US Schools Forced to Develop Their Own AI Policies
K-12 schools in the U.S. are having to establish their own rules for integrating artificial intelligence into education, in the absence of a clear national policy. Educators are concerned about ethical issues such as student safety and data privacy, as well as the potential dangers of deepfakes.
AI in Education: Policy Void and Local Solutions
Generative artificial intelligence technology is transforming the education sector at an unprecedented pace. Faced with the opportunities and risks presented by the technology, K-12 schools in the US are trying to adapt their teaching and learning processes. However, schools face a significant challenge in transitioning to the AI age: operating within a policy void.
While many states offer guidance on AI, only a few mandate that local schools establish specific policies. This situation is becoming evident as teachers, students, and school administrators continue to use generative AI in countless new ways. As one policymaker noted during a survey, "There is a huge gap between what is happening in classrooms and policy."
Ethical Concerns and the Deepfake Content Threat
Education policymakers point to a series of ethical concerns emerging with the proliferation of the technology. Foremost among these concerns are student safety, data privacy, and negative impacts on learning. Additionally, concerns are raised about the industry's influence and the potential for technology providers to later charge schools for large language model-based tools that are currently free.
Another major source of concern is deepfake content. According to some reports, state administrators are quite worried with the question, "What happens if a student uses an imitation of my voice to call off school or report a bomb threat?" This situation, paralleling the EU's investigation of X platform for sexual deepfakes generated by Grok AI and reports on child safety failures, highlights the potential ramifications of AI misuse in the education field.
Dominance of Local Decisions and the Role of Tech Giants
Despite more than three years passing since chatbots became widely accessible, most states have not yet implemented formal policies. While many states are providing guidance or toolkits or beginning to draft state-level policies, local decisions, where each school district is primarily responsible for shaping its own plans, dominate the current landscape.
This ambiguous environment could make schools dependent on the tools and policies offered by tech giants. A similar dependency and ethical questions are observed in other areas, such as content policies in app stores and data privacy lawsuits. Furthermore, growing concerns about the impact of social media and technology platforms on youth gain more importance with tech giants facing trial in social media addiction lawsuits.
Policymakers also emphasize that teaching students to use AI technology for their own benefit remains a primary goal. However, the path to achieving this goal lies through a clear, fair, and secure policy framework.
