How AI Shapes Education—and What Can We Do About it
If “the creative adult is the child who survived,” as noted by Ursula K. Le Guin, then who will the creative adult be in the age of AI? I watch adults and children alike asking AI to write birthday card wishes, brainstorm party themes, write agendas, fill in the blanks, and more. Do we still need to … think?
AI also dazzles, yes—from giving us instant knowledge and saving hours on research, to performing surgeries better than a doctor. What an exciting time to be alive!
But I can’t help but wonder, how is AI reshaping our children’s creativity and their education? Should I be worried, or excited? And what can I do to continue supporting my children’s education outside of school?
I found my answers in the informative podcast, Inner Cosmos-What’s the future of education in an AI world? by neuroscientist David Eagleman. Below, I share the insights that resonated with me the most.
But first …
How AI Can Impact Creativity?
1. AI Replaces the Struggle (Where Creativity Lives): Want to write an essay or create an image? Just ask AI and voila!
2. AI Outshines Human Effort: In art and prose, for example, AI can create such stellar images and beautifully written pieces that it can easily discourage our own creative work. Why labour for hours when AI can do it better in seconds? What a demotivator! (See note 1)
3. AI Masters Pattern-Matching, Not Pattern-Breaking: Using AI, we prompt-engineer combinations, asking AI to compile billions of existing pieces of information into something new. And with that, invention—the leap beyond the data—is gone.
4. AI Problem-Solves for Us: Got a problem? Just ask AI, and it will give a million solutions that fit into a box. And in many cases, that’s ok, but have you tried solving it on your own first? Have you tried thinking outside the box first?
5. AI Homogenizes Output: AI models are trained on large, popular data and input. The output is often stellar, but it still gravitates towards the “commonality”, the familiar, leading to less novelty.
(The above five points in bold were all suggested by AI, because it did it better than I did! See– even I’m in trouble! … The rest in mine.)
So how do we encourage children (and discipline ourselves along the way) to use AI with care and purpose?
- Do-it-yourself first: Always write and create your piece on your own first. Delay that instant gratification you get the moment you prompt AI for creation.
- Use AI for feedback, not creation: Once you have created a piece, invite AI to critique it, just like you would ask a teacher.
- Prompt for divergence: Use your creativity to come up with unusual, creative prompts and see what happens.
And now …
How AI Impacts Education
The following points are summarized from the above Inner Cosmos podcast and digested and applied by me.
1. AI is making knowledge free and instant: Knowledge cost is plummeting to near-zero. Not only do we have internet and now AI to teach us absolutely anything, but we also have free resources such as Khan Academy, Coursera, edX, and more.
2. AI creates different brain wiring in children: Unlike adults, our children are “digital natives.” Their malleable brains are being shaped and formed in the current fast-paced, interactive media world. Research shows that many (older) children now scan text in an F-shaped sequence, as opposed to reading it line by line. Woot?
3. AI and its associated bandit, social media, shorten our attention spans and our patience: Hello, ADHD-like reflexes! Eagleman argues that the minds that constantly change input and information sources, juggling WhatsApp and ChatGPT, are the same minds that struggle to stay on a single page. So, “the onus becomes on the educator to meet them halfway.”
How can we support our children’s education in the age of AI?
1. Ignite curiosity: Instead of endless lectures, ignite children’s curiosity about a topic, have them ask questions they are curious about, and allow them to do their own research. Why? Because “just-in-time information sticks better due to neurotransmitters released during curiosity.” For example, if you want your kids to learn about WWII, give them a brief overview and let them ask and answer their questions by doing research with AI.
2. Make it engaging and interactive: Our children’s brains are adapted to rapid input. With all the multimedia out there, from TikTok to Instagram, we are now scanners and scrollers. What kid wants to read a textbook these days? Aim to replace “papers” with experiments.
My eight-year-old recently asked me to bring back the Russian language–a language I used to speak to her in addition to French, but dropped it because, well, there are only so many hours in a day (I’ve kept French!). But I see things differently now: I can seamlessly re-integrate Russian into our days because there are phrases I say daily, like “breakfast is ready,” or “time to go”, so why not say them in a foreign language? Remember: engage and interact! (Note 2)
3. Spark Creativity Through Open Questions: Guide discovery, without direct answers. Ask open-ended questions. Yes, even in math! My third grader recently came home with a math question: Zoe is 36 and can shop in a store; I’m 19 and I can’t shop yet. In how many years can i shop with her? What kind of trick question is that?
In pure mathematical terms, the answer is 36-19=17, so in 17 years. But hang on here. We stop growing by the time we’re about 19, so there’s nothing stopping us from shopping at an adult store at that age. Moreover, at 19, you can help your 36 year-old-sister with shopping, so again, you can shop today. You can also shop just for accessories or family gifts. You see? An open-ended math question can have so many creative answers!
4. Develop Critical Thinking via Debate: Pick a topic, take a side, and argue it fiercely. Then switch sides. Got no time? Ask your child to debate against AI! Evaluate the debate outcome on the logical strength of the arguments taken by your child.
My 11-year-old daughter drained my ears with convincing arguments of why I should get her age-inappropriate Sephora products. I’m now asking her to argue why I shouldn’t. Ha! (Note 3)
5. Memorization and Rote Knowledge Still Matter: With knowledge, you are better equipped at using AI. Here is the best way AI explained this concept. Oops, did I use AI here? I did!
Two Timeless Gifts: Roots and Wings
Lastly, inspired by an 18th-century German writer, Gerta, Eagleman extends his forward thinking: “Our goal as educators”, he says, “is to give children roots and wings.”
- Roots—Knowing the past, plus the ability to think critically and reflect on it.
- Wings—”The courage to move into the future and create something new.”
Beautifully said!
I now dare to say: creative adults will be the children who survived using AI with prudence and purpose.
I wish you all the best in your educational endeavors.
-Olya Kaye
***
Notes and Additional Thoughts
Note 1: Why labour for hours when AI can do it better?
There is an ongoing fear that AI will replace everything and everyone. It’s a valid fear indeed. Just read The Coming Wave: AI, Power and Our Future, by Mustafa Suleyman, and see if you can sleep at night. But as a writer, I’d like to believe that AI will never replace the heartbeat behind our work. Same with art. So, I’ll leave you with this question: would you rather purchase art or read a book created/written by a fellow human or AI?
Note 2: How to Teach Your Child a Foreign Language at Home
If you’re interested in this topic, check out How to Teach Your Child a Foreign Language and French Theater blogs, which I wrote before I became a writer (please pardon my old writing. It so happened that I wrote these years before the emergence of ChatGPT, ha-ha!)
Note 3: The Other Side of Sephora Debate–Why Mom Shouldn’t Buy Sephora For Her 11-Year-Old Daughter
I expected my daughter to argue about the age-inappropriate ingredients, the hefty price tag, and not succumbing to social pressures, but she was more creative than that. Here is what she wrote: “It is really popular, so we will all smell deliciously like salted caramel; we will all smell the same … but still.”
I laughed.