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In my everyday life, I strive to be an optimist or, at the very least, a kind realist. And yet, in my MALAT class, it may seem odd that I frequently introduce troubling ethical questions or encourage conversations that dig into sustainability issues, encoded bias, embedded values and perverse incentives. I realize I can be a bit of a downer, especially with such exhilarating technology on the horizon. Still, I believe it\u2019s critically important to consider the unintended externalities of our decisions and the tools we choose to develop and use, particularly the application of AI in education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, for Assignment #3 and with spooky season upon us, I intend to investigate a dystopian future. This will be my attempt at an academic Black Mirror<\/em> or Twilight Zone<\/em> episode based on ideas that keep me up at night, particularly as a father of a young child. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The prediction is simple: a second global pandemic will emerge within the next five years, and the lockdowns begin anew. In an epic act of disaster capitalism, AI companies seize the moment through the combined failures of governments to regulate them and sustained chronic underfunding of education. Personal AI assistants and tutors flourish, and education experiences a colossal disruption. Our civilization sleepwalks into the greatest nonconsensual and unethical social experiment in history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At their core, my proposed fictional events are the prequel to a scenario that educational philosopher Zak Stein proposed during his May 8, 2024, talk on the Great Simplification podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea is that it will be written in the style of a short story as three journal entries occurring during 2025 and 2030 and will include in-text citations and references in APA style to support assertions and events in the narrative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Beetham, H. (2024, August 7). What price your \u2018AI-ready\u2019 graduates? Substack<\/em>. https:\/\/helenbeetham.substack.com\/p\/what-price-your-ai-ready-graduates<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Beetham, H. (2024, April 10). \u2018Human intelligence\u2019 Another abominable idea from the AI industry. Substack<\/em>. https:\/\/helenbeetham.substack.com\/p\/human-intelligence<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Beetham, H. (2024, January 3). Whose ethics? Whose AI? Substack<\/em>. https:\/\/helenbeetham.substack.com\/p\/whose-ethics-whose-ai<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Contreras, C. (2024, October 2). How should AI be regulated? Northeastern expert explains what safety guardrails are needed in the tech industry. Northeastern Global News<\/em>. https:\/\/news.northeastern.edu\/2024\/10\/02\/ai-safety-bill-california-veto\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00d8lgaard, D. M. (2020, September 15). Reflections on Naomi Klein\u2019s pandemic shock doctrine. E-International Relations<\/em>. https:\/\/www.e-ir.info\/2020\/09\/15\/reflections-on-naomi-kleins-pandemic-shock-doctrine\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n OpenAI. (2024). DALL-E<\/em> (Version 3) [Artificial intelligence system]. https:\/\/openai.com\/index\/dall-e-3\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Stein, Z. & Hagens, N. (Hosts). (2024, May 8). Values, education, AI and the Metacrisis [Podcast episode]. In The Great Simplification<\/em>. https:\/\/www.thegreatsimplification.com\/episode\/122-zak-stein<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Varela, W. K. (2024, February 27). Data analysis: International student cap exposes chronic underfunding of Ontario and BC post-secondary schools. New Canadian Media<\/em>. https:\/\/www.newcanadianmedia.ca\/data-analysis-international-student-cap-exposes-chronic-underfunding-of-ontario-and-bc-post-secondary-schools\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Image Details<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Image generated using the prompt “VR glasses showing a dystopic cityscape in the lenses” by OpenAI, DALL-E, 2024 (https:\/\/openai.com\/index\/dall-e-3\/<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In my everyday life, I strive to be an optimist or, at the very least, a kind realist. And yet, in my MALAT class, it may seem odd that I frequently introduce troubling ethical questions or encourage conversations that dig into sustainability issues, encoded bias, embedded values and perverse incentives.…<\/p>\n