Understanding the nature of generative AI is crucial for educators to navigate the evolving landscape of teaching and learning. 

In a new report, Navigating A World of Generative AI: Suggestions for Educators – Next Level Lab (harvard.edu), Contact North I Contact Nord research associates Lydia Cao and Chris Dede reflect on the role of generative AI in learning and how it pushes us to reconceptualize our visions of effective education. Although there are concerns about plagiarism and the replacement of human jobs, Cao and Dede argue that a more productive way forward is for educators to focus on demystifying AI. They say it’s critical to emphasize the learning process over the final product, honour learner agency, orchestrate multiple sources of motivation, cultivate skills that AI can’t easily replicate, and foster intelligence augmentation (IA) by building human-AI partnerships.

Dr Lydia Cao is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Education.  

Professor Chris Dede is the Senior Research Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.