In my English and writing classes, I ask my students to interview fictional character robots.
The first time I gave them this project, I was afraid of getting them addicted to Character.AI — arguably the most appealing and addictive type of chatbot for young people, because it gives students exactly what I thought they wanted: a friend who never says no, never gets tired, and never pushes away.
The exact opposite happened. Months later, I asked if they wanted to interview another character chatbot. The response was resounding: “No, it’s old news. »
There was no need to tell these students that AI was addictive. They didn’t need a policy or a warning. They came to their own conclusions because they had a structured encounter with technology – one that required them to interrogate it rather than consume it.
Their attitude answers a question that many education stakeholders are grappling with: what does it mean to be “mastered in AI”? No, it’s not a false concept – it just hasn’t been fully defined yet. We are still researching. We’re still trying to figure it out.
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The exercise had helped strengthen their resistance to AI dependence. I believe this is what AI culture actually produces. No addiction — antibodies. We’re always looking for the right dosage, but finding the right balance and the right type of exposure to AI helps the body build its protective layers. The activity I engaged my students in helped them learn how to question AI, one of the best ways to develop the cognitive defense system.
It’s possible that a small amount of AI in a student’s life could even benefit them. Or, in another way, it could act like a vaccine.
AI is sold as a product that increases productivity, even creativity. The only way to express its dangers is to engage in research.
This research will then shed light on its problems. Scientists thought cocaine was good for the body before they realized it was bad. Researchers claimed that cigarettes could reduce stress before they realized they caused cancer.
AI companies I don’t want you to know about the harms of AI. They don’t want you to know about it. Every ruling class in history has understood that a literate population is dangerous.
Related: TEACHER’S VOICE: Students need to be made aware of the potential harms of AI as well as its benefits.
AI is a drug: heroin. Cocaine. Cigarettes. Alcohol. Using AI without instruction is like getting behind the wheel without training.
It’s like dangerous as it can be. This is what I’ve felt since ChatGPT first released three years ago. I feel this – often – whenever the CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman speaks, or even if I just see his face on my iPhone screen.
But this medicine is here. It’s peddled in the streets. It is available for free and our students consume it in massive quantities.
And yet, despite the dangers, we should not shy away from them. Learning this new technology does not mean giving in. It is – or can be – an act of subversion.
Look at it this way: what do we do when a new drug hits the streets? What do we do when a new virus enters our world?
Well, for starters, we contain it. We capture it. We are making a vaccine out of it. And when we find the right controlled dosage, we give it to everyone. We build the antibodies. We develop a natural resistance.
Related: OPINION: Schools can’t teach AI culture without a way to measure it
Physiological resistance develops through exposure. Not through unconfined exposure, but through supervised exposure. There are no “doctors” in AI mastery yet, but anyone can become one.
When it comes to narcotics, we know that “Say No to Drugs” doesn’t work. Drug education works. Drug awareness works.
The more a person knows what exists and what it can do to them, the more they develop their discernment. It’s the same with AI as with viruses. We know that the only way to develop a vaccine is to test it in small quantities. Document the results. Switch dosage. Combine it with other elements.
We are all already part of it. The more we ignore the infiltration into society of technology that never asked permission to enter our lives, the more it invades our systems undetected.
The best strategy is proactivity. Proactivity is not resignation, it is strength. It’s revolutionary. Action, not inaction.
AI is a drug. But if history has taught us anything, it’s that drugs need to be researched.
So please get involved. To understand. Learn. Because the more you know, the more you help develop our antibodies.
Mike Kentz is an assistant professor of writing at Fairleigh Dickinson University and founder of AI Friction Labs. — an educational technology platform that provides educators with engaging, story-based simulations to train and assess student skills.
Contact the opinion editor at opinion@hechingerreport.org.
This story about mastering AI was produced by The Hechinger reportan independent, nonprofit news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Register with Hechinger weekly newsletter.
The article TEACHER’S VOICE: AI is an addictive drug that must be researched, studied and contained appeared first on The Hechinger Report.
