Even the most ardent AI in education enthusiast will admit that there are times when it’s a mistake to use AI. I’ve been thinking about this a lot recently.
While I never encouraged my students to use AI in any capacity, there were many uses, such as brainstorming, which I was okay with, in theory. These days, I am less open to this and other uses and more wary of AI in general. I’m not the only one.
We’re currently in the midst of what The New York Times recently referred to as a backlash against technology in education. Even among tech-savvy teachers who are AI enthusiasts, I’m hearing more discussion of when it is appropriate or not to use AI.
Based on my own observations and conversations both with AI enthusiasts and skeptics, here are times AI should definitely be avoided in education.
1. Do Not Use AI For: Assessment
Matt Jubelirer, General Manager of Education Marketing for Microsoft, is a big fan of AI use in education in general, as you might suspect. But he told me recently that there’s a growing realization among educators he speaks with that AI is not always the solution.
When it comes to creating tests and assessments, Jubelirer says AI can be really helpful on the preparation side, whether that’s developing a rubric or devising questions, but there’s a limit.
“We shouldn’t be using AI to grade people, because we need human judgment,” Jubelirer says. No matter what you feel about AI in general, it’s hard to argue with that.
2. For Brainstorming
Adjunct professor Lynn M. Patarini has started asking students not to use AI for brainstorming. “I would prefer folks to use their brain and not rely on AI,” says Patarini, who teaches at the University of Connecticut, Central Connecticut State University, and CT State Community College: Middlesex.
She adds, “I have my students making lists constantly to try and train their brains to think about aim and purpose.”
A year ago, the idea that AI shouldn’t be used for brainstorming may have evoked some controversy. But these days, many of us have witnessed firsthand how AI brainstorming sessions can lead to generic, uninspired outcomes and encourage even well-intentioned students to write with AI guidance.
I know I have. After noticing that AI’s advice was making student writing more generic, I’ve recently begun actively discouraging the concept of AI as a writing partner, both among my students and fellow educators.
3. For Lesson Generation
William Henry, an eighth-grade English teacher at Amity Middle School and a freshman composition instructor at Quinnipiac University, both in Connecticut, is a fan of some uses of AI in the classroom. However, there are many instances when he believes it should not be used. One of these no-go AI uses is for lesson creation.
“It could be helpful with generating ideas or ways to implement an idea, but the teacher should be coming up with the bulk of the lesson,” he says.
Lesson planning is a frequently cited AI use case, but as Henry notes, it works best when it’s helping an educator execute their vision, not steering the educational ship all on its own.
4. For Emails
This is one that should go without saying, but unfortunately for many students, and even some of those who work in education, it doesn’t.
I have not received AI-generated emails from educator colleagues, but I know people who believe they have. I have recieved many clearly AI-generated emails from students. This might be the most unsettling use of AI I’ve come across.
It may sound like a cliché, but my favorite part of being a teacher is the one-on-one communication with students. Going line-by-line through their writing and offering praise and suggestions, answering questions via email, and connecting with a real human being trying to learn can, at its best, be a beautiful and deeply rewarding experience for all involved. But responding to a lifeless email that was clearly written by a student who put my suggestion into a prompt leaves me cold.
We need to remind students, and even educators, not to be afraid to share their own writing voice with professors, friends, and colleagues. I know some of us are self-conscious about the way we write, but every student I ever had is a better email writer than AI, no matter how much work their spelling or sentence structure might need.