Students at Davis Middle School in Compton.
Credit: Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Office of Education
In the clamorous debates about artificial intelligence (AI) in education, there is an unfortunate tendency to make bold proclamations about its role in teaching and learning, either as a panacea or the final nail in the coffin of human knowledge. The noise is puzzling and not helpful. Too many components of AI are still emerging, and no outcomes are predictable with certainty. No one knows how this will shake out.
As two people involved in education technology — a university professor who runs ed-tech accelerators and a K-12 public affairs and communications executive director — we believe folks should stop the extremist predictions. Instead, we argue that our teachers, staff, students, parents and leaders need to explore AI.
A recent needs assessment conducted in partnership between the Los Angeles County Office of Education and the nonprofit Project Tomorrow showed that administrators and teachers want and need more information about the potential risks and benefits of generative AI. Armed with training, support and responsible guidelines such as those developed through Los Angeles COE’s artificial intelligence guidelines, teachers using AI in the classroom can help develop new frontiers of learning.
It’s helpful to understand the context: Artificial intelligence has existed in education for years. AI for learning is simply software that harnesses data to support or replace human activities to help people understand, experience or conceptualize the world around them. It is a learning technology. In economics, we think of technology as something that enhances the productivity of the process. A learning technology is simply anything that makes learning cheaper, better, faster or simpler to produce.
If one uses this definition, there are reasonable arguments that AI is not the most disruptive of learning technologies. Indeed, more impactful learning technologies include curriculum and pedagogy (both meet the definition), as well as the invention of language itself, arguably the most crucial learning technology. Throughout human history, technological advancements have evolved alongside us, influenced by cultural contexts, and have often impacted us at a slower rate than anticipated. Today’s variations in teaching and curriculum will likely have a greater impact on educational outcomes than the adoption of AI.
Much of the positive talk around AI centers on its potential to provide scale solutions to support students, educators and district staff at lower costs. In these conversations, AI can enhance personalized learning through the deployment of chatbots as tutors and advice dispensers. The scenario where each student has an individual tutor is one way to think about AI in education. But that view is limited. There could be unintended consequences if students spend excessive time isolated with a chatbot and not engaging with other humans. This brings us back to the point that technology evolves with us. The pandemic taught us we need humans in the room, particularly since employers tend to want people who can work with other people.
Rather than focus on the technology alone, we should give attention to bold experiments that explore how AI technologies can support learners as they mature into adults skilled at critical thinking, communication, empathy and collaboration.
And we should do so neither as product salesmen nor muckrakers.
Deploy AI as a tool, with humans as the focus. Imagine groups where half the collaboration resides with human interaction and the other half with AI guidance. In this scenario, students are grouped within the scaffolding that AI provides to support their abilities to engage in problem-solving and critical thinking, aligned with a hands-on activity. They reap the benefits of personalized learning and gain lessons from listening to other opinions, responding to diverse viewpoints, and navigating relationships critical to success.
Experimentation can be difficult in an educational setting. If we hope to meet the demands of tomorrow’s AI-powered society, experimentation for growth and learning must occur responsibly. We need to support our schools and districts as they work to understand how the complexities of education coexist with the thoughtful use of technology. We must give them room and encouragement to sustain wonderful learning environments, with AI and beyond.
Let’s experiment and learn before we proclaim AI as a savior or apocalypse. Along the way, we can usher in the next generation of adults prepared to steer society along paths that uplift and support humanity for a better tomorrow.
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Doug Lynch is on the faculty at USC, where he teaches innovation and economics to doctoral students. He has been a leading voice in education technology for more than 30 years and founded three ed-tech accelerators, including one at USC.
Elizabeth Graswich is executive director of public affairs and communications for the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
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