Should We Use AI in the Classroom?

Unfortunately when new technologies emerge, the question that often gets asked is “how can we use this?”, when in reality the real question is “should we?”. In my undergrad one of my favourite classes I took was about designing the interface for a website. I worked many hours with my peers on our project and I felt real passion about the work I was doing. When we got to see the other groups there was of course one that was far superior to ours. This group has used AI and in all fairness they were allowed to do so in this course. I no longer felt passionate about my work, what I was once proud of was outdone by a project that took the other group less than a tenth of the time. 

In education I think we need to ask this question. Should our students use AI? While it is becoming increasingly widespread in the workforce and is something they will certainly use, does using it replace true passion. As educators we should motivate our students to pursue more than just academic performance but real fulfillment in their interests. Should we encourage future musicians in our class to prompt AI for their songs? Should we encourage our artistic students to use AI for their artworks? Schools are not just institutions to become educated, they are environments to become inspired. 

When we used to dream about artificial intelligence we imagined one day it would benefit the world, that we would be free to pursue the arts while hard labour was taken care of. Now it feels like the opposite, we constantly replace real art with AI and yet the safest careers are the ones in labour industries. Students should be able to pursue their passions, and even if they are not passionate about a subject school is about getting them to try all avenues. If a student is not great at art they should still try to paint. 

There will certainly be times our students will need to use AI and I am not simply saying to not teach them and let them go into the workforce unprepared. What I ask is that are we using AI merely to replace work? Productive struggle is what drives students to learn, it is what gives them confidence in their own abilities once they finally figure it out. An overreliance on AI in the classroom robs students of both their passion and their learning experience. 

I am not  saying to never use AI in the classroom and it definitely has its place in education. What I am remarking on is that for every lesson and every assignment we give our students, this question should be considered: not can we use AI, but should we?

RyanU@NUO