Public Education Should Require AI Use in Class

Human judgment becomes the learning outcome.

Teaching facilities across the U.S. are updating curricula to require AI usage—but not in the way many expected. Students are no longer graded on how fast they can generate content with AI. Instead, programs emphasize evaluation, critique, refinement, and ethical responsibility.

AI is the tool. Human ingenuity is a skill.

The Ohio State University recently launched a brain trust that includes AI subject matter experts from 15 colleges to enhance its role as a national educational institution teaching artificial intelligence to students. AI scientists and learners were designated with the task of solving complex problems through AI innovation.  

Other educational institutions are requiring their students to analyze AI-generated layouts for clarity and trust, identify ethical and accessibility issues, improve weak AI decisions through design principles, and justify AI choices using human reasoning. Instead of banning AI or viewing it as a shortcut, instructors should embrace its use in the classroom.

What should change in education?

AI can be an asset in all grades and levels of learning. Crowded classrooms can now use AI as study partners. Teachers can set up individual learning paths based on the students’ skills.

There are numerous education applications for the desktop and online that can be a valuable asset to a teacher (see 5 AI platforms for the classroom).

AI can also automate boring jobs like grading and keeping track of students’ progress. This gives teachers more time to plan creative lessons and have meaningful conversations with their students. Schools can improve both teaching and learning by carefully integrating AI, making education more flexible and useful for everyone.

AI accelerates production—but human judgment determines quality.

Graduates are being trained not as “AI operators,” but as decision-makers. The goal is for professionals who understand that relying on AI without critique produces weaker outcomes than those who treat AI as a collaborator—not an authority.

Study areas being addressed

Students should be taught how and why AI works. They need to know when to apply AI and when to use their concepts for projects, essays, and reports.

AI fails when individuals do not know the difference in the types of AI. If they use a tool to generate content, the solution is not as strong as if they use an AI agent.

Human ingenuity is irreplaceable.

Because experience gives humans insight, people are creative. They can connect the dots of a problem to arrive at a solution based on the ability to think outside of their comfort circle. AI learns by looking at data. People learn from their experiences. Pain, failure, joy, ambiguity, and intuition all affect how people make decisions in ways that data cannot. Inspiration comes from things that may not make sense or be analyzed.

This shift formalizes what professionals already know: Good ideas are not generated—they solve a problem. Individuals can determine the effectiveness of a solution, while AI can only give options and, based on popularity, give you its “best” recommendation.

Any teacher that is not considering the assets AI offers and the need for students to learn to use AI in today’s society should go stand in the corner. Just joking.