A quick post to share some updates to (If You) USEME-AI. In Dec’22, I created this possible outline for discussions around AI-related change in schools. Reflecting on our journey so far, it still holds pretty true, and this update includes some minor edits, including:

• Some reworded questions and statements.
• Added section on Mitigation, Adaptation, Innovation.
• Clearer statement on Academic Integrity.

It is still founded on the premise that a school’s learning culture is more powerful than any technological macguffin, that Creating Cultures of Thinking and really understanding learning in our contexts matters, and that for the most part people want to do the right thing. It adds elements of UNESCO’s Guidance on GenAI in Education & Research and tries to promote agency and humanity in learning.

As AIEd conversations mature and implications become clearer, it is apparent that there is still a lot of work to do. When all this really exploded in 2022-23, we were coming out of the pandemic and I’m not sure people were really ready to wrestle with the pragmatic reality of AI’s impacts on learning. But here we are. With the tech bros racing to build even more powerful models – with little thought to their real utility – we no longer have the luxury of putting off the necessary actions towards what really matters in teaching and learning.

We have passed the tipping point of invisible AI; its tendrils infiltrating every app and tool we use. Students now have to make the active choice to not use AI by avoiding these “helpful” and “magic” features. There are many more high-quality apps and services for safe AI for students and teachers to use – and with transparency and care, these can be great. The ethical implications of AI, including bias, environmental & socio-economic impacts remain and the internet is becoming ever-more polluted with AI slop and polarising nonsense.

And yet… this is the reality they are growing up into. We have to educate for hope and we have to think about optimistic futures and agile careers for the young people we serve. Just take a look at WEF’s 2025 Future jobs report – what makes us human is what we value most. We can’t shy away from it.

So compassionate conversations, active support and educational transformation are what we have left. I am thankful to be learning and leading in a “gong-he” community, with great teachers, families, techies and librarians. I hope you are too. Either way, here is our stuff.

OK, enough from me. Let’s get to it.

Click here for a pdf version:

Student Questions: