We are currently experiencing a surge in the availability and capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) — an intelligence explosion — that is leading to a transformation of a variety of fields, including K–12 education.
AI is becoming a defining force in education, reshaping Alberta classrooms and influencing teaching practices in ways that were unimaginable a few years ago. As Alberta teachers, we are at the front lines of this shift and must approach it with an innate curiosity tempered by a healthy dose of caution — cautiously optimistic as a mindful approach.
As we move beyond the current landscape of AI tools into an era where AI systems become an increasingly prominent feature of education, we must remain vigilant in our ethical considerations, ensuring that AI serves to empower rather than undermine the highly relational (and human) elements of teaching and learning.
AI offers exciting possibilities for all our classrooms, but it also presents some unsettling challenges that require a thoughtful and critical examination by the profession, especially regarding its impact on decision making involving children and youth, its impact on trust, teacher professional judgement, cognitive atrophy, student and teacher privacy, and the increasing inequality across our provincial public education system.
What is artificial intelligence (AI)? AI ... ANI ... AGI
At its core, artificial intelligence (AI) is an emerging system of technologies built around artificial “neural networks” that are focused on mimicking human cognitive abilities, such as reasoning, learning and problem solving. While machine neural nets operate differently than human neural networks, they are both profound in their abilities.
Today, most AI tools used in educational settings fall under the umbrella of artificial narrow intelligence (ANI) — systems designed to excel in specific tasks like text generation, data analysis and digital content creation, including generative AI models like Copilot or ChatGPT that specialize in creating original content based on input data.
Generative AI, in particular, is transforming Alberta classrooms by streamlining lesson planning, generating creative and new learning materials, supporting differentiated instruction and assessment, translating and simplifying texts or video, and assisting with specialized educational needs like individual support plans, and language accessibility for students. A growing concern at the moment is the use of AI for real-time assessments and automated grading, which, while potentially offering insights into student progress, also raises significant questions about student privacy, the security of uploaded data, algorithmic or data bias, and the potential for overreach of AI-driven decisionmaking in K–12 educational contexts. (See article on moral passivity.)
In the next few years, we may witness a shift from isolated tools to integrated intelligent systems that could evolve into artificial general intelligence (AGI), which is a theoretical form of AI capable of understanding and performing tasks at a human-like level across diverse domains. If and when AGI arises, we will begin to see a decline in human exceptionalism and a considerable rise in automation. However, AGI remains, for now, a speculative concept.