A year ago, I answered this prompt by saying that smart phones are one piece of technology that I would like to get rid of. And while that all sounds well and good in theory, I am at a point my life where I’ve realized that a smart phone is an indispensable tool in my day-to-day life. They really are our tricorders from Stat Trek. .
But today, I would say that the one piece of technology I would like to get rid of – at least in my own professional life – is artificial intelligence and AI related software applications that are available to the general public. There’s a scene in Jurassic Park, where Dr. Ian Malcolm says “your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think if they should.” I think that the line could apply to artificial intelligence, at least as far as it’s availability to the general public is concerned.
Don’t get me wrong, I do think AI is a remarkable tool, but I think it should be handled carefully should only be allowed to regress in relative baby steps. For me, the biggest thing I’ve ever used an AI app for was one time when I had to write a letter of recommendation for one of my coworkers. I didn’t have a lot of time and they were pestering me about getting the letter to them in a prompt fashion. so I had AI a letter of recommendation. I had to go through it and make some changes to make the letter more personable and related to this coworker specifically. I think the uses of AI like this are fine; but the majority of us have use social media to replace the active socializing, I as a schoolteacher, she that students are using artificial intelligence to replace their own natural intelligence.
It’s one thing for kids to find a paper on the Internet, copy it, and try to pass it off as their own work. But now, for me as a teacher, it’s harder than ever to discern if students essay is simply copied, from the Internet or it is written entirely by artificial intelligence. Some, but obviously not all, of my students would rather spend 30 seconds entering a question into an AI app on their smart phones; rather than taking an hour or two sit down and write an original essay for themselves
My other problem is trying to stay ahead of the proverbial learning curve. AI software continues to get better. There are pay app that are available for people to download on their smart phones that are even more sophisticated than the free app that are currently available. Students can even be so specific as to give their AI app a command like: “create an essay about the life of Martin Luther King, as written from an eighth grade reading and writing level”
The only way that we, as educators, are able to keep up with something like that is to have AI software available to us by our employers. For the most part, I have been able to get by well enough, just knowing the speaking and writing styles of my students. When I see an essay that is turned in with a word like diatribe or zeitgeist, thats usually a pretty good indicator that the student didn’t write it.
As we are moving to an increasingly more digitized world, I’m starting to think that traditional, face-to-face teachers, like myself are in danger of becoming obsolete. This reminds me of another bit of dialogue from Jurassic Park:
SATTLER: So, what are you thinking?
GRANT: We're out of a job.
MALCOLM: Don't you mean extinct?
At times like this, I wonder what phone and elevator operators must’ve felt like as they saw their jobs becoming increasingly less relevant. I think they’ll always be a need for educators, specifically face-to-face educators. But we just have to find new approaches to our craft.
Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts
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