Wake County students and staff would learn skills for using artificial intelligence and other digital tools under a policy being drafted by the public school system.
System leaders want students and staff to understand how to properly use artificial intelligence, and they’re hashing out the details on when and how to use the technology.
As contemplated now, system leaders would limit artificial intelligence use to students 13 years or older, who can give permission to use artificial intelligence tools. Leaders are also eyeing using Google Gemini, specifically, because they say students and staff can use Gemini without the tool storing and using the data students and staff put in Gemini.
“I think it’s important that we meet students where they are and AI is here,” Board Vice Chairman Tyler Swanson told the board’s policy committee Tuesday, when leaders presented board members with the idea of a generative AI policy. “If we push back on this… we are not setting students up to be productive members of society.”
Leaders plan to return to the policy committee June 25 with a draft policy. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is a tool that analyzes troves of content across the Internet to “learn” information, stored as data. Generative AI tools can then create texts, videos, images and other things, when prompted. Many generative AI tools take the prompts users give them and store those as data that it can continue to “learn” from.
The school system has already embraced some use of artificial intelligence in some of its schools, allowing it to be used in middle and high schools.
Some school board members said Tuesday they were concerned about how artificial intelligence would be incorporated into everyday activities and the potential impact on student learning.
“I have some real concerns about the ethics and the impact on jobs and the impact on our teaching long-term,” Board Member Sam Hershey said, adding that he agreed that Wake needs to make sure its students don’t fall behind in teaching students to use critical technological skills. “I think that’s conversation the school system needs to have.”
Superintendent Robert Taylor said he expects the district will have to continually update its policy as generative AI technology continues to advance. But he said it’s critical to have a policy in place as a starting point.
The school board doesn’t have a policy on artificial intelligence, specifically, though some other school districts do, WRAL News previously reported. Some have prohibited access entirely to website such as ChatGPT. Others, like Wake, allow generative AI use, such as Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Harnett County Schools, where the board had encouraged the use of generative AI.
