Learning is the thing

Daniel Willingham, a professor at the University of Virginia, argues that students should only use AI for things they know how to do well.

This lead/associate orientation makes sense for life after graduation. Once a student is in the workforce, they will use AI to produce products: new ideas, reports, and so on. A guiding principle of “Use AI, but let me see your work” makes sense.

This is not, however, an optimal guiding principle for students. Students produce products, but the product is seldom the point. No one wants to read the papers they write, and the math problems they solve have no practical value. Teachers have them do these tasks because they provide practice in cognitive abilities that we think matter.

I remember pulling all-nighters in the computer lab in college, with only Pop-Tarts and a fear of a failing grade to keep me going. What it must be like for students and educators these days knowing that the answer is only a prompt away.

I just keep telling my young kids (while they still listen to me) that we need to know how to do things and how things work. Things will break or need to get better, and that requires people who can think for themselves.