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As artificial intelligence becomes more common in our schools and communities, we believe that technology should expand our humanity, not replace it. AI systems are powerful tool. They’re also energy-intensive, requiring significant electricity and water for model training, large data centers, and constant cooling. These environmental impacts are real, and as place-based educators, we have a responsibility to help learners understand the relationship between digital tools and the ecosystems that support them.
So what does that mean for teaching?
It means using AI intentionally—to automate tasks that drain teacher time and distract from the work humans are uniquely able to do: build relationships, observe local phenomena, ask better questions, engage with community partners, support identity development, and guide students in hands-on investigations of place. In other words, let the robots do the sorting, drafting, and number-crunching so that teachers and students can do the connecting, exploring, and meaning-making.
This balance mirrors the heart of place-based education: aligning learning with community, environment, and lived experience. When we use AI to free up time and bandwidth, we create more space to get students outside, collaborate with local experts, design authentic projects, and nurture a sense of belonging and responsibility to place.
AI has an environmental cost, and it also has the potential to support the human-centered teaching our communities need most. The key is keeping our compass pointed toward what humans do best.
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