Our View: Schools need clear boundaries for artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how students learn and how teachers teach. Schools need to figure out how to use AI without letting it take over the work of education.

In the Lake Havasu Unified School District, students already use computers throughout their school years. High school students receive laptops for schoolwork, and district rules limit AI use to certain activities guided by teachers. But as AI becomes more common, school leaders must decide where it belongs in the classroom and how much students should depend on it.

AI can make difficult ideas easier to understand. It can help students research subjects they do not know much about and get extra practice when they struggle. It can also write essays, solve math problems and finish assignments in seconds.

A student who asks AI to explain a math problem may understand the lesson better. A student who simply copies the answer learns very little. Schools need to teach students the difference between using technology to learn and using it to avoid learning.

This becomes more complicated as the technology improves. AI can now produce work that looks much like something a student might create on their own. Teachers face the difficult task of deciding whether an assignment shows what a student really knows.

Banning AI is not a practical answer. Students will encounter these tools in college, at work and in everyday life. Schools should prepare them to use the technology responsibly instead of pretending it does not exist.

But students still need to learn how to read, write, think clearly and solve problems without a computer doing the work for them. These skills take practice, and sometimes students need to struggle through an assignment to learn.

Teachers are also finding ways to use AI. It can help them prepare lessons, create assignments and grade student work. This could give teachers more time to help students one-on-one.

But a computer cannot replace a teacher's understanding of a student. Automatic grading might fail to notice progress, misunderstand an unusual way of solving a problem or miss signs that a student needs help.

There is also a question of fairness. Students are expected to follow rules about AI use, while teachers may use similar tools in their own work. Their responsibilities are different, but schools should be able to explain why some uses are allowed and others are not.

The school district's governing board should make sure the district has clear rules for students and teachers. These rules should be reviewed regularly as the technology changes.

Artificial intelligence can make education more efficient. It can also make it easier to skip the hard work that leads to real learning. Schools should judge whether AI is helping by looking at what students understand, not how quickly they finish their assignments.

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