Don’t be surprised if the principal’s PA announcement sounds like it’s written by ChatGPT, because many schools have been rolling out the red carpet for generative AI.
Six out of 10 teachers said that they had turned to AI tools in the last school year for tasks like crafting lesson plans, creating assignments, and grading, a poll by the Walton Family Foundation and Gallup found.
Many educators are coming to terms with the idea that, just like the gum stuck under desks, AI is here to stay, and are letting students use the tech in hopes that it’ll aid learning instead of just serving as a copy-pastable essay generator. For instance, the New York City Department of Education reversed its initial ban on AI on district devices.
Silicon Valley wants to be the teacher’s pet
The industry developing the text-spouting machines is seeking to make them as much a classroom staple as the pencil sharpeners that screw into the wall:
- Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic recently announced that they’ll commit $23 million to train 400,000 K–12 teachers on AI in partnership with two educator labor unions.
- Google unveiled a $1 billion initiative to give college students free access to its AI model Gemini and will help train them on how to use various AI tools..
Realizing that standard bots might not cut it in class, OpenAI and Google both recently released AI tools designed to help students grasp concepts rather than get quick answers.
But…while some schools are embracing AI (or even letting AI tutors handle the bulk of the teaching), many educators are banning it amid concerns about privacy, its impact on student mental health, and research suggesting that reliance on AI tools can erode critical thinking skills. Meanwhile, recent government data shows that less than half of public schools have a policy governing students’ use of AI or have plans to develop one.—SK