The short answer is: No.
The longer answer is a bit more nuanced.
For context: A few weeks ago, Debbie Pixton and Aaron Altemus, who lead the Consortium’s human-centered design training, had the privilege of speaking at The Global Impact Forum presented by Penn State University. The conference focused heavily on the intersection of K-16 education and artificial intelligence, and the implications for the future of learning. Our team was presenting on workforce development in an AI-integrated world.
About mid-way through the presentation, a hand raised with a question (paraphrased):
“If AI can think critically, and much faster than any student can, then why not outsource that thinking to the AI? AI is a tool, just like a calculator; so why deny them the full use of that tool even for critical thinking?”
First, we have to consider our desired outcomes for students. In terms of employability, our desired outcome is not expediency, but actual skill development. It is essential that students develop these skills as a foundation, for the sake of their own agency, as well as a bulwark that will insulate them from outsourcing all of those skills entirely.
By teaching students how to collaboratively solve a problem; how to generate ideas; how to look for patterns and make decisions, we also help instill values that help to ground them in an age when the temptation to just “let AI do it,” can be so tempting. In short, we want young people to:
- Find joy in creativity.
- See the strength of feedback and iteration.
- Experience the power of collaboration.
- Feel the thrill of discovery.
- Appreciate the meaning in every human experience.
Without these values, or others our community emphasizes, it might be all too easy to completely outsource a problem-solving task; and once that happens, what is the path toward skill development?
Second, let’s break down that calculator argument.
Yes, AI can be a time-saving tool in a similar way that a calculator can solve equations much faster than a human by hand. However, we still strive to teach children math fluency (as well as the mechanics of using a calculator), before letting them use such tools freely. Even with a calculator, students still need to understand what to input as well as how to interpret the accuracy of their output. Now apply those same ideas to a tool as powerful and wide-ranging as an LLM or any other tool that might be developed in the future. Without critical thinking, how would students ever be able to evaluate the accuracy or veracity of the information that an AI tool might generate?
And so it’s imperative that we take time to explicitly teach and scaffold these key soft skills so that students are adequately prepared to use AI resources strategically, thoughtfully, and ethically. Only then will they be able to continuously bolster their own skillset in conjunction with AI, leveraging the technology alongside their own thinking. Let’s educate a generation of critical thinkers–we cannot outsource their future to artificial intelligence.
