AI/Education/Technology: A Faustian Bargain
“…like all technologies of the past, they are Faustian bargains, giving and taking away, sometimes in equal measures, sometimes more in one than the other.”
Neil Postman, “The End of Education” 1995
Reasonable people can agree that the combustion engine has done both good and evil to humanity. The same can be said of the internet’s social media platforms and the constant flow of information, both fact and fantasy, delivered into the fiber-optic bloodstream, providing society with medicine for its ills and poison into its system simultaneously.
In the late 1960s, a decision was made to bring technology into my 4th-grade classroom. The technology was 15 huge, electromechanical, adding machines you would typically see in the little bodegas that dotted my Bronx neighborhood. It was such a big deal our local public news station visited our classroom and filmed us using the machines. We knew that day was coming; the teacher told us we had to dress up for the cameras. I wore a white shirt without a tie. I could only be seen briefly on our old black-and-white television at home. My image was mostly a black blur, but that was my first time on television, and it was good enough for me. I don’t remember what happened to those machines after the dog and pony show. The last time I saw those machines was on the actual news brief. I was nine years old, and I questioned (silently) what was the purpose of using those machines. My little mind could not squeeze out even the most mundane advantage of pressing buttons to add, subtract and multiply on a 10-pound paperweight of modern technology. I could only think about a job as a cashier, and those machines added nothing to my knowledge or cognitive abilities, and it was not inspiring or innovative. It was just a cool thing to see and a photo opportunity to capture Bronx kids banging on an adding machine as if this would change our lives positively.
The school did not stop to think that there was no problem solved by introducing adding machines to the classroom. We already knoew how to add, subtract and multiply. Technology had entered my classroom, but technology education certainly did not. Many educators mistake teaching how to use technology for delivering technology education. It’s the difference between learning how to drive a car and learning how to design and build a car. Some people judge intelligence on the speed of response time. As Joseph Weizenbaum warned us, we have become more impressed by calculation than human judgment.
That was the dark age of bringing technology into the classroom. I often think about that event. Even then, it was lame to me. At that time, we used mimeograph machines to make copies; televisions were large and had to be placed in the library, which only had one lone black and white television in the school. Since VCRs and DVDs were not invented yet, we watched movies being beamed by film projectors. Keeping students’ attention then was easier because there were fewer distractions. There were no smartphones, and we could not dream of video games because that was still light-years away. This was before portable electronic calculators were in use. The only computers we were accustomed to were the ridiculous, brightly colored wall of dancing lights that we saw on television shows like Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Lost in Space.
We did not have anything cool or portable to have in the classroom. So instead, someone came up with the idea that putting cash registers in the school would help train an army of cashiers ready to step into the high-tech job of ringing up cigarettes and pampers. Between the time I was in elementary school and my senior year in high school, great leaps were made in technology. We sent people to the moon, landed on Mars, and black and white televisions were no longer manufactured. We were using expensive, bulky, electronic calculators, I built a radio in my electronics class, and as a sophomore, I was introduced to computers in my data processing class. From that time of the technological education dark ages to the present time of ChatGPT, I along with millions of other baby boomers, have mixed feelings about the technology advances we have experienced since our childhood.
In November of 2022, I purchased the poetry book Divine Blue Light by poet Will Alexander. That was the worst book of poetry I have ever read. It was so bad I described it as having no human traits whatsoever in my critique of the book. Here is part of my assessment.
“…this book reminds me of the impressive but often nonsensical raving of a book written by an AI program. I imagine some types of words fed into a program that uses an algorithm to produce poems with cosmic themes. It is like a literary version of the AI program DALL-E, where deep learning artificial intelligence is used to generate digital images from descriptions or “prompts.” I am not accusing Will Alexander of being (or using) an algorithm to write poetry. Still, his poems are so dense, cryptic, personal (I assume), secretive, and so opaque reading them is anything but a pleasant experience.”
