How the first executive order on AI makes the technology safer for students
Be sure to check out the suggested Huddle question at the bottom of this article to have an engaging conversation on this topic with your students in class!
In a historic move, President Joe Biden has signed the first-ever executive order on artificial intelligence (AI). While AI can enhance learning experiences, there are concerns about privacy, discrimination, labor market disruptions, and scammers. This order aims to protect AI users from racial inequalities, deep fakes, and copyright infringement– a significant step towards making AI safer for students.
As technology, safety, and education continue to evolve and overlap, this new executive order will have a profound impact on schools as it creates new guidelines that will shape the future of AI and the way students navigate it. Let’s dive in.
Tell me more
In a call with reporters, The Biden Administration shared that the executive order directs the Department of Justice as well as other federal offices to develop standards for “investigating and prosecuting civil rights violations related to AI.”
Before passing this order, and as part of his mission to support student well-being, Biden saw a need for the government to address the risks of social media and AI. This order aims to further that mission by making sure AI is trustworthy and helpful, and that platforms like ChatGPT protect user privacy.
While AI has been around for years, the advances in AI over the past 12 months have spurred the conversation about positive AI use. ChatGPT, the generative AI platform that rolled out in November of 2022, became the fastest-growing consumer application in history. Since its development, the platform has had legal battles over copyright infringement and plagiarism, as well as criticism for toxic speech, racial bias, and stereotypes. As a result, the U.S. government is stepping in to implement safeguards on the platform so that users avoid legal troubles and inappropriate or offensive speech and behavior from AI chatbots.
What Biden’s executive order will do:
- Require large companies to share safety test results with the U.S. government before the official release of AI systems
- Prioritize the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s development of standards for AI “red-teaming,” or stress-testing the defenses and potential problems within systems
- Develop standards for watermarking AI-generated content in partnership with the Department of Commerce
The order also addresses training data for large AI systems and lays out the need to evaluate how agencies collect and use commercially available data. Training data refers to the information used to program AI models, which can be text, images, sound, or other types of data, along with corresponding labels or annotations. By creating an order that evaluates how agencies are using consumer data, the government can better protect user privacy by preventing AI from gaining access to private information.
Because of these new safety measures, platforms like ChatGPT will now be maintained in a way that aims to protect students’ private data, making the platforms safer for use. While work is done to constantly improve AI, it is ultimately up to students to decide how they will navigate the platform. As AI becomes increasingly integrated into students’ lives, we can teach students to use AI responsibly, so that they succeed academically and protect their well-being.
TSI’s Take
As AI becomes an unavoidable part of students’ lives, it’s important to huddle with them about positive technology use and empower students to use tech for good, in and out of the classroom.
While the government plays its part in keeping AI users safe, students should continue to protect themselves online and use technology for good. To empower responsible and positive decision-making when navigating AI, here are some tips:
- Show your students how to navigate AI as a way to become stronger writers: ChatGPT can create outlines on papers or even provide feedback on their writing!
- Teach students about critical thinking and how to confirm that AI responses are credible.
- Incorporate open discussions on ChatGPT into your class lessons.
- Explain how submitting AI work as your own is plagiarism, which has several legal and academic consequences. There are many tools that exist now to detect AI-generated content.
- Show students how AI can help them prepare for exams!
Students are using AI positively by creating to-do lists and improving their writing skills, but are also tripping up with AI by using it to find information quickly without checking its credibility. To learn ways students are harnessing ChatGPT for good, slipping up on the platform, and how educators can use it to level up learning in the classroom, check out our ChatGPT Playbook.
#WinAtSocial Huddle Question
Huddle with your students
ChatGPT and other AI tools have a multitude of different uses, many of which students can use to benefit themselves academically. A few of these ways include improving your writing skills, helping you study, improving your vocabulary, or learning more about certain subjects. What are some ways you use AI, or have heard of AI being used, to help you learn?
The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in empowering students by understanding students. Through #WinAtSocial, our gamified, peer-to-peer learning platform, we equip students, educators, and families to navigate their social world – in the classroom and beyond, online and offline – in healthy, high-character ways. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips, rather than scares and restricts. We incorporate timely topics about social media, tech use, and current events that are impacting student well-being and learning. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach life skills for the modern day, capture student voice, and provide school leaders with actionable insights. Through these insights, students play an essential role in school efforts to support their own health, happiness, and future success as we enable high-impact teaching, meaningful family conversations, and a healthy school culture.