Recently, a former colleague reached out to ask if anyone in our WhatsApp group worked at a school with an AI course in place, or was developing one for the near future. 

At first I was a little confused. Students have been using AI as a research and writing tool in all of their classes for over a year now, right? So, is there a need for a course dedicated to Artificial Intelligence?

Then I had second thoughts. Maybe we should dive deeper into AI, beyond the tasks it performs, and more into AI as a force reshaping our world. 

Why an AI Course?

As educators, we have a tendency to assume all young people, so-called digital natives, have a better understanding of technology than their older, digital dinosaur teachers. Most of our students already interact with AI more than they do with real humans throughout their day – from algorithms that suggest their music to camera filters that decorate their faces on social media. They are also pretty competent in quickly shifting from one screen to another when the teacher walks past their desk!  

And yet in many ways, that assumption has proven to be false. Just because someone grew up in a world of digital technology doesn’t necessarily mean they fully understand it.  For instance, I was surprised to learn that my students didn’t know about tools like Control-F to find words in a doc, as well as Control-Shift-V to paste text without formatting. 

Beyond the basic mechanics of the tool, when it comes to Artificial Intelligence, I’m not sure we’ve intentionally given them an opportunity to understand the bigger picture: what AI is, how it works, or what it might mean for their futures.

If We Taught AI as a Course… What Should Be in It?

Here’s a rough set of unit themes that I’ve been playing with:

• What Is AI? (History, definitions, how it compares to human intelligence)
• How Does AI Work? (Data, algorithms, machine learning)
• The Ethics of AI (Bias, surveillance, misinformation, rights and responsibilities)
• Prompt Practice (Students learn to talk to AI – for productivity and creativity)
• AI and the Arts (Make something! Explore questions of authorship and creativity)
• The Economic Impact of AI (Cost, profits, job market shifts)
• Global Strategy (AI arms races, regulation, democracy vs. authoritarian AI)
• The Future of Humanity (What’s next – and what should we work towards?)

In terms of assessment I am leaning toward portfolios, creative products, debates, simulations. Students would be asked to develop and articulate opinions, question assumptions, and wrestle with the unknown.

Basically, I am thinking about how to best prepare our students for life in an AI-powered future. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. 

Let’s start the conversation. 

Ed X!