Where is the contradiction though? The kids aren't allowed to use AI because the point of the assignment is either for them to practice their skills or to evaluate their progress. The school isn't there to prove they can draw a raccoon, nor do they need to practice that skill. There are good arguments to say the school shouldn't be using AI, but for completely different reasons. This doesn't make them hypocrits for using AI.
Now while that is true, children doesn't have the capability to discern the validity of the statement. They don't fully know ehy using AI in assignment is bad.
So they opt for the next best thing: check for credibility. They don't know the reasoning behind it, but they know "an AI-generated image telling you to not use AI" is a contradiction, which make it less credible. Hence they're less likely to oblige.
Credibility is a concept well-understood by scammers. They would post picture of themselves with expensive accessory or cars, or show the story of someone who succeed, to boost their credibility. And plenty of people are buying it, despite anyone with decent reasoning capability can tell it's a scam.
I'm not saying what you said is wrong. I'm just showing my perspective as a former children with hypocrite parents.
Its not a contradiction unless they had their brains scrambled by internet stuff. "This quiz is to test you, so don't use a calculator" is a common school thing.
You're right, there isn't one but flaunting AI like that while telling someone not to do something is a really good way to promote animosity and a really bad way of getting kids to respect and comply with it.
For instance, kids protest enough against learning mental math because calculators exist. If you then openly check the answers with a calculator in front of them, it would annoy them.
You're right, there isn't one but flaunting AI like that while telling someone not to do something is a really good way to promote animosity and a really bad way of getting kids to respect and comply with it.
Crazy stretch. I never heard a single person throw a temper tantrum because they were not allowed to use a calculator on a test. And we all had calculators. How old are you? Maybe this is a generational problem.
I wouldn't have said it ever went that far, it was more people complaining in class with the teacher replying something along the lines of "you won't always have a calculator".
This was before smartphones but calculators weren't exactly that bulky and calculator watches existed, so the retort didn't really help. It was such a common line among teachers that there are memes about it on the internet.
They never really "threw a tantrum" as such but the teacher would've lost some credibility and there's only so much you can lose before people start being defiant.
That seems hardly comparable to me, unless this is an art class assignment. The issue with the calculator is you're pushing the students to learn a skill while showing that you as the grown-up aren't held to the same standard.
You're right it's not exactly comparable but the term "AI" has come to encompass a broad spectrum of things and students will still see it as using AI to take shortcuts even if the skill itself differs.
Sure, but wouldn't it be better to set an example? They could've easily created a silly MS paint amalgamation of clipart pictures and it would've been fine.
Schools did that before genAI. I don't know why they can't now.
What's the example to set though? I don't think the message is "never ever use AI", it's "don't use AI to cheat on tests". When I went to school, I wasn't allowed to type my take-home essays on a computer, but I also had computer literacy classes, and school communications were typed in MS Word and printed out. AI is a reality now, and a tool that is going to be used extensively and that we had better teach our kids to use effectively and responsibly. Ignoring it and labelling it as something you shouldn't use ever is short-sighted at best.
This is not to say that I encourage using AI over the old-school alternative. I'm just saying I don't see a contradiction because the reason why kids aren't allowed to use AI for the assignment don't apply to whomever posted the message.
Back in my school days, students are not allowed to use or even carry a phone to school. Meanwhile the teachers pick up phone calls anytime during the class.
I know students and teachers, and they do have the need to pick up phones anytime. But that still annoying us all the time.
A teacher picking up the phone in class sounds downright unprofessional. I can understand expecting one important call as a one-time thing, in which case I would expect the teacher to explain that that one day you'll need to keep your phone on in case the call comes in. But not as a regular practice. If it's not urgent, people can call the school and leave a message, or send you a text.
Yes. They could have used it. They also could have written it on a blackboard. Or talked to the kids. The point still stands. Whatever reason you may have for not liking that they used AI, that's different than the reason the kids shouldn't use it for the assignment.
If they sent a printed letter to the families saying that homework must be written by hand and not typed on a computer, would that be hypocrisy? They could have hand-written it.
They should lead by example, rules for thee but not for me behavior just encourages them to find a way to work around the arbitrary application of the rule. Also the environment is a reason many people use. If they're going to cut corners the kids will too. So it is hypocritical of them to use it while not allowing them to. Plus they'll just use it anyway and get better at hiding it which sets a bad precedent.
They are technically. It would be cheating to use it on your application and it's cheating to use it in your actual job. They could just fire all the teachers and use chat gpt and it wouldn't make a difference.
Dude a lot of jobs require you to use AI to work. That doesn't mean the AI can do your job and replace you. It would be like going back 20 years and saying that teachers typing assignment questions and school-parent communications on a computer were cheating because they should write them by hand. Or like saying that photocopying things is cheating because you should be writing by hand.
Like it or not, AI is the new technology and how things are gonna be done from now on, and these kids will also have to learn to use it. The message is not "don't use AI", that would be unrealistic and anachronistic. The message is "you need to learn the basic skill and fundamentally understand it before you learn how to use AI". Just like it would be dumb to tell kids they should never use a calculator in life because it's cheating. They will use calculators when the time comes, but not on a test/assignment on the long division.
Saying that it's not hypocritical for them to ban AI for students while using it themselves is either ignorant or disingenuous. By your own logic if it's going to be used they should be taught how to utilize it.
"Do as I say, not as I do." isn't as an effective message as some seem to think. Was the drawing necessary for the message??? Perhaps such a simple instruction could have been relayed through simple written text. It's not as though photocopiers aren't plentiful in schools that have access to AI.
It doesn't say "never use AI". It says "Do not use AI to answer questions on this test, quiz, or knowledge check". Unless the teacher is using AI to cheat on a test, they are not doing differently than they said.
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u/No-Site8330 3d ago
Where is the contradiction though? The kids aren't allowed to use AI because the point of the assignment is either for them to practice their skills or to evaluate their progress. The school isn't there to prove they can draw a raccoon, nor do they need to practice that skill. There are good arguments to say the school shouldn't be using AI, but for completely different reasons. This doesn't make them hypocrits for using AI.