Rewind to the year 1993.  Picture a bubble screen tv that weighs a hundred pounds, and a glitchy video screen.  My parents, confused to what they problem could be, pacing, wondering if the TV is a goner.  The real problem: dust in the Nintendo.  The solution: eject the game, blow some air across it and wiggle it back into position.  Ta-Da!  Mario is back to life and I am once again a happy camper.  My father, confused to what has just happened and why that worked.

Fast forward to 2023.  Last weekend, my mother and father are looking for a recipe card that cannot be found.  Open Chat GPT and ask for the recipe.  Ta-Da!  We have a recipe and instructions.  My parents, the same confused look.

Jump to my classroom today and a Chromebook that is acting weird because someone had messed around with some of the settings.  Now it’s my turn to look puzzled, until a student walks up, types in a shortcut and fixes it just like that.

Technology is changing at such a rapid pace, that I find myself quite often not being able to keep up with these changes.  Yet alone how my parents generation must feel, unless you are immersed in using it daily, it can be quite overwhelming.  David White discusses the idea of being a visitor or a resident in our technological driven society.

In my use of technology, I flow between the two.  I often am a visitor, looking for quick answers or solutions to problems.  Parts of my life I use the internet and social media more as a resident, sharing information with friends and colleagues.  I can clearly dictate when and how I am using my time, and how my social media and internet usage affects me.  Do I enjoy hearing positive comments and seeing likes on my pictures, sure, who doesn’t.  Am I putting everything of my life online to be liked or commented on, of course not.  For me, teaching my students the line between residents and visitors is important.  What is the reason for their online presence? And how does it alter their moods or change their relationships?

“Every generation is Generation Me, as every generation of younger people are more narcissistic than their elders.”

Brooke Lea Foster makes some interesting observations about Generation Me.  The use of technology, and the craziness of social media, has made people develop a push themselves in your face way of living their lives.  Everything is documented and bragged about.  The residents of the internet don’t look for 15 seconds of fame anymore, they want you to heart or like every single post.  My feeling is, yes it is over the top, but if this technology was available 15 years ago, then it would of happened then as well.  It is just easier for our current generation to do so.

Where to now?

AI is the future.  I don’t quite have my head wrapped around it yet, but the evolution of it is happening so fast.  Ethan Mollick’s article does a fantastic job in summarizing the true results that AI can provide in the workplace. “Consultants using AI finished 12.2% more tasks on average, completed tasks 25.1% more quickly, and produced 40% higher quality results than those without.”  That’s pretty incredible stats.  The study also found that it levelled the performance of staff, with weaker staff members showing large amounts of growth in their work, and stronger staff showing smaller performance increases.  In their studies though they found one very large issue though with people relying on AI, it makes users “became lazy, careless, and less skilled in their own judgment.”  So begs the question, how are we going to be able to properly educate our students to use AI properly for its proper use?  Where does this fall in the curriculum to be taught and how?

My REAL worry is we have this technology available now but soon will it become only available to those who can afford access?  Then equity will become an even bigger issue than it currently is.  Do you see AI becoming more privatized?