10 min
What can AI teach us about human cognition & creativity? - Highlights - RAPHAEL MILLIÈRE Education, The Creative Process: Educators, Writers, Artists, Activists Talk Teachers, Schools & Creativity
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“I don't think universities and schools will be replaced by AI systems any more than, say, YouTube has replaced universities. I think there will always be a place for universities. As a professor and educator, I have a lot of these discussions with my colleagues. I would say it is a bit like the difference between trying to learn a language exclusively through Duolingo and actually learning a language through immersion into a linguistic community. Anyone who is serious about learning languages will tell you that nothing will replace actual immersion, and Duolingo does not compare. It could be useful to learn vocabulary, for example, but it will not replace the other important aspects of learning language. Learning in general can be like that. Having actual immersion in an educational context at the university, and interactions with educators, with a teacher, with a professor, this back-and-forth of writing essays, asking questions, receiving feedback, and being guided by an actual human being, I think people will always value that. But that's not to say that AI will not have an important role to play, and I think that educators will need to adapt and perhaps harness some of these tools for good. For example, one thing I've started doing with some of my students when it's appropriate—I did this when I taught the first class on the philosophy of AI at Columbia University—is to have some students actively use language models to generate arguments for and against a particular claim, and then in class assess the strength of these generated arguments and kind of tear them apart together to see whether we can poke holes in them. That's one way to use AI-related technology not as a substitute for critical thinking, but instead precisely as a way to stimulate the student's critical thinking skills, and to make learning interactive in a way that wouldn't be possible without using these tools.”
“I don't think universities and schools will be replaced by AI systems any more than, say, YouTube has replaced universities. I think there will always be a place for universities. As a professor and educator, I have a lot of these discussions with my colleagues. I would say it is a bit like the difference between trying to learn a language exclusively through Duolingo and actually learning a language through immersion into a linguistic community. Anyone who is serious about learning languages will tell you that nothing will replace actual immersion, and Duolingo does not compare. It could be useful to learn vocabulary, for example, but it will not replace the other important aspects of learning language. Learning in general can be like that. Having actual immersion in an educational context at the university, and interactions with educators, with a teacher, with a professor, this back-and-forth of writing essays, asking questions, receiving feedback, and being guided by an actual human being, I think people will always value that. But that's not to say that AI will not have an important role to play, and I think that educators will need to adapt and perhaps harness some of these tools for good. For example, one thing I've started doing with some of my students when it's appropriate—I did this when I taught the first class on the philosophy of AI at Columbia University—is to have some students actively use language models to generate arguments for and against a particular claim, and then in class assess the strength of these generated arguments and kind of tear them apart together to see whether we can poke holes in them. That's one way to use AI-related technology not as a substitute for critical thinking, but instead precisely as a way to stimulate the student's critical thinking skills, and to make learning interactive in a way that wouldn't be possible without using these tools.”
10 min