AI in Education Sparks Debate Among Teachers

Artificial intelligence (AI) is being touted as a game-changer in education, but not everyone is convinced. OpenAI has released a free online course to help K-12 teachers learn how to integrate its AI chatbot platform, ChatGPT, into their classrooms. However, some educators are wary of the technology’s potential risks and limitations.

According to OpenAI, 98% of participants in the nine-module program reported finding new ideas or strategies that they could apply to their work. The course covers the basics of AI and its pedagogical applications, including ChatGPT’s limitations, such as its inability to fairly grade students’ work.

Some educators, like Lance Warwick, a sports lecturer at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, are concerned about the potential for resources like OpenAI’s program to normalize AI use among educators unaware of the tech’s ethical implications. Warwick notes that the modules on privacy and safety are “very limited” and contradictory, which raises questions about how AI can be used responsibly.

Visual artist and educator Sin à Tes Souhaits agrees that OpenAI’s program doesn’t directly address how the company might exercise control over content created by teachers using its services. This lack of transparency is concerning to Souhaits, who worries that it could lead to instability if educators are not careful about what data they share.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has pushed for governments to regulate AI use in education, including implementing age limits for users and guardrails on data protection and user privacy. However, little progress has been made so far.

Josh Prieur, a classroom teacher-turned-product director at Prodigy Education, believes that there are “clear upsides” for teachers if school systems adopt AI in a thoughtful and responsible way. He argues that OpenAI’s program is transparent about the risks, but acknowledges concerns about plagiarism, dehumanization of learning experiences, and over-reliance on AI.

The education market for AI is worth $88.2 billion within the next decade, according to Allied Market Research. However, growth has been slow due to skeptical pedagogues. A survey by the Pew Research Center found that a quarter of public K-12 teachers believe that using AI tools does more harm than good.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/20/openai-releases-a-teachers-guide-to-chatgpt-but-some-educators-are-skeptical/