AI and Education

The Institute for Ethics in Public Life invites you to join us for "AI and Education" on Wednesday, Sep. 23, at 3:30pm in person or on Zoom with special guest Dr. John Locke, Director of the Center for Instruction and Program Innovation at SUNY Plattsburgh.

The arrival of generative AI models four years ago was very disruptive for education, and educational institutions are still wrestling with how best to deal with it. The impact goes far beyond the increased potential for cheating on assignments due to the ability of AIs to quickly produce output customized to assignment prompts.

The bigger questions relate to what role, if any, AI models should have in an educational environment. To what extent does the use of AI compromise student learning? Should educational institutions be teaching students to use AI models as part of their curriculum? Or should their use be banned on the basis that they compromise student learning?

So far there is no consensus on these issues. NYC Mayor Mamdani and Schools Chancellor recently announced a one-year moratorium on student-facing generative AI for 2-K through 8th grade in NYC public schools, with restrictions at the high school level. The University of Chicago banned AI use in its social science core as part of a broader ban on in-class technology use. On the other hand, the SUNY system has a policy that requires campuses to integrate instruction in the evaluation, use, and understanding of AI into their general education curricula, and some campuses have developed AI majors.

A consensus may be starting to form, with some movement in Congress to regulate AI use in higher ed, but in the meantime there are vast differences in how we think about this, both between campuses and (most likely) across our own.

Dr. John Locke is Director of the Center for Instruction and Program Innovation (IPI) at SUNY Plattsburgh, where he leads initiatives in instructional design, educational technology, faculty development, online learning, and digital accessibility. He also serves as the University’s Electronic Information Technology Accessibility Officer and teaches U.S. National Politics in the Department of Communication Studies.

With more than a decade of experience supporting faculty in the thoughtful use of emerging technologies, Locke has been closely involved in campus conversations about generative AI—exploring both its potential to enhance teaching, learning, and creative work and the challenges it presents for higher education. His current work focuses on practical, human-centered uses of AI, including course design, accessibility, faculty support, and multimedia production. He received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service in 2021.

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