I read with great interest The Salt Lake Tribune article on A.I. use in Utah schools. As an educator myself, I have seen sales pitches from companies trying to sell teachers expensive digital tools which allow for exactly the kind of assignment with which the article opened: a simulated conversation with a deceased historical figure.
I have to admit I felt a chill down my spine reading about a classroom where students were talking to an A.I.-generated Anne Frank, not because of “how far A.I. has come,” but because it plays into exactly the kind of fantasies that make A.I. so dangerous.
The reason a student cannot speak to Anne Frank in real time is both because of historical distance but, more importantly, because her living voice was silenced by the policies and violence of Nazi Germany. That her diary is a miraculous remnant preserved by her grieving father teaches an important historical lesson: When people are murdered and silenced and/or become part of an increasingly distant past, their texts and texts about them are what remains for us to consider and interpret in context. While it may be tempting to resurrect their voices through a plagiaristic predictive algorithm, to do so says a lot more about our fantasies of control than Anne Frank. It connects with the rise in young people turning to A.I. in the place of true friendship or professionally accountable therapists, as if A.I. were some sort of magic tool to overcome the basic facts of history and humanity.
I was happy to see an emphasis on classroom connection in the article but I worry that in our public schools, so often facing teacher shortages, we will see an increase in students being taught by predictive text that, by definition, cannot be held accountable for what it teaches. I usually do not agree with Gov. Cox but I am cheered by his skepticism.
Tim Duffy, Sandy
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible