October 15, 2025

A.I., as in Anti-Intellectual

People who express concern about the use of AI in schools often focus on how it allows students to get away with something (by using OpenAI to write their essays). But shouldn't we be talking more about its potential effects on teaching and learning than whether it will impede our ability to evaluate students? The problem is not just that we seem to be overestimating the capabilities of LLMs but that we seem to be underestimating the essence of education, which is a process, not merely a series of products. Moreover, is it really a math or English teacher's responsibility to train students in how to use AI? At best, that skill is quite different from learning to reason through a problem, read deeply, or organize one's thoughts. At worst, AI offers a way for students to avoid doing those things.

RESOURCES:

Research:

Hamsta Bastani et al., "Generative AI Can Harm Learning," 2024 (https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4895486)

Nataliya Kosmyna et al., "Your Brain on ChatGPT," 2025 (https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.08872)

Michael Gerlich, "AI Tools in Society," 2025 (https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/1/6)

Activism:

https://against-a-i.com/

https://stopgenai.com/

https://openletter.earth/an-open-letter-from-educators-who-refuse-the-call-to-adopt-genai-in-education-cb4aee75

Other critiques:

This episode overlaps with a recent essay by Alfie Kohn ("The Chatbot in the Classroom, the Forklift at the Gym" - https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/ai/), which contains dozens of links to provocative discussions of AI by other writers.

 

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PRODUCTION SUPPORT: Ultraviolet Audio

ART: Abi Kohn