CONWAY, S.C. (WMBF) – Horry County Schools is in the process of forming an official stance on artificial intelligence.
HCS unveiled its Artificial Intelligence Position Statement as part of its school board meeting on Monday.
“Our commitment is to ensure that any use of AI upholds a humanistic view of teaching as a priority, while implementing technologies in a manner that is equitable, ethical, and beneficial to all our students and staff,” part of the statement reads.
The district’s plan includes multiple semesters of AI professional development, according to a slide presentation released ahead of Monday’s meeting.
The slides also note that HCS plans to consult student leadership groups next semester to “initiate student opportunities for growth with AI in the classroom.”
The district currently has no comprehensive policy for artificial intelligence, according to HCS spokesperson Lisa Boucher.
The new position statement comes as generative AI programs like ChatGPT have become increasingly popular among students nationwide.
“[Chat GPT] can be a problem for education purposes because we want our students to learn how to write, how to interpret texts, come up with their own ideas, form reasoned arguments,” said Corinne Dalelio, an associate professor of communications at Coastal Carolina University.
Artificial intelligence and an increased reliance on technology in schools is concerning to parents like Elizabeth Braun, who has four children in HCS schools.
“We think it’s great to move forward with this but at the same time we don’t know how it’s going to interact with our children,” she said.
The district’s move to craft an AI position statement comes as Coastal Carolina University recently implemented similar policies of its own.
Dalelio said those policies have been key in helping faculty understand AI and adapt their lesson plans accordingly.
“Teachers are very pressed for time and they don’t have time to sit down and learn all the inner workings of Chat GPT, so training can help with that,” she said. “In some cases, you have to re-think your educational modes a little bit to ensure you are getting student work and not AI-generated work.”
She believes HCS is taking an important step to combat something that’s become a more prominent part of students’ lives every day.
“It is kind of an all-hands-on-deck moment,” said Dalelio. “But once we get through this moment I think we’ll have a much more reasonable approach.”
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