Here's what educators can do as this technology evolves.

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. 

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. Apps like Lensa use AI with images, and some programs generate images that are truly eerie—or utterly unethical. Google has an AI music generator. And while no AI has achieved true, Westworld-style self-awareness yet, there are plenty of examples of "companion" AI programs 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 there 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:

• Plagiarism

  • One of the biggest worries for teachers is plagiarism. Already, students are handing in AI-generated essays as their own. 

• 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.

• 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.

What It Means for the Future

Because the development of technology won't slow down enough for us to truly think about—and plan for—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, more AI won't necessarily come along with more access to it. 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 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 continually learns from our inputs, whatever personal information we include is 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 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.

How to Handle Plagiarism

• Play with AI platforms yourself to understand what they can and can't do. Plug in your prompts and test them.

• Get to know students' writing as much as possible.

• Do some writing in class, staying mindful of some students' limitations to do so.

• Use formative assessment to get snapshots of progress over time.

• Evaluate your prompts and try to include a student-centered approach that features emotional intelligence and experience. As one teacher says, "If you don't want generic answers, don't ask generic questions."

• Test AI tools together and discuss their limitations.

• As a last resort, there are tools you can use to detect AI, but be aware that they aren't perfect and flag plagiarism where it doesn't exist almost half of the time.

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

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?

• Use facial recognition as an example, since we know it already exhibits bias. What will it take to minimize that bias? How can we prevent AI from perpetuating existing problems?

• 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?

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

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 AI has 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

More Tools and Resources

Lessons and Tips

• Artificial Intelligence: Is It Plagiarism?

• AI Literacy Lesson Collection

• Curated Lives

• Are Deepfake Videos a Threat to Democracy?

• Do Algorithms Influence Our Lives and Our Democracy?

• EdWeb: Transforming Education with AI: What Educators Need to Know

• Guide to ChatGPT for Parents and Caregivers

• Helping Kids Navigate the World of Artificial Intelligence

• Teaching With AI: A Educators' Guide from Open AI

Tools and Resources

• Lesson and Tools for Teaching About Artificial Intelligence

• Classroom Tools That Use AI

• Free Resources to Explore and Use AI

Christine Elgersma is Senior Editor, Learning Content, Strategy which means she manages the newsletter about learning, edits writing about learning, and loves to learn. Before coming to Common Sense, she helped create ELA curriculum for a K-12 app and taught the youth of America as a high school teacher, a community college teacher, a tutor, and a special education instructional aide for about 18 years. Christine is also a writer, primarily of fiction and essays, and loves to read all manner of books. When she's not putting on a spontaneous vaudeville show with her daughter, Christine loves nature, music, and almost any form of dark chocolate.

Get an educator-focused approach to information, concerns, and uses for these powerful tools.

The topic of artificial intelligence (AI) brings up all kinds of feelings as well as valid arguments about where the technology is heading, how to use it ethically, and what kind of guardrails are necessary for kids before it evolves even further (using social media as a cautionary tale). But some things about AI are certain: It's here, kids are using it, and we probably will too. 

Keeping in mind the many changes to come, how can we use it right now? For one thing, we can keep reading think pieces, even while we make it work for us because ultimately, that's what it's for. Just like with any other tech tool, the key is figuring out how to use it effectively, rather than letting it use us. 

As we explore, it's crucial to keep students at the center of the discussions and encourage critical thinking about this emerging technology. To that end, you can use the lists of "questions to consider" included in each section for yourself and in your classroom.

Get Informed

It's great to start by learning the basics about AI because it's definitely not a monolith. This technology has been around for quite a while in various forms, and it's likely that you already use it on a daily basis (in features like autocomplete and social media algorithms)! Below you'll find some beginner-level explainers, in-depth reports, and webinars to help you understand the different types of AI a bit better. OpenAI even has its own guide for educators with information and application tips!

Explainers

• Our AI Literacy lesson collection has clear explanations of AI generally, chatbots, algorithms, and more. 

