The educator panic over AI is real, and rational.
I've been there myself. The difference is I moved past denial to a more pragmatic question: since AI regulation seems unlikely (with both camps refusing to engage), how do we actually work with these systems?

The "AI will kill critical thinking" crowd has a point, but they're missing context.
Critical reasoning wasn't exactly thriving before AI arrived: just look around. The real question isn't whether AI threatens thinking skills, but whether we can leverage it the same way we leverage other cognitive tools.

We don't hunt our own food or walk everywhere anymore.
We use supermarkets and cars. Most of us Google instead of visiting libraries. Each tool trade-off changed how we think and what skills matter. AI is the next step in this progression, if we're smart about it.

The key is learning to think with AI rather than being replaced by it.
That means understanding both its capabilities and our irreplaceable human advantages.

1/3

AI isn't going anywhere. Time to get strategic:
Instead of mourning lost critical thinking skills, let's build on them through cognitive delegation—using AI as a thinking partner, not a replacement.

This isn't some Silicon Valley fantasy:
Three decades of cognitive research already mapped out how this works:

Cognitive Load Theory:
Our brains can only juggle so much at once. Let AI handle the grunt work while you focus on making meaningful connections.

Distributed Cognition:
Naval crews don't navigate with individual genius—they spread thinking across people, instruments, and procedures. AI becomes another crew member in your cognitive system.

Zone of Proximal Development
We learn best with expert guidance bridging what we can't quite do alone. AI can serve as that "more knowledgeable other" (though it's still early days).
The table below shows what this looks like in practice:

2/3

Critical reasoning vs Cognitive Delegation

Old School Focus:

Building internal cognitive capabilities and managing cognitive load independently.

Cognitive Delegation Focus:

Orchestrating distributed cognitive systems while maintaining quality control over AI-augmented processes.

We can still go for a jog or go hunt our own deer, but for reaching the stars we, the Apes do what Apes do best: Use tools to build on our cognitive abilities. AI is a tool.

3/3

Event Recap: To mark our 62nd anniversary, we hosted a thought-provoking Anniversary Webinar exploring the future of education and research in the age of AI.

Webinar Topic: Artificial Intelligence and Industry 5.0
Speaker: Dr. Hridoy Jyoti Mahanta, Scientist, CSIR-NEIST

Thank you to everyone who joined—and here’s to another 62 years of learning!

Watch the highlights here - https://youtu.be/7M6mCRv0hWY

https://dailynous.com/2025/05/12/should-humanities-faculty-aim-to-ban-ai-from-their-classrooms/ #aiineducation #humanities

Join Me for the THInC Forum: Education in the Era of AI - https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2025/05/thinc-forum.html

July 31, 2025
University of Toledo, Lancelot Student Union
Discover cutting-edge strategies
Engage with inspiring AI applications
Explore ethical AI citizenship

AI in Education: Teachers Are Indispensable
Advancements in EdTech are revolutionizing how we teach and learn, but the journey doesn't end with AI. Educators are critical in effectively harnessing AI's potential in the classroom. AI can enhance educational experiences only when combined with the invaluable insights of teachers can they truly thrive. Read more about the essential balance between AI and educators in my latest post. #EdTech #AIinEducation #FutureOfLearning

https://hortal.com/2025/05/06/ai-isnt-enough-educators-are-crucial-to-solving-edtechs-biggest-problems/

Volume 5, Issue 1 (2025) is now live!
This milestone issue features 9 new research articles and powerful reflections in four key areas:

Skills & Workforce Readiness
Leadership & Education
Pedagogy & Learning
Higher Ed & Motivation

Plus thought-provoking takes on generative AI, resilience, and Open Science.

Explore the issue here https://doi.org/10.52398/2025v1
Read, share, and let’s spark new research!

Viewing large language models as compression machines helps explain why they seem at turns big-brained and pea-brained. To learn more, join me for Honey, AI Shrunk the Archive, an IEEE/UMaine AI webinar next Thursday 3 April at noon Eastern

https://ai.umaine.edu/webinars

In an interview published for my Teaching and Technology Summit keynote at BSU, I try to debunk the “high vs. low stakes” AI test, arguing that its underrecognized superpower is sparking debate https://blogs.bsu.edu/teaching-innovation/2025/03/12/critical-framework-ai-interview-jon-ippolito

A surprising Stanford study concludes AI-assisted writing tends to be highest in less-educated areas. Is that bridging gaps or creating dependence? Gaining opportunities or losing skills?

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jonippolito_highered-highereducation-aiethics-activity-7303101691015356418-BIYP

Generative AI in education is often seen as a threat to academic integrity.
However, AI tools can support personalized learning, ethical reasoning, and authentic assessments. The challenge is not AI itself, but how educators shape its use.
#AIinEducation #DigitalLiteracy #EthicalAI

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/artificial-intelligence/articles/10.3389/frai.2024.1471224/full

AI-Powered Teaching and Learning
Webinar: February 21, 2025 | 3-4 PM ET

Three experts share insights on integrating AI tools into education and research:
Jingjing Wu (Texas Tech) on GitHub Copilot in R workshops
Doug Dechow (Chapman) on ChatGPT for data wrangling
Amy Kirchhoff (ITHAKA) on optimizing code with Claude

Open to all. Register to attend or access the recording: https://constellate.org/events/ai-powered-teaching-and-learning-2

I got tired of partisan apples-to-oranges arguments about AI energy and water use, so I boiled the research down to 9 takeaways. I used consistent units so you can compare a ChatGPT prompt to watching Netflix or searching Google.

https://AI-Impact-Risk.com/ai_energy_water_impact.html

The "EmpowerED 2 Teach with AI" FREE Virtual Conference starts today!

Jan 3-5, 2025
Online & On demand
15+ amazing speakers
Wide range of AI topics for educators

Full details & free registration at https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2024/12/join-me-for-empowered-2-teach-with-ai.html

AI can promote stereotypes even when its sources are fair and accurate. To see why, I prompted an image generator to recreate Renaissance classics that should be ubiquitous in training data. The model erased their quirks and fed back clichés https://blog.still-water.net/ai_old_masters

I am super excited to be presenting at ISTE25! https://www.controlaltachieve.com/2024/12/my-iste-2025-sessions.html

The AI Toolbox
Hipster Google
AI & EdTech Power Hour
Custom AI Chatbots for Personalized Learning
Managing AI Concerns

Who else is attending?

hi all

I'm crowdsourcing nstitutional AI policies and governance structures.

Some folks have done some great work in this realm but I wanted to find something that was a little more searchable and sortable, so I've created this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSekHa9rXvZJfzYjv4JONRfiokQszw9bG_UGvJW3e6M7hNiG2w/viewform for folks to submit their institutional policies and they will end up in this document: https://bit.ly/Institutional-AI-Policies

Feel free to submit & share along!

#AIinEducation #AIEducation #HigherEd #ChatGPT #AIPolicy

@academicchatter @edutooters

Can traditional assessment survive AI in the classroom? I argued *no* in today’s Times Higher Education panel organized by the inexhaustible @bali_maha. The good news is this will force educators to focus on skills more relevant to today's world (think fewer term papers and more dialog).

https://www.timeshighered-events.com/digital-universities-arab-world-2024/agenda/session/1382928

The advent of generative AI could change transforms the role of the archive into something dramatically different than it had just a few years ago. Here's a 7-minute video I made for my digital curation students on how this could play out https://youtu.be/rQ54XZREStI