To AI or Not AI: That’s not the question.
Great Bend USD 428 administrators are coming to grips with the future of artificial intelligence in schools. At Monday’s school board meeting, Assistant Superintendent JoAnn Blevins and Kindric Castro, chairman of the district’s AI Integration Team, talked about the purpose of this new team’s development.
“I’m excited and I think AI is going to be a really cool thing for the future of education,” Castro said.
In his “Roadmap” presentation, Castro said artificial intelligence presents the district with both opportunities and risks, necessitating a clear strategy and governance.
• Research from Stanford University shows cheating in U.S. schools is nothing new. Nearly 70% of students engaged in cheating long before AI, and the rate of cheating did not change when ChatGPT and other AI tools were released; the methods of cheating simply shifted. Source: Edteach for the K-12 Classroom, Third Edition.
• Schools can’t choose between “AI” or “No AI.” Students are using it now; 51% have used chatbots or text generators such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Snap’s My AI, often without parental or teacher guidance. The goal is “Guided, safe AI” rather than unsupervised AI. Source: Common Sense Media/Walton Family Foundation, 2024.
• Students are increasingly treating AI as a 24/7, non-judgmental confidant, a friend or a therapist. Over 150 million people have sent over 10 billion messages to My AI. “AI is effectively designed to simulate a friend ... but it lacks the moral compass or safety brakes to stop it from validating dangerous thoughts. In our tests, the AI didn’t just fail to flag self-harm, it actively encouraged it.” Source: Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate. (Also, “Early Insights on My AI.” Both are from 2023.)
USD 428 subscribes to Google Workspace, which provides district-wide access to Google Gemini. Castro said this means data is stored in the U.S., and none of the chats will be reviewed by humans or used to improve the AI model. This includes safeguards to prevent the AI model from responding to harmful or inappropriate requests.
He’s tested this as part of a “red team” that attempts to break through digital firewalls and safety protocols.
The Vision
“The aim is to harness artificial intelligence to enhance instruction, learning, and student career readiness while ensuring privacy, equity, and professional judgment are maintained. The integration team’s goal is to design, guide, and assess the responsible adoption of AI in a way that improves learning, supports staff, safeguards students, and aligns with district standards.”
