Wake County Board of Education discusses AI uses in school, policy during work session
CARY, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Wake County Board of Education held the first in a series of meetings to discuss the development of the district's AI policy.
Board members learned about a number of topics related to AI, including how AI is being used now and the potential risks associated with the use of the growing software.
WCPSS Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor said the district wanted board members to be well-informed now before developing a district-wide policy.
"The one thing I wanted to make sure is that we didn't create a situation where we restrict something that is going to be a part of society, that our students are going to be responsible for learning, that our teachers are going to be responsible for doing so," he said.
A team from Amazon Web Services, or AWS, gave the board an informational presentation on AI.
District staff say there is no timeline for the adoption of the policy right now.
AI could be a major tool for the district, with the board saying it could help with personalized learning plans.
Still, some board members expressed concerns about how to teach students to use AI responsibly.
"I think the biggest concern that everyone has is academic integrity and honesty, things that can be used with AI to give false narratives, false pictures," said Taylor.
Mikaya Thurmond is an AI expert and lecturer. She says the district needs to consider including AI training for teachers and developing rules governing students' AI usage for their policy framework.
"If anyone believes that students are not using AI to get to conclusions and to turn in homework, at this point, they're just not being honest about it," she said.
For starters, she says students should credit AI when used on assignments and show their chat history with AI programs.
"That tells me you're at least doing the critical thinking part," said Thurmond. "And then there should be some assignments that no eye is allowed for, and some where it is integrated. But I think that there has to be a mixture once educators know how to use it themselves."
Something the superintendent and Thurmond agree on is parental involvement.
They both say parents should be having conversations now with their children about appropriate conversations to have with AI.
Taylor says he wanted board members to be well-informed on the topic before a district-wide policy goes into effect. There's no current timeline for that proposal, but the school board remained in closed session late into the night Tuesday.
ABC11's Sean Coffey contributed.
SEE ALSO | Restraining of students on the rise in Wake County, data shows
