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Schools get real on artificial intelligence

More educators are adopting the technology – with care for its potential abuses – as they catch up with students already using AI. 

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AI (artificial intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration.
  • By the Monitor's Editorial Board

Sometimes advanced intelligence pops up in those deemed in need of intelligence. A survey earlier this year found 59% of students in American higher education routinely use generative artificial intelligence. Only about 40% of their instructors are using it.

Educators have taken note. Schools across the United States are actively deciding how to adapt the new technology. Potential uses range from creating personalized lesson plans for each student to helping them figure out financial aid for college. In some classrooms, it is being used to augment critical thinking by allowing students to see an inherent flaw in AI and then correcting it. That looks like creative problem-solving.

According to a Rand Corp. survey in early 2024, a small but growing number (18%) of K-12 teachers use AI regularly to teach. Another 15% said that they have used it once. Almost 30% said that they have policies in development on the use of AI, which is a great start.

It might be too early to assess whether AI-enhanced teaching can produce better educational outcomes and, if so, at what financial cost. But one thing is certain. Many schools are eager to use it to help ensure no student is left behind, especially underprivileged students. The Rand survey showed that schools most likely to have teachers using AI were mainly in white, affluent communities.

By the end of the 2023-24 school year, 60% of school districts had planned to train teachers on AI, according to Rand. The training includes deciding on guidelines for AI use as well as for how to deal with ethical issues, such as students using AI to generate content and submitting it as original work.

There will always be a need for human intelligence to give nuanced, thoughtful interpretations of information. AI can’t do this – at least not yet. Still, educators seem ready to follow students in adapting the technology. Some decision-makers are thinking big. In August, Yale University announced it would invest $150 million over the next five years in AI initiatives. That is worth noting. One of the world’s leading educational institutions realizes AI is something not to shy away from, but to embrace.

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