This seminar on Student AI Literacy by Cari Wilson gave a really practical overview of how AI is already everywhere and why students need some basic literacy around using it safely and responsibly. She gave this resource, that are some AI lessons and activities that give students baseline understanding. It’s important we don’t just tell them that it’s dangerous and to stop using AI, but instead be realistic since it’s already apart of their lives.
There was a conversation around privacy and she mentioned how her own blog content is now being used to train AI models. It is a good reminder, especially in the digital age we are currently living in, that once something is put online it lives there forever and we lose control of it. That feels especially important for students who don’t always realize how permanent or reusable their digital footprint is. She also showed how you can upload an image into tools like Gemini and ask whether it’s AI generated, which was interesting but also raised questions about accuracy and trust.
The discussion around hallucinations was also pretty concerning. AI can confidently make things up, especially when students ask vague or poorly framed questions, and if students don’t read critically, they might accept incorrect information without questioning it. This is also extremely worry some for deep fakes, and how these tools can be used in cyberbullying and extortion. We need to make sure we help our students learn about these so they are aware about what is out there.
