Teaching About AI in the Classroom Using Listenwise Podcasts

Artificial intelligence is advancing almost by the day. Generative AI, including large language models such as ChatCPT, can process enormous amounts of information very quickly and carry on conversations almost like a person. These powerful new tools are impacting just about every area of our lives, from music and art to transportation, science, sports, and education. Teaching about AI in the classroom helps students understand and adjust to this new world and is key to preparing them for the future.

You can help your students better understand generative AI and its benefits, challenges, and controversies with Listenwise podcasts. Use these lessons to open discussions about how the new technology works, how it might be applied in positive ways, why some people fear a future with AI, and how humans can best learn to control and harness the power of AI.

Teaching About AI in the Classroom

Many students are already experiencing the benefits of AI, and considering its potential pitfalls, in the classroom. In a recent report about teen perspectives on generative AI, high school students said they use AI at school primarily for finding information and brainstorming. The report found that teens enjoy expressing themselves creatively through generative AI but worry about its effect on the future job market. And they are concerned about AI’s potential to increase bullying and spread disinformation.

Students need to grapple with the questions AI raises well beyond the classroom, too. Who should get credit for the music they listen to if machines helped create it? Is it fair that AI is recycling the content they post online? How can they tell if online images were created by humans or machines? These and other questions will only become more pressing as AI grows more prominent in all of our lives.

Podcast Stories About AI for Younger Students

For younger students and those new to the subject, AI and ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence outline the basics of the technology and its pros and cons. The Limits of ChatGPT features a reporter discussing an early AI program that was asked to take AP exams and delves into some of the program’s weaknesses.

Some of the most fascinating applications of AI involve strengthening the relationship between humans and animals. Kid News: Cat Emotions describes an app for cat owners to help them better understand their pets’ feelings. Listen to Saving Elephants with Artificial Intelligence to learn about a tracking device that helps save elephants in Malawi from poachers. And learn how AI is being used to study geese populations in Tracking Animals with AI Facial Recognition.

Teaching about AI in the classroom can be a fun opportunity to encourage your students to think about how technology will continue to evolve. One question they might ask is: will AI learn fast enough to outsmart humans? Listen to students considering the possibility as they discuss Computers Beat Humans at Car Racing.

Podcast Stories About AI for Middle and High School Students

To get middle and high school students talking about the ethics of AI and its many risks and benefits, consider teaching about AI in the classroom using these Listenwise debate stories. 

Education

Debate: Should Teachers Use AI for Grading? 
Debate: Is AI Helpful or Harmful for Learning?
Debate: Does ChatGPT Make Education More Equitable?

Transportation

Debate: Should Driverless Taxis Be On the Roads?
Debate: Are Deliveries by Robots a Good Idea?

Human Relationships

Debate: Are Relationships with AI Chatbots Healthy?
Debate: Is Using AI to Meet People Deceptive? 
Debate: Are AI Beauty Filters Harmful?
Debate: Are Computers Headed Toward Personhood?  

Communication & Privacy

Debate: Should Children Play with Electronic Toys that Collect Data?
Debate: Should Student Communication Be Monitored?
Debate: Does Facial Recognition Make Us Safer?
​Debate: Should Facial Recognition Apps Cause Concern?
Debate: Should Police Use Facial Recognition?

Arts & Sports

Debate: Is AI Image Creation Technology Dangerous?
Debate: Who Should Get Credit for AI-Generated Music?
Debate: Does Generating ChatGPT Stories Count as Authorship?

Looking for more ways to inspire debate in your classroom? Read a guest post by a high school Listenwise teacher, “How Listenwise Debates Support Bold Speakers and Quiet Thinkers.”