Key take-aways

• Teachers Must Understand AI Ethics: even though the teacher need not be an AI expert, the teacher should understand the kinds of data security and privacy issues related to AI. These must be discussed with the learners. Teachers should be mindful which AI’s they recommend.
• AI Is Useful, But Not Infallible: AI may be helpful, but it cannot be fully trusted. AI generated ideas, summaries, and other things need to be double-checked and most likely refined.
• Improving Time Management with AI: AI can free time for substantive things. Despite the need to double-check AI generated materials, its use increases quality time-use.
• Critical Thinking Cannot Be Outsourced: thinking cannot be outsourced to AI, which needs emphasizing especially if AI is used for advice or some kind of tutoring. My analogy was that AI is possibly “a convincing liar” – it cannot be blindly trusted.
• Learning Through AI’s Limitations: AI’s have their limitations. These vary depending on the AI in question. Yet, AI’s develop fast. Discovering the limitations is, however, a learning experience.
• AI Skills Improve with Practice and Peer Learning: using AI is a practical skill, and one gets better by using it. This can be made more efficient with peer-learning and the sharing of experiences.
• Demonstration Over Explanation: ideally, experiences are shared through practical demonstrations. Instead of accounting orally how the participants used AI, the workshop should have had groups demonstrate in practice how they used AI.
• Participants Want More AI Training: in their feedback, workshop participants emphasized that AI use should be taught to everyone at universities at some basic level. They also appreciated that this workshop required them to use AI. Everyone gained more AI experience and competency regardless of previous familiarity with AI.
• Creating a Safe and Transparent Environment: a key aspect was the workshop’s atmosphere. Instead of forbidding AI, it was fully acceptable to use this technology just as long as the participants accounted how they had used it. As a result, the teacher did not need to police the participants, who had no reason to hide their AI use. This made for an honest exchange of thoughts and experiences.