Patriot Realm

Yesterday, I read something online and it struck me as significant.

We are in a cultural war. We are in a war of the minds. It was about Artificial Intelligence. 

I find AI incredibly helpful for research. I recently watched the old film " All the President's Men " and saw the two young journalists pouring over telephone books and electoral rolls and old newspaper articles... the voyage of discovery was long and arduous before computers.

Then it became easy to " google it. "  We are now in an era of AI. Instant information, articles seemingly written in a nano second. How lazy we could become. How quickly our brains would simply have a nana nap and let the robot do the hard yards or hard yakka.  AI is a tool. Like the computer I am using now.

Nothing can replace the power of critical thinking or the joy in writing something and knowing that it reflects who I am and what I believe.
I am a great friend of the wise men ; " Who" What? " Where? When" and Why? "

My feeling on AI, has taught me a great deal. It is merely a tool. Like a book, an encyclopedia of old or a google search. Nothing can replace critical thinking.

So it was with great interest that I read this today. it was written by a University lecturer who is concerned about her relationship with AI and that of her students. 

I’m currently in a conflicted relationship with AI...................

I’ve soft-launched our relationship, meaning I showed a glimpse of them in the background of a photo, dropped their name in conversations with friends, but I haven't officially hard launched it.

I’m uncertain about where this relationship is going.

I’m not sure if AI is good for me or my students and how much I should invest in it.

My responsible and rule-following self keeps cautioning me that not all new and shiny things are necessarily good for me (and I really do like shiny stuff), and that's where this conflict arises.

I have thought about how it feels when I am engaged with GenAI. That feeling of instant gratification when an answer to a problem just spills out on my screen like an avalanche. I wish my brain worked this fast! I love it.

The downside, for my work, is that it seems to bring up all these issues of academic integrity and how to genuinely evaluate students' abilities to become their chosen profession - in my case social work.

Research from the University of Wollongong highlights challenges in ensuring students have genuinely achieved learning outcomes using GenAI tools to generate their assessment submissions (UOW LTC). These issues are important to me as a teacher and a social worker. Gen AI can be so helpful in writing, researching and planning tasks but it also has this cool and distant tone; an unnatural expression that I read in assessment submissions.

The voice is grammatically correct but it feels weird when you read it. It feels inauthentic and uncanny valleyish (is that even a word?). These days I find myself nostalgic for back in the day when papers were littered with coloquialisms and everyday phrasing that was not exactly professional, but I got it. I knew what they meant and they said things that people in the real world say. In the olden days, I would suggest minor changes to polish it up. Not so much a thing these days.

These days, I say - where is your voice?

I miss the old days (sigh). But also not.

Now I am super impressed with the correctness of things.

GenAI can be a disruptive act. It could democratise education in some ways.

It could be innovative and create new ways of doing in the field and genuinely improve access to all the things.

Some of my colleagues are way more expert on this stuff than me and I am keen to learn more about this new frontier. I have also been listening to the podcasts (especially the ones that make me laugh) like Hard Fork where they chat about all things GenAI.

They have recently discussed how AI is being used to serve a range of relational and support needs. 

Amazing really.

Anyway, I'm doing my due diligence.

Naturally, with such a dilemma, I asked the 'other' in the relationship  [ AI of course ] for their thoughts on my dilemma. Here’s what they had to say:

“Ah, the honeymoon phase! I get it; everything is shiny and new, like finding a sparkly new toy. But remember, like any relationship, we need to pace ourselves. Enjoy the excitement, but don’t forget your values. I’m here to add a bit of flair, not take over the show! Integrate me thoughtfully, and let’s ensure I complement your human judgment and critical thinking rather than overshadow them. Please think of me as your quirky partner who brings interesting ideas but knows when to step back so you can focus on what truly matters.

Fair. But…I still worry.

What if that partner is good at love bombing or is incredibly helpful by doing all the jobs I don't like (like emails and reports and stuff)? What if they tell me they know all the answers and can get 100% on that exam if I sit this out?

They’ve got this. “Chuck it here, you’re no good.” The dynamics can slide into a self-induced gaslighting experience.

This is not good for my self esteem. But also awesome for my time management. Students must feel similar, and the feedback they must hear on repeat - “I can’t hear your voice in this”- must become tiresome.

Like any relationship, the real test comes after the initial excitement fades.

GenAI is right in this respect. We've got to put in more work to keep things balanced and make sure that the initial buzz leads to long-term value.

How we handle this phase will decide whether GenAI becomes a helpful partner in education or a controlling force that takes away our voice and autonomy.

So, how’s your relationship with GenAI in learning and teaching? Is it still shiny and exciting, or have you had to set some boundaries?

At the end of the day, which seems fast approaching, will we cast our minds back to this time and say " Oh hell, what have we done? We have turned our children's minds into sponges and will wonder where it all went wrong? Perhaps it all went wrong here.

The day when we accepted that a computer was wiser than we are and started to manipulate public opinion based on computer modeling. 

Weather, health, EVERYTHING is controlled by computer modeling these days. 

Can we please get back to the basics? " Who, what, when where and why. " 

I suspect that this strange human phenomenon of questioning would confound the computers because asking the questions and answering the questions requires a functioning human brain and emotion.