No matter where you look, Artificial Intelligence is all around us. It’s the first result of every Google search, it creates advertisements on billboards and TV commercials, and it’s even being integrated into drive-thrus or the hiring process for many jobs. With the recent spike of popularity in AI use, it was only a matter of time before it found its way into schools.
This school year marked a distinct shift in Southeast Polk’s policies surrounding AI use. Prior to this year, students were strictly prohibited from utilizing AI to complete assignments or essays. Now, students are being told to use chatbots on Magic School AI for their science classes, and Hippie History students reported being told to speak to an AI chatbot of former president Richard Nixon to learn about the Watergate scandal.
If Artificial Intelligence is still such an experimental technology, what caused the quick switch up from AI being discouraged to encouraged in school?
Spanish teacher Ana-Cara Van Dyck is a part of Southeast Polk’s Edu-AI Collective, an organization of educators that is currently testing how different forms of AI can be woven into school curricula.
“We are trying to focus on what AI looks like in the classroom, and exploring what tools are available for students so they can prepare themselves for future AI use,” said Van Dyck.
One of the primary concerns that has been raised by the uptick in AI in education is the loss of student integrity. What is the point of continuing to educate children if they will simply make ChatGPT do it for them?
To combat this, the Edu-AI Collective is creating an AI use scale for teachers to apply to different class assignments and activities. The scale is still in development, but it is looking to be similar to Standard Based Grading, where a zero would prohibit AI use for an activity, a one would allow for a minimal amount of AI, and so on.
Increased AI usage also raises the question of its environmental impact. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, a large AI data center uses the same amount of freshwater daily as a town with a population of 10,000 to 50,000 people, or five million gallons per day.
Van Dyck is hopeful that AI technology will become more environmentally friendly as it keeps evolving, but the most the collective can do right now is continue to help students adapt to an AI driven world.
“AI is not going away. It’s unrealistic that a person won’t use AI for everyday needs in five to ten years, so we are helping students become more conscientious towards AI use,” said Van Dyck.
