People seem to pretty universally agree that artificial intelligence poses real harms to education and academic integrity. Even students who use AI understand that they are using it to avoid assignments and sacrifice learning for efficiency and free time. Not to mention the environmental effect of AI, the ethical ambiguity of intellectual theft in the context of AI, and the implications for the future of humanity. So why do some teachers at KO seem so eager to embrace it?
Whether teachers are suggesting that it be used to assist with assignments, or they use it to make tests and generate photos, or they simply talk about their fascinating conversation with ChatGPT they had last night, many of them seem to be loving the AI revolution. This sets a dangerous precedent and has real harms for our education. AI makes mistakes in tests, it takes opportunities away from artists, and students will inevitably feel like they have the license to abuse AI if they see all of their teachers using it at will.
AI makes mistakes. This is no secret. They are often referred to as “mirages.” This can sometimes be a funny thing to laugh at, like the popular joke when ChatGPT couldn’t count the number of R’s in the word “strawberry,” but it can feel more serious when it impacts our education. I have personally had tests that were clearly made by AI because of the double options for multiple choice, or other grammatical or formatting issues caused by AI. Although these little quirks in tests may not seem significant, they can really feel like a downgrade. When tests used to be polished, some are now riddled with AI mirages.
The use of AI-generated images is another issue. These images already have the reputation of being intellectual theft because of the fact that they are made by scraping real artists’ work from the internet and synthesizing a “new” one. It can feel even worse, however, when there are many talented artists at KO. The irony of the official poster for the KO musical or play, meant to promote KO artists, being made by AI while true artists are in the building, is astounding.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, teachers cannot expect students to avoid AI or understand its risks and issues if they see so many of their teachers using AI every day. Although it is a false equivalency, students will inevitably see a test that they had to take made by AI and think, “Why can’t I write my essay using AI?” Teachers are role models; they are meant to foster a good work ethic, honesty, and integrity, and AI harms every aspect of that.
So why then are teachers so gung-ho about AI? I think that KO feels pressure to prepare students for a world that might be dominated by AI. “AI literacy” is something that many people think will be very important. If this is the reason for the jump to accept AI, then there are many problems with that. Students won’t learn “AI literacy” from seeing their mentors and authority figures abusing AI. They certainly won’t learn “AI literacy” from abusing it themselves at home. I think that KO should adopt a low tolerance policy on AI use with real consequences for breaking. AI should be an option that students should have to appeal to use, and only ever use with teacher permission after an appeal. AI should not be so eagerly promoted by KO teachers. Our education should not be sacrificed in an attempt to give us a little “AI literacy.”
