Agency is what keeps us from running on cognitive autopilot. Artificial intelligence now offers to do much of that work for us. With a single prompt, we can receive elegant summaries and polished solutions that are so smooth and immediate that they can (and often do) lull us into submission. If we aren't careful, we risk becoming passengers in our own intellectual journey, letting the machine set the course.
They grew up with algorithms and screens mediating their social interactions, dating relationships, and now their learning. And that's why they desperately need to learn how to be human. The most alarming pattern I've researched and observed isn't AI dependency. It's the parroting effect. AI systems are trained on statistical pattern matching, serving up widely represented viewpoints that harbor implicit bias. Without explicit instructions, they default to whatever keeps users engaged - just like social media algorithms that have already polarized our society.
In that first lesson, I introduced students to the idea of becoming "de-tech-tives," a concept inspired by the late Dr. Jason Ohler's book, Digital Community, Digital Citizen, and shaped by the themes I learned from Dr. Pamela Rutledge, two professors I'd met while studying media psychology. On that first day, the students and I explored how people throughout history have adapted to new tools.
Artificial intelligence is a powerful tool that relies on human input, making prompt engineering essential for maximizing its effectiveness and reshaping work dynamics.
