Session 5 Week 2
The introduction of Chat GPT has created no small stir in the world. In its own words Chat GPT is “an AI-powered chatbot developed by OpenAI, based on the GPT (Generative Pretrained Transformer) language model. It uses deep learning techniques to generate human-like responses to text inputs in a conversational manner.” If you haven’t yet, go ahead and try it… it’s pretty fun! As the Middle School explored Chat GPT, they were floored at how quickly and well it: wrote their 5 paragraph papers, created code they were working on, wrote song lyrics and even told jokes. The discussion that followed about the pros and cons of Chat GPT and how it is going to change their world was insightful. Our discussion ended with a conversation about all that Chat GPT can’t do. In the end they realized that the skills they are practicing and developing every day at CHOICE are exactly what AI can’t do!
In the Spark Studio we think creatively and come up with new ideas every day. When we explored mutualism, we were not confined to think in the traditional sense where two species benefit from a relationship. We were able to think beyond habitats and apply it to our studio, school, and community. We were challenged to present examples of mutualism and we were able to communicate in creative artistic ways. Chat GPT can only give back what it can find on the internet.
When exploring terrariums, heroes take in what the little ecosystem is communicating about networks and balance in a sense of awe and wonder. Chat GPT cannot feel awe and wonder.
After learning how food trucks are part of the ecosystem of our community, our heroes can transform materials to represent food truck dishes.
And we can interpret what others created and imagine what we would buy if it were all real. AI does not have an imagination.
AI can only follow what it is programmed to do, but we can overcome impulses when we choose to focus.
AI will never feel inspired.
…Or understand humor
Or feel empathy.
And AI will never be able to collaborate in the way we are learning.
In the Fire Studio it is so fun to see what each hero chooses to work on during individual Core Skills. Each hero is unique, growing their own seeds of brilliance. Their interests vary from cats, to explosives, to designing, to coding, and countless other fields. Their desire to create something new with their passions, and to enjoy the hard work of it, is something AI can never experience.
When a problem comes up in the Fire Studio, the heroes collectively work out a solution unique to their studio that a computer, or even a caring adult could not think up. Emotions can run high at times, knees get scraped, feelings get hurt, and who is there to listen to, feel for, and comfort the upset heroes? Alexa. Just kidding. The emotional intelligence and patience of these young people inspires and instructs us over and over again.
In Quest this week, a few of the heroes used their creativity and problem-solving skills to brainstorm some big business ideas! They were so creative and fun to listen to as they pitched their ideas to the studio. The heroes voted on their favorites and 4 businesses were born (the heroes whose ideas won became the CEOs)! Each hero filled out a job application, and were interviewed by the CEOs. Conducting an interview and being interviewed for a job were new, challenging and fun experiences.
The heroes were then placed in a business via draft selection. On Wednesday, businesses were posted, and the work of creating business goals began. Real world issues of emotion, motivation, disappointment, and conflict resolution were very present in our studio. For example, one of the heroes approached me and asked me if he could fire 2 of his fellow employees for messing around. The previous day this hero had completed a challenge on conflict resolution. I reminded him of this skill he was working on building, and asked if there was anything he thought he could do. As I walked by later on, I heard things like, “What would motivate you to work?”, and “We really need your help in our business.” Real world problems are being solved and interpersonal skills are being built, these are things that set these amazing human heroes apart from Chat GPT.
In the Middle School the heroes spend their days doing everything Chat GPT cannot do…
Nurturing and guiding younger heroes how to sing, dance and act each week as they prepare their play during Music Theater.
Reasoning together, disagreeing and making ethical decisions during Town Hall each week.
Playing jokes on one another… (the boys took the wheels off every girl’s chair and hid them 🙂 )
Working together to create enjoyable entertainment as they prepare for the Comedy night.
And having fun together!!
During Quest, the middle school interns built some of their first rocket prototypes this week, and due to the weather and other engineering issues, had many opportunities to create new solutions to their initial problem. They also began to imagine what life on a space station or on a Mars colony might be like, and how to design facilities to make human dwelling in those places possible and comfortable. They worked on time management, interpersonal relationships, team motivation, and budgeting. Our heroes are curious, assertive, proactive problem- solvers who can also tease, celebrate, laugh, play, and be helpful and kind.
Can artificial intelligence learn and use information more quickly or accurately than young learners? Of course. But within the real-life, slower, mistake-riddled moments of learning at CHOICE, heroes are also learning how to make the choices that will bring themselves and those around them a more fulfilling life. Chat GPT is pretty awesome. It can do amazing things using knowledge it already has. But it can’t replace the human emotion, moral reasoning, relationships, critical thinking, creativity, imagination and even problem solving that comes with these real-life heroes. Every day we are delighted–even amazed–by the creative power, problem solving energy, and incredible empathy the heroes generate. Learning how to best utilize and stay relevant with AI is a challenge that these young heroes will navigate in their life. But they are discovering all the tools needed to do so – and are having a joyous time doing so!