Edgar Trout proposes four AI activity categories for moratorium consideration
Edgar Trout suggests distinguishing between top-down ed tech rollouts (where a pause is prudent), bottom-up teacher innovations, learning about AI itself through unplugged activities, and teachers using AI for lesson development. He argues beneficial uses should survive a moratorium and stresses partnership with higher education institutions.
Good afternoon, chairs, committee staff, and the wonderful students in the room.
I would like you to consider four activity categories when debating a moratorium on AI.
Category one, the top.
Down rollout of ed tech tools by the central administration.
A pause is prudent here, especially given the insightful questions of this council.
The next three categories, though, should live beyond a moratorium.
Category two is the bottom-up learning innovations by classroom educators.
Imagine a lesson where students tackle an issue in their community.
A Gen AI conversation helps them aggregate public data and stakeholder views for them to discuss, analyze, and critically debate.
Category three is learning about AI itself.
Imagine a Gen AI tool writes a story, print it out on paper, view it screen free.
Students then learn to uncover any biases in that output.
Today's students must experience this as future tech leaders, policy advocates, and consumers who will vote with their dollars on technologies.
Category four, teachers using AI tools to support lesson development.
Imagine a teacher who prepares a supportive lesson after conversing with a Gen AI tool about students'common misperceptions on the topic.
Students benefit without FERPA-protected information being shared.
Encourage and support teachers to propose innovations and the AI tools they need.
Rigorously review the ideas from compatibility with regulations.
Accompany this with AI-specific professional development.
Strengthen it by organizing co-creation communities of teacher innovators, community stakeholders, and pedagogical innovators at higher education partners.
I can't stress the higher education portion enough.
As we think about what activities live outside a moratorium, we should remember that these technologies will continue to be used in the world.
Our students will graduate, they will become students in college where they'll confront AI.
We must be responsible in our use of AI, but we must also not do a disservice to our students in pausing the beneficial uses.
Thank you.
Thank you.