials are due. — Patricia Monticello Kievlan, Educator

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