Anika sat down with Dave Oates to explore a counterintuitive truth: in an era of AI disruption, critical thinking has become your most defensible asset. Dave shares his transformational journey from Navy public affairs officer to crisis PR expert to educator—revealing why asking the right questions is the only intellectual differentiator AI cannot replace. He introduces three non-negotiable conditions for AI in the classroom—citation, source validation, and the why behind every answer—and discusses why institutions that swing from banning AI to embracing it overnight are doing students a disservice. The conversation challenges how universities teach responsible technology use alongside critical thinking, and exposes why most educators remain trapped in memorization-based curricula built on fear instead of passion.
The origin of Dave's crisis PR expertise: 30 years navigating institutional reputational crises
Why institutions overestimate AI risk and the calculator debate of the 1960s
Making AI your employee, not your boss: a student's brilliant reframe
The San Diego State pivot: from banning AI mid-semester to embracing it
Why AI is a "dumb machine" that hallucinates and can't evaluate truth
The three non-negotiable conditions for AI in the classroom: citation, source validation, and the why
How assignments that demand reasoning expose AI misuse immediately
The "learn-do model": why application and mastery require more than AI-generated answers
Real-world engagement: interviews, surveys, and relationships that AI cannot replace
The experiential imperative: why showing up and being confidently vulnerable transforms learning
Why memorization-based education is dead and critical thinking is essential
Trust through accessibility: responding within one business day and personal connection
Your identity is your differentiator: the closing philosophy on what matters most
01:25-02:31 The calculator debate of the 1960s: what tech panic teaches us about today's AI fears
03:11-03:53 "Make it your employee, not your boss"—a student's brilliant reframe that changed everything
04:46-06:24 San Diego State's radical shift: banning AI to embracing it mid-semester and the confusion that followed
06:42-08:48 Why AI is fundamentally limited: it hallucinates and can't evaluate truth
12:12-12:51 The three non-negotiable conditions: citation, source validation, and explaining your reasoning
15:38-18:25 The learn-do model: why mastery requires application to what you're passionate about
19:21-20:31 Nothing beats real relationships: interviews, surveys, and human engagement that AI can't replace
21:51-22:47 Redefining failure: it's only when you don't show up and don't engage
36:25-37:06 Memorization is dead: when you have AI, critical thinking becomes the only differentiator
38:12-40:07 Trust is built through accessibility: one business day response time and genuine enthusiasm
41:25-42:17 "You still matter if you show up"—the mantra that transcends AI and educationInsight 1: We've Been Here Before—And We Survived
The calculator debate of the 1960s mirrors today's AI panic. People feared calculators would make us dumb. Fifty years later, we know tools don't diminish us when we understand how they work. As Dave explains: "The calculator didn't make us dumb. It is a tool set...people who are operating the calculator have to know the fundamental workings and engine on that to back up the reasoning for the calculations." AI is the same. The question isn't whether to use it—it's whether we know what we're doing when we do.
Insight 2: AI Is a Dumb Machine That Looks Smart
AI synthesizes information eloquently but doesn't rank it, evaluate truth, or catch its own hallucinations. It makes things up when it doesn't know answers. Dave warns: "It's not evaluating whether something is true or not...probably the biggest thing I think it does that we've all been talking about even more so is it just makes shit up. If it doesn't have something, it just hallucinates." An organization that hands an AI-generated crisis statement to executives without human review will create more damage than the original crisis.
Insight 3: Assignments That Ask "Why" Expose AI Misuse Immediately
If your assignment asks students to regurgitate facts, AI wins and you won't know. If your assignment demands reasoning, conviction, and original thought backed by research, cheating becomes obvious. Dave illustrates: "If we have as instructors, assignments that basically want students to just regurgitate facts...AI is going to be fine...But the common theme with all of those is I'm teaching critical thinking, I'm teaching why, and I'm teaching them to take chances." The problem isn't AI—it's how we design learning.
Insight 4: Citation and Rationale Transform AI From Crutch to Tool
Students must cite when they use AI and explain why they chose to use it. Dave's framework: "A, you have to cite that you used it...B, you have to tell me why I think it's okay for you to use AI." This teaches professional accountability: in the real world, you'll need to defend every choice you made, including which tools you used to make it.
Insight 5: Mastery Requires Application Beyond Information
AI can provide information instantly. But retention, understanding, and mastery come through the "learn-do model"—learning something and then applying it to what you're passionate about. Dave requires students to conduct real interviews, do surveys, and engage with actual professionals. This real-world data often contradicts what AI suggests—and that's the learning moment.
Insight 6: Nothing Beats the Art of Relationships
AI can't conduct interviews. It can't do surveys. It can't build the trust that comes from showing up in person and being vulnerable. Dave emphasizes: "Nothing still beats the art of relationships...You got to get out there and actually talk to people." That human data often contradicts what AI suggests—and that's where real learning happens.
Insight 7: Redefining Failure Transforms Student Engagement
Dave's philosophy: "The second thing that we teach above all else is the imperative art of showing up...Failure is only when you decide not to show up and not engage, because now you didn't even try." Students engage because they see an instructor who cares. Trust isn't built through policy—it's built through showing up, being accessible, and demonstrating genuine enthusiasm.
Insight 8: Memorization Is Dead; Critical Thinking Is Essential
The old model of teaching facts is obsolete. Dave declares: "I don't need memorization anymore. When I have at my FingerTips a generative LLM model and even a Boolean search model...I'm teaching critical thinking, and my assignments are architected accordingly." This shift isn't optional—it's survival.
Insight 9: Trust Is Built Through Presence and Passion
Dave's secret to building trust with 116 students: "I am accessible to you outside of class...I promise you I will respond within one business day, no later...If I'm not passionate about what I'm teaching, the kids are going to follow suit...I have name cards for every one of the kids...I'm trying to break that distance, that barrier between the instructor and the students." This transforms large classes into intimate learning communities.
San Diego State University School of Journalism & Media Studies: https://journalism.sdsu.edu/
Dave's Teaching Focus Areas:
Dave Oates is a crisis PR expert with 30 years of experience across military, corporate, nonprofit, and education sectors. He served as a U.S. Navy public affairs officer before building a career helping institutions navigate reputational crises through transparency and accountability. For the past three years, he has been a part-time lecturer at San Diego State University, teaching advertising, media studies, and PR to undergraduate and graduate students.
His guiding principle—"Respect tradition, embrace tomorrow"—defines his strategic, thoughtful approach to emerging technologies like AI, viewing them not as threats but as tools that amplify great teaching.
His mission: Help students and professionals understand that AI is a tool to enhance thinking, not replace it—and that showing up with passion and conviction is the only economic differentiator that matters.
San Diego State University: https://www.sdsu.edu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidoates/