A couple of weeks after writing this article, I was watching a YouTube video on the operations of a camera I was thinking about purchasing. At the end of the video, the host mentioned that the instructional video’s dialogue was written by an AI program called ChatGPT. I was intrigued, and after introducing myself to ChatGPT, my life changed. But more of that later. My initial response after experimenting with ChatGPT was to snicker. As an educator, I am familiar with students plagiarizing not only the great writers of history but also the work of their classmates, even the poorly done work. It did not matter much to them; they only wanted to turn in an assignment, quality be damned!
But when I thought about Will Alexander after testing ChatGPT, I realized that I was wrong about him using an AI program; he’s just an awful poet. That’s because ChatGPT can write much better poems than Will Alexander, and let’s be honest, ChatGPT can also write better poetry than most so-called poets. I am hopeful. Everything is not doom and gloom because of AI. We always hear complaints that our kids can’t read or write. If they are using ChatGPT, that will still take a certain degree of cognizance. It is no different than a student using a calculator. Suppose students can do exponential operations, square roots, logarithms, trigonometric, and hyperbolic functions. In that case, traversing the steps of those mathematical operations on a calculator takes just as much brain energy as doing it manually. In this case, a calculator’s primary function is to save time. The current AI programs will not make Americans dumber, and calculators do not make us smarter. The National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) announced historic declines and said, “There’s bad news for everybody.” So calculators did not make us more intelligent in the last 60 years or more. And it did not ruin our ability to do the math. We use calculators as tools, and the business of education and the pedagogy of teaching math has mostly stayed the same since my mother was in school.
But it made us, at least a little, Uhm, less bright. We are outsourcing some of our cognitive abilities, and I am not a brain surgeon or neurophysicist, but, I don’t have to be to realize that my sense of direction has diminished since I have been using the GPS system, and my memory only holds two phone numbers, my wife’s and mine. Before smartphones, I knew well over a couple of dozen numbers. People younger than me have never exercised their sense of direction since they were born into technology. If you ask a young person if they know any phone numbers by heart, you would get a blank stare.
ChatGPT will not make anyone a better writer but it may clean up some of their flaws. Students will have to work on learning to prompt in a way that results in a great response. The lazy will only be rewarded if they learn the relatively new skillset of interacting with ChatGPT. The quality of their work will not improve, just like a calculator will only save you if you already optained the foundations of math to build on. The introduction of ChatGPT into our world will not make our society smarter. Still, suppose we don’t counter this AI technology’s overwhelming lure and power by exercising the skills that make us human. In that case, we will see a tremendous change in the operations of our brains as we continue to outsource our memories and acquiesce to AI’s growing takeover of everything digital.
Technology, especially new technology, has always arrived on the scene accompanied by scrutiny, skepticism, and caution. Negative vibes could be heavily felt about the introduction of new technology in our society. Even the invention of the telephone caused much consternation. Critics complained loss of face-to-face communication diminishes our social skills. It would erode etiquette! Privacy was another concern because of the long distance; someone could listen if they were between the calls. Other concerns were the negative impact on businesses that relied on face-to-face communications. There were also unproven fears regarding the long-term health risks of being exposed to electrical transmissions. People in the telegraph industry felt that the telephone would make their industry and skill sets obsolete. They were correct about that one. And make no mistake, ChatGPT will send greeting card writers to the same unemployment line where VCR and television repairment once stood. But as we see, telephones did not ruin society. Instead, we adapted and made the phone an indispensable addition to our world and a necessity to make our way through this world. So, are students going to lose some of their cognative abilties becuase of ChatGPT? Are students cheating both the educational institutions and themselves by using ChatGPT? I say the ansewr s no and I have a couple of examples to prove it.
