Embracing Generative AI in Education

The mission of education is to prepare people for the future, equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary to be productive and have marketable skills. As technology continues its rapid (and inevitable) advance, it is becoming increasingly important for education to keep up and prepare students for the demands of the modern workforce. One technology causing the most professorial heart palpitations recently is Generative AI, specifically the tool ChatGPT.

My definition of Generative AI is in 3-parts:

1. Using an AI trained on a large set of example data,
2. Give it a Prompt that includes intent and constraints,
3. To create novel Outcomes that have never been seen before.

Generative AI refers to the development of artificial intelligence systems that can generate human-like outputs, such as text, images, and sound. It is a field that is growing in importance and will play a critical role in shaping the future of work. The education system must embrace Generative AI and incorporate it into student life.

One of the reasons why Generative AI is so important is that it will automate many tasks that are currently performed by humans. This includes everything from customer service to content creation. As a result, the workforce of the future must be able to work alongside AI systems and understand how to employ them effectively. This means that a deep understanding of Generative AI will be a valuable skill for everyone building a career in the digital world we now live in.

Unfortunately, many educators are still hesitant to embrace Generative AI. They see it as a threat to traditional teaching methods and worry that it will replace human teachers. Candidly, there is some merit to their concerns; it is impossible to disrupt an industry while simultaneously keeping it the same: there will be significant and uncomfortable changes. However, educators are not guardians of an ancient mystic order; they exist under the mandate of preparing future generations to be productive, reasoning, and relevant. That a technology has shifted how this mandate is realized is not (or should not) be a crisis. Shift happens.

This is also not the first time the education system has been disrupted by technology and it certainly won’t be the last. For example, in the 1970s, Texas Instruments invented advanced calculators that upended the way that mathematics was taught. At the time, math professors were wailing in sack cloth and ashes that students would become dependent on calculators and an entire generation would become math deficient. Somehow though, mathematics and technology figured out how to coexist and despite all the gloomy forecasts of the 70s; millions of skilled engineers and mathematicians have graduated and entered the workforce. It was, by the way, this generation of “math deficient” students that sparked the AI revolution and invented ChatGPT.

Now it’s the English Major’s turn to reimagine their department. How do we teach people to be fluent and articulate in a ChatGPT world? It’s a good question. In fact, it is THE question. Preparing students (i.e., our future workforce) for the challenges of co-working with AI is absolutely essential. For example, students will need to understand the limitations of AI and how to phrase questions in a way that ensures they get accurate answers (this is called Prompt Engineering). They will also need to learn how to evaluate the reliability of AI-generated information and understand when to seek human input.

There’s a saying that “If you don’t like change, you’re going to hate irrelevance.” Humans will always need education, however the institutions providing education are increasingly finding themselves fighting for relevance.  Generative AI is a critical skill for the future workforce and must be embraced by the education system. Educators need to recognize the potential benefits of AI and understand that it can be used to complement traditional teaching methods. By doing so, they can help ensure that students are prepared for the demands of the modern workforce and are equipped with the skills necessary to succeed in a world where AI is becoming increasingly prevalent.