The ethics of using AI in schools
The AI process in many ways mirrors how human authors draw inspiration from their surroundings, experiences and prior knowledge.
Published: 06:06 PM,Jun 08,2024 | EDITED : 10:06 PM,Jun 08,2024
One of the central ethical considerations surrounding AI-generated novels is the question of authorship.
Traditionally authors are revered for their unique voices creativity and ability to convey complex emotions and ideas through their works.
When a novel is written using AI, the lines of authorship become blurred.
Does AI deserve credit as the author or is the human programmer behind the machine the true creator? This challenges traditional notions of authorship and raises concerns about giving credit where it is due.
Critics argue that AI-generated novels lack the soul, depth, and emotional resonance that define truly impactful works of literature, thereby diminishing their value as artistic expressions.
In schools, AI has been used by students to write or improve their essays.
Here the question for educationalists is: can a piece of writing created using AI be considered just as original and just as worthy of praise as one written by a human without technological assistance?
While I’m not totally comfortable with this development, this article supports the view that an essay produced at school or a novel published with the help of AI is just as valid as those produced without AI.
To begin with, it is essential to acknowledge that creativity stems from a myriad of sources, whether it be human imagination or AI generated.
When AI generates written content it does so by analysing vast amounts of existing text, carrying out detailed research and identifying patterns to produce interesting and well structured output.
The AI process in many ways mirrors the way in which human authors draw inspiration from their surroundings, experiences, and prior knowledge.
A human writer may draw upon literary influences or personal anecdotes to shape their work, whilst AI draws upon data and computer texts to generate content. And is this use of AI any less ethical than when an author makes use of more 'conventional' writing aids such as computer generated spell checkers or grammar checkers?
Or using a laptop word processor rather than a pen? Who decides what is better or worse, or what is more worthy? Does a teacher have the right to mark down a student’s essay because “it appears” to have been influenced by or even solely written by AI?
If so, on what basis? Can it not be argued that an AI essay is just as valid as one produced by a student’s own hand? If not perhaps schools should consider banning all machine aids in other disciplines such as Mathematics where hand-held calculators have replaced mental arithmetic.
When teaching a foreign language should we not on this basis ban the use of computer aided translation apps? And where does this end?
If we as educators are not to be seen as dinosaurs in a rapidly changing world, we have to shift the focus from how an essay is written to the content it offers and the human thought that instigates its production.
In Literature maybe the ultimate test of an essay’s originality and quality should lie in the depth of its storytelling, the richness of its characters and the impact it has on its readers, regardless of whether or not AI was involved in its creation.
As educators, we have to accept this new reality because whether we like it or not AI is here to stay.
As a former teacher I realise that accepting this may be a somewhat bitter pill to swallow like so many other advancements in technology.
I am myself nostalgic for many of the things which have become obsolete not only in schools but in our everyday life. I am just old enough to remember the very rare sight of a horse pulling a cart before air-polluting cars made this impossible.
Nostalgic or not I cannot bring back horse driven carriages. So we have to accept as educators that the advancement of AI is as inexorable as the tide coming into the beach. We cannot stop it and therefore we must change and adapt by finding new ways to evaluate our students’ academic and literary abilities.
Difficult though it may be we have to embrace AI and find ways of using it to the benefit of our students.
Karim Easterbrook
The writer is a former School Principal Cambridge, UK
Traditionally authors are revered for their unique voices creativity and ability to convey complex emotions and ideas through their works.
When a novel is written using AI, the lines of authorship become blurred.
Does AI deserve credit as the author or is the human programmer behind the machine the true creator? This challenges traditional notions of authorship and raises concerns about giving credit where it is due.
Critics argue that AI-generated novels lack the soul, depth, and emotional resonance that define truly impactful works of literature, thereby diminishing their value as artistic expressions.
In schools, AI has been used by students to write or improve their essays.
Here the question for educationalists is: can a piece of writing created using AI be considered just as original and just as worthy of praise as one written by a human without technological assistance?
While I’m not totally comfortable with this development, this article supports the view that an essay produced at school or a novel published with the help of AI is just as valid as those produced without AI.
To begin with, it is essential to acknowledge that creativity stems from a myriad of sources, whether it be human imagination or AI generated.
When AI generates written content it does so by analysing vast amounts of existing text, carrying out detailed research and identifying patterns to produce interesting and well structured output.
The AI process in many ways mirrors the way in which human authors draw inspiration from their surroundings, experiences, and prior knowledge.
A human writer may draw upon literary influences or personal anecdotes to shape their work, whilst AI draws upon data and computer texts to generate content. And is this use of AI any less ethical than when an author makes use of more 'conventional' writing aids such as computer generated spell checkers or grammar checkers?
Or using a laptop word processor rather than a pen? Who decides what is better or worse, or what is more worthy? Does a teacher have the right to mark down a student’s essay because “it appears” to have been influenced by or even solely written by AI?
If so, on what basis? Can it not be argued that an AI essay is just as valid as one produced by a student’s own hand? If not perhaps schools should consider banning all machine aids in other disciplines such as Mathematics where hand-held calculators have replaced mental arithmetic.
When teaching a foreign language should we not on this basis ban the use of computer aided translation apps? And where does this end?
If we as educators are not to be seen as dinosaurs in a rapidly changing world, we have to shift the focus from how an essay is written to the content it offers and the human thought that instigates its production.
In Literature maybe the ultimate test of an essay’s originality and quality should lie in the depth of its storytelling, the richness of its characters and the impact it has on its readers, regardless of whether or not AI was involved in its creation.
As educators, we have to accept this new reality because whether we like it or not AI is here to stay.
As a former teacher I realise that accepting this may be a somewhat bitter pill to swallow like so many other advancements in technology.
I am myself nostalgic for many of the things which have become obsolete not only in schools but in our everyday life. I am just old enough to remember the very rare sight of a horse pulling a cart before air-polluting cars made this impossible.
Nostalgic or not I cannot bring back horse driven carriages. So we have to accept as educators that the advancement of AI is as inexorable as the tide coming into the beach. We cannot stop it and therefore we must change and adapt by finding new ways to evaluate our students’ academic and literary abilities.
Difficult though it may be we have to embrace AI and find ways of using it to the benefit of our students.
Karim Easterbrook
The writer is a former School Principal Cambridge, UK