Debbie Jacob - ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) is all the rage right now, and even better, it has an acronym, AI. We love acronyms in this country. Theyre acceptable, mind-numbing shortcuts tossed around so we dont have to think too much about meaning. Acronyms sound harmless, which is something to remember as the Ministry of Education considers using artificial intelligence in the name of educational reform.
When it comes to AI, the ministry is on the right track, so to speak, but boarding the wrong train. Yes, we do have to deal with AI in education so that students can learn how to use it intelligently, responsibly and ethically. Students everywhere rely heavily on ChatGPT for writing term papers.
But to say were going to jump onboard and use AI in schools without teaching the fundamentals of reading, writing and research is foolish. Its bad enough that we ask students who can barely read to write research papers when they dont have the basic skills to function academically or in life.
Now the plan is to introduce students to AI, while the ministry pretends it knows how to teach about it. Students dont know how to use AI effectively because we havent provided the critical thinking tools to evaluate it. Many adults have latched on to the same faulty reasoning as students: AI is reliable, and it knows better than humans. Wrong. AI is a metaphorical broom sweeping across the internet, picking up germs and gems together. It accumulates information from multiple sources, often failing to distinguish between valid and invalid sources. A source is a source to AI.
Heres an example. After reading Caleb Carrs memoir My Beloved Monster Masha, the Half-wild Rescue Cat Who Rescued Me, I googled the authors name to find out more about him. An AI summary came up first. It said Carr had been married three times and Masha was the name of his last wife. Carrs memoir is about three cats in his life, Masha being the last one. The books title should have sent off warning bells about the initial information received. You see, reading is important.
But was it true that Carr had been married three times? This still had to be proved or disproved. I knew that Carr had never married because I had seen a TV interview, with Carr saying he came from a violent home with an abusive father, and to end the cycle of abuse, he never married.
My internet search gave me three additional sources that said Carr had been married three times. Even without knowing this information was incorrect, my investigative skills should have told me to be cautious about the information AI was feeding me.
I continued searching and finally found the correct information no wives in a New York Times obituary on Carr. Finally, I had a reliable, named source to uncover the truth.
What happens in real life, though, is that people dont search hard enough and long enough to verify information they get from AI.
The next morning after my initial research, I searched for Caleb Carrs name again. AI had self-corrected and now mentioned the New York Times as a source.
The moral of the story here is that you cant trust AI. You must learn to verify sources. Because AI often provides general information, often without a named source, students need to learn how to dig deeper to find credible information. Using AI requires detective skills.
AI is an invaluable tools that requires a systematic process for verifying information. Its like trying to board a train. Youre standing on a platform, the train is about to leave the station, and you have to decide which of the trains cars to jump on. You dont make that decision without processing some information about which cars are full and which are empty.
Im not bashing AI. Its here to stay, and theres no reason to fight that. The ministry is right. It needs to be taught in school, but teachers need to teach students the research skills they need to use it effectively. The danger lies in using AI without critical thinking skills.
AI doesnt replace old-fashioned encyclopedias with verified information. The internet is flooded with fake news and wrong information. Sometimes I find more of that than correct and objective information. AI cant replace your brain. You need to use your head now more than ever.
Make no mistake about it, AI is not a huggable human. Its a big sign at a train crossing that says, Warning, Danger Ahead.