Creativity In ART
Introduction to new technologies can make lives so much easier, sometimes it eliminates specific manual skills. In art, some of The first few centuries of painting are fascinating and, at one point, seemed pretty stagnant as far as giant leaps in style, process, and aesthetics are concerned. However, during the 16th and 17th centuries, the advent of lens technology brought about significant advancements in optics and visual exploration. Pictures during that time looked like color photographs. Contrary to popular belief, this technological innovation did not diminish the skills of the great Dutch painters of the time. Instead, it served as a tool that enhanced their creativity and allowed them to push the boundaries of their craft. Lens technology offered the artists a new way of observing the world, allowing them to study and analyze various aspects of light, form, and perspective. By harnessing the capabilities of lenses, they could depict intricate textures, capture the effects of light and shadow, and create spatial depth with remarkable precision. Lens technology did not diminish the skills of painters; it only opened another door of expression.
These days visual multimedia artist blur the lines between what we consider traditional art skills and digital art skills. Some digital art skills even use the same materials such as pencils and oil paint, and marble. But designing and crafting has been taken over by software and automation and artificial computer intelligence. If an artist used these modern tools, does that make him less of an artist? Is this type of information even important to modern patrons of the arts? Are the lost skills and crafts of the old masters simply an older way of doing things?
Creativity In MUSIC
One of my favorite artists is DJ Shadow, who masterfully employs sampling. His groundbreaking debut album, “Endtroducing…..,” revolutionized the concept of sample-based music. Composed entirely of samples, the album is a testament to DJ Shadow’s meticulous crate-digging and creative vision. DJ Shadow crafted a rich tapestry of sound through his skilled arrangement and layering of samples, earning critical acclaim and influencing countless artists across genres.
DJ Shadow and other artists are admired for their ability to transform existing material into something entirely new and innovative. They navigate legal and ethical considerations by obtaining proper sample clearances or utilizing creative approaches to avoid copyright infringement. The art of sampling is not about plagiarism but rather about homage, reinterpretation, and collage-like creation. Sampling, when executed with skill and ingenuity, demonstrates the artist’s ability to transcend the original source material, breathing new life into it and introducing it to new audiences. Artists like DJ Shadow showcase a deep appreciation for music history and a willingness to reinterpret and pay homage to their influences while simultaneously forging their artistic paths.
Sampling is a powerful tool that allows musicians to create fresh, captivating music that resonates with listeners. DJ Shadow and others exemplify how sampling can be a form of artistic expression, pushing the boundaries of creativity and defying conventional notions of plagiarism. By skillfully recontextualizing and reimagining existing material, these artists have left an indelible mark on the music industry, inspiring generations of musicians to explore the vast possibilities of sampling as a means of artistic innovation. Sampling did not take away the popularity and creativity of the original artist. Music sampling technology only allowed others to express their creativity in a new way. This is the same way that ChatGPT will not diminish the work of Toni Morrison or Uwem Akpan, but the collective work of those two can be put together to form a whole new universe. When I think like this, my mind creates the idea that this analogy strangely (or not) mirrors the clockwork of nature.
DEATH of EDUCATION? — NO!
History is more than a straight line punctuated by events. It is communication, understanding, and interpreting. Astronomy is not just the study of stars; it is about communication, thinking, and contextualizing those events. In my classrooms, technology education is not a technical subject but a humanities subject. I always professed that teaching about technology divorced from historical context, i.e., without the social, cultural, and political context, is not much of an education.
Some educators think that shifting reading materials from kindergarten through eighth grade to a reading program based on factual information (objective, solid facts) and traditional American lore is a proper way to ensure a common bond is built among Americans and to enhance cultural literacy. The exact same idea should be used when it comes to technology education. Technology should be injected into all common core courses, such as history, English, and math.
Teachers are not going to stop students from using ChatGPT. And, despite promises, most students can dodge the various applications that claim to sniff out AI-written content. Even if that were true, adding another layer of time chewing duties to a teacher that is already woefully underpaid and overstressed is not the answer. The way ahead is to accept that the technology is not going away. On the contrary, its use will grow and spread exponentially. Technology is a living organism that mindlessly goes about its business toward the unknown while wiping out older technologies along the journey, some fast, some much slower. No amount of legislation or government intervention will stop the development, innovation, and creativity of AI technology. At best, AI’s use can be regulated to a certain degree, but innovation and advancement will always continue moving forward. Never!
