The release of ChatGPT in November 2022 ushered in a new technological revolution that is having a transformative effect on all aspects of how we work, learn, govern, and create. Given the ubiquitous nature and rapid expansion of AI systems educators have an obligation to teach students about Artificial Intelligence, including:

• What is it?

• How does it work?

• How are different sectors leveraging AI?

• How are different governments regulating AI?

• How can it be used effectively?

• What are AI's current limitations?

Educators across all disciplines are examining how to modify course assignments so that students gain valuable experience with AI. Experience they will need as they eventually enter a work place where AI is pervasive.

At the same time, however, in providing students with this crucial knowledge, teachers are keenly aware they are simultaneously equipping their students with the means to cheat. Recent research suggests that roughly 3% of writing assignments are substantially written by AI (Education Weekly).  Walk into any department meeting and you are likely to encounter discussions regarding how to reliably detect work that is AI-generated.

While there is an understandable push to incorporate AI Literacy into the curriculum, educators need to tread carefully. Recent research from MIT demonstrates that students suffer a serious "cognitive debt" if they outsource portions of their writing process to AI (Kosmyna et al. "Your Brain on ChatGPT"). Participants who utilized ChatGPT to help them write an essay showed less neural activity than those who wrote without the assistnace of AI. They also had difficulty remembering or even recognising what they had written at a later time. The authors rightfully concluded: "While these tools offer unprecedented opportunities for enhancing learning and information access, their potential impact on cognitive development, critical thinking, and intellectual independence demands a very careful consideration and continued research."

While it is clear that students must have opportunities to learn how to use AI, these same skills enable cheating and may not be in the best interest of the students' brain development.  Discovery Quests will be developing resources aimed at helping educators and students navigate the complex, and often conflicting aspects of AI Literacy.

The internet provides access to troves of valuable texts and information, but it is all rendered useless if one cannot pay attention. One of the greatest challenges educators face in the classroom is the diminishing ability of students to focus. Even for the most disciplined, and well-intentioned students, distractions are everywhere - notifications for text messages, emails, social media posts. As a result, even in the absence of external stimuli, such as a notification, students still struggle to focus. Recent studies have shown that, on average, students attempting to study something that they themselves consider important, will study for only 2 to 5 minutes before their brains are distracted by technology, such as switching to another tab to quickly check emails, or a social media platform (Rosen, Technology & the Brain 2014). Constant exposure to these distractions has conditioned students' brains to continually be on the alert for them. This adds to their cognitive load diverting mental energy that would be better spent focusing on the task at hand. Moreover, the act of switching between tasks, such as completing a math problem and then quickly popping over to check email comes at the expense of increased errors, and increased stress levels (Mark, Why Our Attention Spans are Shrinking, 2023). 

The inability to focus has serious implications for a student's ability to learn. Focused attention is a critical component for storing information in long-term memory (AERO, Attention and Focus). Memory forms the foundation of the cognitive domain of  Bloom's Taxonomy. If students cannot remember what they have done or the material with which they have engaged, they cannot be expected to develop in the higher-order thinking skills we prize - analyzing, evaluating and creating.  Moreover, without sustained focus, students are unable to engage with long or complicated texts. This has serious implications for their development, and the way courses are taught (Horowitch, The Elite College Students Who Can't Read Books, 2025). 

With numerous social media apps at our fingertips, connecting has never been easier. However, worldwide twice as many students reported feeling lonely in 2018 when compared to 2012. This is particularly striking because in the 10 years prior to 2012, student sense of belonging and connection had been stable (Twenge et al.  Journal of Adolescence. "Worldwide Increases in Adolescent Loneliness"). Psychologists have shown that feelings of isolation correlate with an increase in depression. Somewhat ironically, this increase in isolation coincides with the increased availability of smart phones and the rise of social media, which became pervasive among teenagers over this interval. The very technology that promises to allow individuals to connect anywhere the world may, in fact, be a driving force for the isolation that teenagers now feel. Walk through any school cafeteria, It is not uncommon to see clusters of students staring at their individual phones rather than interacting with one another. Although the correlation between the prevalence of smart phones and the onset of isolation does not prove that one caused the other, it is clear that students' mental health is suffering. Families and educators need to respond.

In our high-tech world students are often encouraged to pursue careers in STEM fields. This often comes at the expense of investing time (and money) in engaging in the arts. However, the arts have the unique ability to provide a space of authentic human expression and connection, which students need now more than ever. Engaging in artistic endeavours, encourages students to step away from their devices and social media. It requires extended periods of focus and determination, which may help to rebuild their attentions spans allowing them to work with greater focus on other tasks. Beyond these critical benefits, with the threat of AI automating large portions of the job market, students need to have a diverse set of skills, including those in the artistic realm. No matter how advanced AI systems become, it cannot replace live performers, or teachers of the arts.