LEAven Blog

Recently I have led some conference sessions for educators and administrators on artificial intelligence (AI). Clearly, there are many different opinions on AI, its usage, and its future in education. As I have worked with these sessions, it seems to me that attitudes towards AI can categorize most people in one of four labels:

• Skeptics: These folks tend to be the most negative towards AI, seeing more harm than good in AI usage, especially as they see students losing writing and critical thinking skills.
• Explorers: These are those who may not appreciate AI, but believe it is here to stay and that they need to experiment with it for both professional and personal use.
• Integrators: Educators who incorporate AI tools and strategies in the learning process are integrators. They have already utilized AI for lesson planning, differentiation, and other such tasks, balancing their usage with ethical boundaries.
• Visionaries: These are early adopters who have the characteristics of integrators, but also explore AI usage and faith formation, vocation, school policy, and many other topics.

My guess is that everyone reading this article will find a fit in one of these categories. But there is something that each type of AI approach has in common with the others. That is the need to hear from other people.

One of the notable elements of the sessions I led is that most crave greater conversation about AI. Visionaries need to know the concerns of skeptics. Explorers are curious about the steps integrators have taken to embrace AI more fully in the learning process. Each type of person benefits from hearing from others to have a fuller understanding of the challenges and opportunities AI brings to education. It was obvious to me that educators and administrators appreciate conversations with others about AI, learning from each other to sort through education in this disruptive age.

Are you looking to better understand AI’s role in faith, education, and society? Then talk with your colleagues. Set specific times to do so or use this as a topic during shared lunch duty. Administrators, encourage and facilitate sharing and discussions about AI, emphasizing the importance of learning from each other. Deliberate, read, and experiment! Build your school culture through collaborate conversations about AI. After all, that is what so many educators want right now!

God has brought together the talent for your school together intentionally. Honor that blessing by supporting one another when talking about AI.