Member-only story
Is A.I. a Good Thing?
The Archangels Give Us the Pros and Cons
When I was working as a teacher, every once in a while, I’d hear that my job was becoming obsolete, that computers were going to take the place of teachers in the classroom. Did I worry? Absolutely not, because I knew what the computer people didn’t know. Most kids, especially as they get older, need human connection to learn, particularly when they are challenged.
I was a reading specialist in my last education job, and I worked with middle school kids who couldn’t read well. When you work with hormone saturated kids who are frustrated, because they can’t seem to understand what most kids can do fairly easily, and who have convinced themselves that reading is stupid and boring, no computer in the world is going to convince them otherwise. Sometimes, you have to cajole, challenge, joke around, and make a fool of yourself as a teacher to get kids’ attention and hold it long enough to teach them something, especially if they don’t want to learn it. Most importantly, though, they have to know you care about them.
I see a parallel with Artificial Intelligence. I’m sure it can be great for all kinds of things, and I’m curious about it. Heck, I still tell Alexa goodnight sometimes! I asked the Archangels to weigh in on what they think of A.I., and their response follows.