• This article from the New York Times is a great resource if you just want to start at the beginning and work toward generative AI, like ChatGPT. It also links out to other explainers.

• These primers from Aspen Digital cover the basics of AI, generative AI, and lots of terminology.

• This Fox News article might clarify the more theoretical terminology, from "narrow intelligence" to self-aware AI.

• As far as the types of AI used in educational settings, this article from the University of San Diego lists many current and future applications.

Reports

• This U.S. Dept of Education report is very comprehensive and has tons of great info. Use the links in the table of contents to jump around to sections of interest.

• This report from Stanford is an ongoing effort to track the impact of AI on lots of different sectors. There are topline summaries and individual chapters, including one on education.

• The Wall Street Journal has a collection of articles on various concerns about AI.

Webinars

• Our joint EdWeb with AIEdu is a great place to start to get information tailored to K-12 education.

• When ChatGPT first exploded, there were some calls to ban it, especially in schools, so our webinar addresses that issue.

• Digital Promise hosted a webinar all about AI and its potential impact on schools.

• This webinar series is hosted by the Media Education Lab and covers the various impacts of AI in the classroom.

Podcasts

• AI Literacy is a good podcast (especially the first episode) to get your footing around AI.

• Practical AI has this episode that gives some background information on large language model AI.

• AI Quick Bits has really brief episodes, mostly focusing on AI in the present and less on possible future implications.

Questions to consider

• What types of AI do you use on a daily basis (like autocomplete, social media algorithms, etc.)? What types are you less familiar with?

• Do you have a basic understanding of how the AI you're using works?

• What data feeds it? Your own? Other people's content? An up-to-date data set, or one that only includes a specific time frame? 

• What does the company's privacy policy say about how they use your data and the information you input?

Be Aware

Of course, part of understanding AI is knowing how its pitfalls and limitations can affect everyone, but this is especially important when it comes to kids. Privacy issues, biased content, and misinformation are just some downsides. There are also considerations around mature content and how kids interact with tech that acts eerily human. Beyond that, there are tons of unknowns. Below are some resources that address some key issues.

Privacy and surveillance

• This article from CNN breaks down the reasons you shouldn't share personal information with generative AI, including personal photos or videos. 

• Since AI has been used for things like facial recognition programs for a while, more sophisticated AI introduces new concerns around surveillance (and its embedded discrimination).

• As various types of AI evolve and are integrated into platforms we're already using, it will scrape and store more data to feed that AI.

Ethics, equity, and access

• Current generative AI is built using proven biased data, so it's essentially flawed. Decisions based on AI, ranging from placement in a certain math class all the way up to home ownership and resume screening can perpetuate that bias and inequity. 

• Its current use in the criminal justice system and for legal purposes also illustrates these issues.

• Similarly, generative AI's lack of representation of all people (and sometimes explicitly prejudicial output) could negatively affect kids' sense of identity.

• Though AI can improve accessibility, it's worth considering that, while programs like ChatGPT were free at first, premium fees give users more features that not everyone can afford (like up-to-date information). 

• Because generative AI is meant to model natural language, it uses a first-person point of view ("I") and is meant to be conversational. This element can certainly be confusing for kids, especially if it's integrated into products aimed at developing a parasocial relationship.

Misinformation and mature content

• Not only is there already false information online, but generative AI can also invent completely false content all on its own.

• With prompting and active attempts to exploit loopholes, it's possible to get a chatbot to say many things that are false and harmful.

• By nature, AI and the bot in question are meant to be relatable and helpful. Along those lines, it makes untrue claims about itself that make it seem more human.

• As with all online information, there's always mature content, and generative AI is often no exception.

Questions to consider

• What data was used to train this AI? Is the training ongoing? What biases are already embedded?

• How is this data collected, stored, and shared?

• How can we verify AI-generated information?

• Are the sources used to generate content cited? If not, in what ways is it ethically sound to use what's generated?

• When it comes to AI that's used for job hunting, legal investigation, housing applications, and more, how can we be sure the information is accurate and ethical? Who needs to be involved in its creation?

