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Ahead of school year, parents grapple with how to handle artificial intelligence

Open AI
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(WXYZ) — As a new school year begins, parents are having to grapple with how to handle the use of artificial intelligence more than ever before.

Experts in technology and education say that as intimidating as the technology may be — exploring and discussing it with your child is the safest way to approach it.

Mom of three from Farmington Hills, Tracey Taylor, says artificial intelligence is top of mind for her and her husband heading into the fall.

Web Extra | Parent perspective on the use of artificial intelligence

"It’s gonna be insane, how do teachers even know if a kid wrote it or not?" said Taylor.

What Taylor is referring to is the artificial intelligence Chat GPT— an A.I. tool most all parents should know about.

It can answer complex questions for a student, write code, and write a book report for you.

"Just plagiarism wise, think about high school, how many papers you have to write and nowadays you can have A.I. help you," said Taylor.

Watch ChatGPT write a sixth grade book report

However the technology is not always accurate, and can at times plagiarize.

Education and technology experts say it’s best to educate yourself and discuss this with your kids rather than avoid the advancements because they won’t stop.

"There’s a thing where they can create their stories, and it’s cool ... it’s a great concept, but it also takes away some of the creativity," she said.

For this reason and many others — experts recommend sitting down with your child and showing them A.I. like Chat GPT, talking to them about how it uses the internet to find information, and its pros and cons.

Michigan educators preparing to embrace A.I. tools ahead of school year

"We want them to learn about the world, but we also don’t want it to be like too scary for them," said Taylor.

The fact is that artificial intelligence will continue to become an even larger part of the world and the classroom, no matter your view on it.

"I'm not really worried about it," said Kia Norwood, a mom from Benton Harbor.

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Experts recommend talking to your kids before they walk back into the classroom.

If you are a parent who wants to learn more about A.I. and school, there’s a website RAISE (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment and Education) that discusses the tools and the ethics behind them.