AI - Snog Marry Avoid?
A conversation about for helping educators AI-proof themselves and their students – as well as embrace the possibilities the technology brings
Tuesday 14th January 2025 17.00 GMT
AI. Jobs not yet existing. Everything's changing. Yadda, yadda, yadda.
Talk of what AI can do and evidence of it doing it is everywhere.
And rightly so.
The advances in Artificial Intelligence that have been building for a while have really moved centre stage in 2024 with Large Language Model (LLM) systems like ChatGPT and Gemini becoming an increasing part of our lives.
Whether we like it or not.
When you see how the latest version of ChatGPT can act like your own personal tutor, you really do have to ask yourself the famous question our Ian Gilbert first asked over a decade ago, why do I need a teacher when I've got Google? (Spoiler alert - we still need great teachers. Less so, bad ones.)
A few weeks ago, Sir Anthony Seldon wrote an article for The Times (paywall) about the threat posed to young people and their learning by such technologies.
'Unchecked,' he wrote, 'it will rob children of the ability to solve problems and think for themselves.'
For him, as it has been for other prognosticators on the topic including Jack Ma and Yong Zhao (both mentioned in this blog) and our Ian Gilbert, the answer isn't about resisting technology but identifying what it is that makes us human – as teachers or learners – and leaning in to that.
Seldon identifies what he calls seven 'core facets of humanity' and you can read more about that and our take on them in this post from a few weeks back.
Based on the buzz – both positive and negative, excited and concerned – we have decided to convene a special conversation with some of our Associates who know a thing about such matters.
And you're invited.
Contributors
Our very own ICT Evangelist, Mark has been a pioneer for the use of technology in education for many years, showing teachers all around the world how they can embrace technology to make their lives – and the lives of their children and young people – easier, more effective and more successful.
He is now in the vanguard of the use of AI in learning as you can see in this blog he wrote for us earlier this year.
Very much in demand for her amazing work on creative
approaches to inclusive teaching and learning and also whole-school well-being, Nina also knows a thing or two about the use of IT for learning, especially assistive technologies within a SEND/ALN setting.
She also knows the power of the 'cwtch', something no technology has quite mastered yet...
When you see Hywel in action, you realise that he is capable of 
holding a room full of difficult five-year-olds – or difficult teachers – spellbound through the power of imagination, storytelling and approach to pedagogy he calls 'botheredness'.
He is currently bringing together a book for the Independent Thinking Press on the topic of 'joy' in the classroom and is living proof of how difficult it will be for AI to replace a teacher who brings humour, warmth and a uniquely human touch to the classroom.
Dave Harris - the use of AI in the classroom is one thing but what about its implications for leadership? Dave is an authority
on the topic, having written books like Brave Heads and collaborated with the late Professor John West-Burnham on the Leaderships Dialogues series.
He is also passionate about the use of the particularly human traits of awe, wonder and curiosity for learning and motivation.
Founder of Independent Thinking and author of several books on
education including the prescient Why Do I Need a Teacher When I've Got Google?
The conversation will be relevant for teachers and leaders of any phase or setting.
Ian will bring together Mark, Nina, Dave and Hywel in discussion around not only what AI is and what it can do but also what we can do to help AI-proof our teaching as we prepare children for a world where their unique humanity has to count more than ever.
We don't have all the answers – no-one does at this pivotal moment in our history – but we do have a pretty good idea of where things are going and what we can do as we go along for the ride.
Joining the conversation is free but we are limiting tickets to just 50 places on a first-come, first-served basis.
To reserve your ringside seat click here.
The technology is here to stay and is only going to get more wild as the advances continue.
Now is the time to consider not only what it all means for our profession but also how we can make sure we do our job of really preparing young people for a world where so much that used to be in the human domain can and will be be done by AI.
So, AI – snog, marry or avoid?
Let's find out together.
We look forward to seeing you in January.
PS Click on the images below to find out more about the contributors to this special conversation.
Enjoy a free no-obligation chat.
Make a booking. Haggle a bit.
Give us a call on +44 (0)1267 211432 or drop us a line at learn@independentthinking.co.uk.
We promise to get back to you reassuringly quickly.