Introduction

In class this week, we discussed the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) and it’s place within the education system. I can understand that GenAI is still in it’s early days and how it has the potential to reduce the workload for educators by quickly generating lesson plans and personalized learning for students. However, I have several concerns regarding how AI tools can be utilized appropriately without potentially causing harm in areas such as privacy, racial and gender biases, environmental impacts, cognitive effects, and children’s safety.

Limitations of GenAI

There are several limitations to GenAI. One of which is that the information that is presented to users can be incorrect. If users are not well-versed in identifying incorrect information, it can result in the spread of misinformation. Additionally, responses from GenAI can include biased information depending on the content in which it has been trained on. While GenAI has the potential to reduce the amount of cognitive effort required for a task and save time, it can result in what is referred to as cognitive offloading. When we over rely on tools such as GenAI in an attempt to reduce our workload, it can have an impact on our cognitive abilities such as critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and memory. Further, consistent use of GenAI may result in users using outputs passively without further verification about the reliability of the content provided

My Own Experience with GenAI in Educational Settings

I do not personally have as much experience with using GenAI for educational purposes until being required to do so for an assignment. We were tasked with generating a lesson plan using a GenAI model of our choice–I chose Claude. After entering a prompt outlining the details of a lesson plan and with a few revisions, I will admit I was impressed with the output that was generated from the initial lesson plan to the discussion questions, as well as the assessment. Additionally, it did also generate ideas for how to extend the lesson, personalize learning for students with support needs, and students who are learning English as an Additional Language (EAL).

However, I found that as I was finishing the assignment, I did not feel a personalized connection as I have with other lesson or unit plans that I have created before. This did not feel like mine. Having a connection to what I intend on creating for students is important to me and it is not something that I believe I can get using a GenAI model. Additionally, while I was hoping this would also save me some time (while keeping in mind this is my first time using Claude), it took me several hours to complete assignment.

Environmental Impact

Additionally, GenAI has a significant impact on the environment. The necessary power for creating new GenAI models involves a significant amount of electricity. Further, GenAI requires a significant amount of fresh water–a resource that is already strained–to prevent hardware from overheating which burdens water supplies and people’s access to clean water. They have also led to increasing energy costs for residents in areas such as Georgia.

As I said above, GenAI is still in it’s initial stages so there is opportunity for improvements to come along. However, until these developments appear and the inequities that are faced by many people are properly addressed, I still remain hesitant about incorporating GenAI into my life.