Educators at all positions and grade levels in K-12 education must reconsider if they'll ever include even conversations in the classroom with students about AI. Many schools and teachers are keeping AI entirely out of classrooms, and I am honestly a little baffled why we - as in the collective education system 'we' - are SO far behind in preparing our kids for a completely new, unprecedented world of advanced AI and humanoid robotics.
Since many/most educators know very little about how AI works, how it is trained, what ethical practices should be employed (outside of "don't cheat"), and what both the present and future consequences to daily life of our students could be, I've put together the following resources. To be transparent, I used AI (ChatGPT 5.5) to write these up; otherwise, it would have taken years to research and write all this. I give credit to all the unknown people who developed the knowledge and resources over decades that then was used to train the AI.
Recommended order for the Cut to the Chase series:
- AI 101 for Everyone
- Mini-Activity Ideas for High Schools, NO EXPERTISE Needed
- Lesson Ideas for ALL Grade Levels in K-12 That Include AI
- Lesson Ideas for High Schools with Skills Needed for AI and Robotics Embedded, all subjects
- Ethics Needed for Students in the AI Era
- Using EELS (i.e. SEL) to Prepare the AI Generation
- Preparing Globally Responsible Stewards of AI and Robotics: K-12 UN SDG Project Ideas
- Suggestions for AP Teachers - Including AI Skills in Lessons without Major Changes
For a better understanding of what our student's futures will likely include:
- Jobs Analysis and Potential Timetables of AI & Robotics Disrupting Jobs
- AI 101 for Leaders and Policymakers: 40 Pieces of Legislation to Consider to Guide the AI Future
- Advanced AI in our World: Human-AI-Robot Complex Systems and What Governments MUST Do
If interested in looking at the development of AI and robotics from an evolutionary perspective, check out this volume.
To get ideas of what full-year courses look like in the core subjects areas, where AI Preparation is embedded in the courses, check these out.
Yes, a 'future' of advanced AI has actually been here the last couple years, with initial job disruption primarily in some professional white collar sectors, primarily in entry-level positions, with many more anticipated to come in the next few years. Robots have revolutionized large-scale manufacturing, like car and large machinery factories, for years already, but humanoid robots already are making a splash in some parts of the world, such as China, and potentially will disrupt more blue-collar jobs going into the 2030s.
WHY ARE WE NOT PREPARING OUR STUDENTS FOR THIS ON A LARGE SCALE? It seems to be a few schools here and there, and a few teachers here and there, but I believe we are dropping the ball. If you are an educator, please take a look at the first couple recommendations, which have numerous examples of what short, 10-15 minutes could look like, just engaging your students to think about these things. Get ideas down. No expertise is needed. Learn about EELS, which are the human skills machines will not have, and that our students must be strongest in, so they can become good stewards of these technologies and use them for the betterment of humanity! Even today's seniors will be coming out of college in just over four years - we cannot comprehend how advanced these technologies will be at that time, but it will almost certainly look like a different world compared to today.
LET'S DO THIS, FOR THE SAKE OF OUR KIDS!
Graphic from Tlciscreative.com. Expect to see this in just a couple years in some workplaces.
