Weingarten weighs in on AI: ‘The robots can’t be in charge’

The president of one of the biggest teachers unions in the country has come out with a cautionary warning on AI in schools, emphasizing the need for learning before students are exposed to the technology.

“So, you know, from an education and a people perspective, the human beings have to be in charge of AI. The robots can’t be in charge. The machines can’t be in charge. And AI as a generative technology cannot outstrip human decision-making,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, told NewsNation’s Blake Burman .

Her two main concerns are the privacy of students and students engaging in “cognitive offloading” by relying on AI for classwork.

“Look, of course, we have to actually master the technology, but first things first, we can’t have kids addicted to screens. We can’t have kids on earphones with screens on computers all day. Kids have to learn. They have to learn relationship building. They have to learn how to think. That is the most important thing we can do for our kids right now. And when they become thinkers, then they will become masters of AI. So thinking comes before the tool,” Weingarten said.

Schools are in a difficult position as AI becomes more engrained in the workplace and useful for students to understand, while also capable of derailing student learning through cheating or relying on it for homework.

In AI’s first years on the market, many schools outright banned the technology, but that approach has tapered off, though many educators are embracing AI detection tools to see if a student is using AI for school work.

“What I’m saying is that we need to make learning engaging. We need classrooms to be safe and welcoming and we need learning to be engaging. And one of the things we just did was we just did a safety and privacy agreement with Microsoft so that we could actually assure parents throughout the country that if that if AI is being used, it’s being used safely,” Weingarten said.

“This is one of the things that parents really want. The federal government should have been doing this. That’s what Melania Trump should be championing. That’s what Donald Trump should be championing,” she added.