What do we do when AI technology is coming closer to those dystopian science fiction books and movies? We can believe all of that and do nothing, or we can accept that technology will always be the stepsister we never wanted, but after all, we are humans. We have already adjusted to the significant technological changes that have taken place since the industrial revolution. We have to stop catastrophizing about AI and the future and, instead, learn as much as we can about it and, just as humans have been doing since existence, shape the environment to fit our needs best.
The rapid technological change in jobs requires not only a well-trained workforce to maintain the systems but also people who can be adaptable to change and grasp new concepts quickly to keep pace with fast-growing technologies. We owe our children the opportunity to grow with technology without being subservient or living in apathetic fear.
All students can still learn in the age of ChatGPT. There are strategies educators can use to ensure that students not only grasp the facts and concepts of a topic but also develop a deep appreciation for its historical context. Understanding how historical factors shape the present fosters critical thinking, empathy, and a broader perspective, enabling students to engage with the subject matter meaningfully and creatively.
In the realm of ChatGPT and other AI technologies, educators play a vital role in ensuring that students develop a comprehensive understanding of topics within their historical context. While AI models provide information and insights, educators can facilitate meaningful learning experiences by incorporating simple strategies. Educators should clearly define learning objectives that include historical context as a fundamental component. By setting specific goals related to understanding the historical background of a topic, educators guide students toward a more profound comprehension of its significance and impact.
Educators should curate various reliable and diverse resources that provide historical context: primary and secondary sources, documentaries, historical records, and expert interviews. Ensuring the selected resources’ accuracy, relevance, and authenticity is crucial for presenting a balanced and comprehensive historical perspective. I would not use textbooks in this context. Textbooks could be helpful to peep at the American psyche when it was published but are overtly subjective in their approach to filtering and omitting the parts that offend some MAGA citizens. Integrating primary sources, such as letters, diaries, photographs, and speeches from the relevant historical period, can immerse students in that time’s authentic voices and experiences. These sources help students grasp the nuances, complexities, and differing perspectives within the historical context.
It is essential to foster an environment that encourages critical thinking and analysis. By asking thought-provoking questions and facilitating discussions, students can examine the historical context and its impact on the topic in question. Engaging in debates, role-playing exercises, or creating historical narratives allows students to actively explore and evaluate historical events and their connections to the present. This is an excellent way for students to learn because it sticks to their memory.
I encourage students to conduct independent research. This research enables them to explore specific aspects of the historical context that interest them. By providing guidance on reliable sources and research methodologies, educators empower students to delve deeper into the subject matter, develop research skills, and present their findings coherently and evidence-based. Integrating multimedia and technology can enhance students’ understanding of historical context. Virtual tours of historical sites, interactive timelines, audiovisual materials, and digital archives provide immersive experiences that bring historical events to life and help students visualize the past.
Establishing connections between historical events and contemporary issues helps students understand the historical context’s relevance and ongoing impact. By analyzing how historical factors shape present-day realities, students can develop a nuanced understanding of the topic and its significance in the broader context of society. Implementing formative assessments, such as quizzes, discussions, or written assignments, provides opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding of the topic within its historical context. Educators should give constructive feedback to guide students’ learning and identify areas for further exploration or clarification.
Moral progress is a turtle; technological progress is a falcon. AI technology is growing faster than our ability to tame its moral development. We still have to be vigilant and ask why to invent things. What problem are we trying to solve, and whose problem is it? We have to adapt; we have no choice. Will uncontrolled technological advancement and development destroy American traditions and social institutions? That answer will have to come from the students that are currently in primary education. We have to learn how to peacefully coexist with the rapid advancement of technology.
“All our inventions are but improved means to an unimproved end.”
Henry David Thoreau
