AI in Colorado Springs schools has some bugs
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The promise and peril of artificial intelligence in education were on display last week, when a tech-focused Colorado Springs high school had to shut down the use of an AI model.
Why it matters: Public anxiety about AI's safety and cheating risks is colliding with its potential to reshape learning and the future of work — forcing schools to make big decisions in real time.
Driving the news: The D-11 Colorado Springs School of Technology (CSST) began using Anthropic's Claude in its classrooms earlier this month and abruptly reversed course a week later, principal Nathan Gorsch told Axios Colorado Springs.
- CSST students and teachers had been experimenting with the large language model (LLM) to build websites and video games, Gorsch said.
- But the experiment was short-lived when faculty realized on March 18 that Anthropic's terms of service bar users under age 18, forcing the school to shut it down for student use.
Disclosure: Reporter Glenn Wallace has a child who attends CSST.
Context: CSST is an "innovation school," approved by the state board of education to have more autonomy and flexibility than traditional public schools to test different learning approaches.
- To that end, the district has given the school more leeway to explore AI, according to Gorsch.
- The program, which emphasizes project-based learning and the use of technology in the classroom, is in its first year and currently enrolls ninth and 10th-graders.
How it works: Educators and administrators have cautiously started experimenting with the technology in local schools, which are taking a patchwork approach to AI.
- A D-11 spokesperson told Axios there is no blanket policy for all schools, but the district continues to evaluate the safety and security of different platforms and products.
For instance, one D-11 middle school teacher told Fox 21 he assigned students to write an essay, revise it using the communications platform, Power School AI, and then compare versions.
- The teacher added he was using AI to help him write lesson plans and assist with grading.
Meanwhile, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs offers AI coursework and self-paced AI learning resources. And a CU system-wide deal to provide OpenAI's ChatGPT tools on its campuses was announced earlier this year.
- A UCCS spokesperson told Axios that ChatGPT is set to go live for students this fall, though some CU Boulder faculty have already raised concerns.
What they're saying: "The world our children will enter will be AI-adjacent, if not driven by AI," Gorsch told us.
What we're watching: He added that CSST is searching for a student-centered work-around to the age restrictions but that Anthropic is strict about its safety and use guidelines.
- In the meantime, he says, teachers will continue to use Claude.
- The school will continue to use other AI models, including ChatGPT, that allow for parental permission or have alternate versions for under-18 users.
Disclosure: Axios and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that allows OpenAI to access part of Axios' story archives while helping fund the launch of Axios into multiple local cities and providing some AI tools. Axios has editorial independence.