Recently I was quoted in the Loyola student newspaper, The Phoenix, regarding AI usage at the university. Those quotes were then repurposed in a university-wide newsletter, referencing how other educators I consider AI a “core skill.” The newsletter piece linked, to my surprise, to an AI training website page on how the university is incorporating the technology.  

I am quoted saying that students should be taught critical thinking skills so they can utilize their own independent judgment about AI. Indeed. But let me expand and clarify my perspective.

I believe the role of universities is to educate students with a holistic understanding of our world, and a critical eye questioning the status quo. When it comes to AI and ethics, that means acknowledging difficult and frequently terrifying realities.  

A holistic understanding of AI

For the past year or so, there has been an onslaught of propaganda telling us we’ll fall behind if we don’t capitulate and use AI all the time. It makes us feel fearful and like we don’t have a choice.

But we do. 

We get to choose how we live our lives. 

If we don’t want to use the technology that is poisoning our world, encouraging people to kill themselves and threatening to take all of our jobs, we don’t have to.

There is a goliath of information already about the various dystopian features of AI and our world. A good place to start is Karen Hao’s recent book Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI. I believe all institutions have an ethical obligation to analyze these realities while deciding which new technologies to embrace. 

I am not alone in my concern about the rapid-fire growth of AI. There are many courageous and wise leaders who are empowering others to fight for what they believe is worth keeping: our art, citizens’ rights to stop new data centers, and general protection when it comes to new technologies. These stories encourage the kind of holistic understanding of our world that I teach in my courses. 

Classroom conversations

Right now, students are getting many mixed messages about AI usage at the university, and in their future careers. I feel my role as an instructor is to be honest about where we are as a society, and to name conflicting, difficult realities. 

Students have been remarkably open to me about their concerns about AI. Many are well-informed about the endless ethical dilemmas with the new technology. And, many students say that they are also not happy with how much they are being asked to use AI at school now, which is hilariously contrary to the overriding narrative (and in some cases, reality) that students are all-in on using ChatGPT for their papers, etc. 

I also appreciate that students see the fear-mongering of big tech, and the pressure they’re trying to put on us all. God bless Gen Z’s ability to see our world. 

Additionally, I have had many conversations with faculty and other professionals outside the university on this topic. 

I find that many people share my perspective: some AI tools are cool and have useful capabilities, and if used in moderation are helpful, timesaving, etc. AI is not going away, and we need to be sensible and educated about how AI is used in the workforce and in education. And, the dangers that AI poses to education, critical thinking, our environment, our jobs, our national security, our social lives and our economy etc. MATTER! 

Humanity matters. And focusing on human flourishing while learning about new technology is the holistic and wise approach to addressing AI usage at the university. 

In the classroom, I’ve found that the best thing I can do as an educator is to just keep conversations about AI honest, timely and connected to reality. And to name an important reality: students and educators are in this together. I create my classroom setting in a way that fosters connectivity between students, and encourages kind and honest dialogue. 

We don’t have to live in fear and rigidity when it comes to new technology. We can be open, cautious, curious, centered, and focused on our own creativity, on our own passions.

Touching grass  

In general, I think we should all be using technology less, for the sake of our health and the health of our planet. I believe in letter-writing and snail mail, in long walks and beach-dates without a phone, in crochet-weekends and slow-cooking for dinner parties with friends. I only feel like myself when I limit technology in my life, and center creativity, rest and connection. 

So, I believe the “core skills” of learning about AI in a university setting are these: practicing critical thinking skills, gaining holistic knowledge about new technology, and weighing ethical dilemmas regarding personal and society-wide AI-usage. I want my students to begin to develop rootedness in themselves, to stay stable amid a rapidly changing, chaotic world.

And I want students to hear this, above all else: We get to choose how we live our one wild and precious life.

There is no limit to the wisdom our world has to offer. But let us never forget that it is the poets, the artists, the writers (not the tech oligarchs) who truly understand how life is meant to be lived.