or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb*

Why am I interested in AI for learning and teaching?

Long fascinated by science fiction (SF) (I blame George Lucas first and then Gene Roddenberry, H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, Mark Twain, et al), when I found that SF often had some basis in science fact. Or at least some plausible theory such as cyborgs or androids – i.e., artificially intelligent robots – running around helping humans out.

This vision of androids (aka droids) helping humans stuck with me from my 10-year-old self watching the original “The Empire Strikes Back” in theaters. There is a scene where C-3PO (the android) is “talking” to the spaceship The Millennium Falcon and then relaying the status and “health” of the ship’s systems by talking to the ship’s captain, Han Solo (Kershner, 1980).

I was hooked. After that fateful day in the theater, I read the comics and there it was again, that scene. I just had to know “Do robots really exist? How does it talk to the ship? Ships can’t talk, can they?” and more.

Fast forward 10 years and now with a degree in electronics engineering and working in the field of industrial electronics and automation, I find that, at some level, everything in that scene was real. The scene was fictional (of course? Or was it? It did happen a “long, long time ago…”) but the concept and the technology were definitely NOT fictional. In fact, it was and still is used every day around the world.

Now, fast forward 30+ years, and while I am still in the electrical controls and automation business, I have a major role in training not just the current crop of engineers and technicians, but also play a role in training the next batch of engineers and technicians.

I’ve found that the best way to truly learn technology is to just use it. Theory will only take you so far – if you don’t use it, you can’t use it. Furthermore, let the technology itself help you learn how to use it.

Now, I told that story so I can now answer the question – artificial intelligence (AI) is a part of the technology used to teach the technology because it is part of the technology I (and my students) need to learn by using the technology, but since I’m trying to use technology I know little about, I’m interested in AI for learning and teaching and training. And so I’m taking classes at UNT because like Turing, I believe that the computer’s, or technology’s, designer “cannot be a machine. (Gilder, 2020)”

How do you think it might help?

I believe that using technology is always a force multiplier for human effort. And “smart” technology, brings even more capability to the project. But often “smart” technology is just making decisions on predetermined or estimated conditions (e.g., if this happens, then do this). However, AI has the potential to make decisions without these previously defined conditions and therefore with a little training as to what acceptable limits to its outputs are, AI can be used as an “intelligent” technology, and not just a “smart” one.

Do you have any concerns about its use?

First, obviously, as an SF fan, I’ve seen the stories that portray technology being the beginning of the end of mankind (Skynet (Cameron, 1984) anyone?). Second, remember that I mentioned that SF has roots in some basis in science fact or plausible theory. Taking these together one could extrapolate that I’d be wearing tin foil hats saying the sky is falling… but I’m in fact the opposite. Like Holmes, Bialik, and Fadel stated, “reality is more prosaic (Holmes et al., 2019)” than the need to worry about impending doom. Yes, it needs to be monitored and controlled, but at the moment, I’m not really worried about AI itself. How people may use AI (or misuse it) is something else entirely. Merely looking back at what social media (and “the media” at large) has done to society in the last 10 years is scary enough. I don’t think AI is the problem. On the contrary, I think AI can help clean up the mess we’ve made.

I don’t think AI is the doomsday bomb… I think it’s “da bomb!”

*My apologies to “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Kubrick, 1964)” 😉

References

Cameron, J. (Director). (1984). The Terminator [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/

Gilder, G. (2020). Gaming AI. Discovery Institute Press. Retrieved from https://www.discovery.org/m/2020/10/Gilder-Gaming-AI-final-plus-cover.pdf

Holmes, W., Bialik, M., & Fadel, C. (2019). Artificial Intelligence In Education: Promises and Implications for Teaching and Learning. The Center for Curriculum Redesign. Retrieved from https://curriculumredesign.org/our-work/artificial-intelligence-in-education/

Kershner, I. (Director). (1980). The Empire Strikes Back [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080684/?ref_=tt_ch

Kubrick, S. (Director). (1964). Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057012/