Play around (with privacy in mind)

Once you feel like you have your footing, experiment! Every day, there's a new tool to do things like create your own AI bot, generate images or videos, and stay organized. Without inputting any of your (or your students') private information, play around with these platforms. Below are some tips and tools.

Formulating prompts

• Just like there tips and tricks to do an effective Google search, there are some methods to optimize your use of generative (text-based) AI.

• Brian X Chen and others at the New York Times wrote a series about AI, including this installment about golden prompts: Use the instruction to "act as if" it's in a specific role or situation. For instance, you can tell it to act "as if you're explaining cell structure to a first grader" or "as if you're a biology teacher."

• Here's a list of tips to help you formulate a really effective prompt.

• You can also point out its mistakes to fine-tune your results!

• Instead of just generating one response to a prompt, build and save threads that become personalized bots, operating in contexts you've outlined.

Platforms to play with 

Note: Check privacy policies before using if you're concerned about privacy.

• There are more tools to try every day, but Infinite Drum is a simple one which allows you to choose sounds and rhythms to build your own beats.

• Text-to-image tools aren't super sophisticated yet, but they can come up with some interesting images!

• This tool lets you "talk to books," meaning that you create a prompt and quotations from books answer you.

• Jeremy Caplan from Wonder Tools created some personalized bots that he shares, so that's also an option!

Experiments to try

• You're bound only by your own imagination (and privacy considerations), but one interesting experiment is to have generative AI explain complex concepts or the plot of a famous novel, for example, as if it were explaining them to a young kid. It's one way to see how it can summarize and simplify.

• Using generative AI to write any type of song (even in a particular style) is an interesting experiment. It might also be useful to generate catchy rhymes to help kids remember concepts.

• For those more subversive experimenters, you can also try to test its limits (as we know kids do) and see how it handles requests that "confuse" it. These experiments can also be great discussion starters with students as they explore AI.

Questions to consider

• What are ways you'd like generative AI to work for you?

• Are there fun ways you might be able to use it in your classroom?

• Are there ways you can incorporate generative AI into existing assignments (without compromising student privacy)?

Integrate it

Once you feel ready to either use generative AI to help you accomplish your own tasks or even to use in your classroom, there are plenty of ideas out there. Plus, there are lots of ways to get students thinking about and discussing it. Check out some below.

Lessons, tools, and activities

• Our AI Literacy lesson collection is a great place to start.

• Check out our list of tools to help teach and learn about AI.

• And then take a look at our list highlighting tools that use AI.

• Wakelet has collected some lesson plans and learning activities about AI.

• AI for Teachers has a ton of activities, and you can sort by subject and grade!

• If you teach math, check out these resources from Edutopia.

• Don't have a ton of time? Use these subject-aligned Snapshot activities from aiEDU.

• The National Science Teaching Association also has case studies, lessons, and more for all grade levels.

• Murrow is a free tool for journalistic writing, which could be a helpful tool at various stages of the writing process.

Potential time-savers

• Ditch That Textbook offers a lot of specific ideas, both for classroom use and for your own purposes.

• THEJournal has some ideas around how teachers can use AI to help themselves.

• And Ivy Xu created a Twitter thread full of cool ideas to try.

Questions to consider

• Now that you've explored, have a sense of what's possible, and understand the limitations of generative AI, how do you think you can use it in your classroom or for your personal interests?

• What are some ways you can integrate discussions around AI into your existing curriculum?

• As AI (and other tech) evolves and becomes increasingly woven into our lives, how can we help kids think critically about the tools themselves and their use of them?

Christine Elgersma is Senior Editor, Learning Content, Strategy which means she manages the newsletter about learning, edits writing about learning, and loves to learn. Before coming to Common Sense, she helped create ELA curriculum for a K-12 app and taught the youth of America as a high school teacher, a community college teacher, a tutor, and a special education instructional aide for about 18 years. Christine is also a writer, primarily of fiction and essays, and loves to read all manner of books. When she's not putting on a spontaneous vaudeville show with her daughter, Christine loves nature, music, and almost any form of dark chocolate.