Here begins a regular review of AI literacy and skill-building topics in the news and on social media (primarily LinkedIn), separated by industry or general area.
Legislation
The European Union (EU) has passed the EU AI Act which sets out a definition of AI literacy and mandates a certain level of AI literacy for people and organizations using AI systems. (read more about the definitions in our blog post on AI literacy in the EU and US)
Education
A May 2024 survey by the Walton Family Foundation and Learning Engineering Virtual Institute’s AI Lab showed that US teachers aren’t receiving much training or guidance from school leaders: “…only 25% of teachers said they have received ‘professional development on how to use AI chatbots in the classroom.’ More than half – 56% – said they want training but have not received any.” This is leaving a situation where “Kids, parents, and teachers are figuring it out on their own/without express permission.”
Reed Hepler offers a multi-faceted framework for AI literacy (Creative Commons licensed) and links to an Introduction to AI Literacy Canvas course (also Creative Commons licensed) that was based on an AI literacy module for Canvas from Rush University’s Center for Teaching Excellence and Innovation. Rush University has a recording on YouTube of a workshop on AI literacy defining it as “the ability to critically evaluate AI tools and use them effectively in our teaching and learning.”
Mike Kentz says “Stop Grading Essays, Start Grading Chats” and writes about helping teach students AI literacy by having teachers grade chats rather than final products. He offers a new assessment framework toward this goal.
Arizona State University‘s law school is adding new AI courses to build students’ skills in AI in the context of legal studies, citing demand from existing students and the future needs of the profession.
Jeanne Beatrix Law at Kennesaw State University posts about one way to build college instructors’ confidence using ChatGPT: create a custom GPT or virtual assistant for first-year writing courses that helps new faculty align their assignments to guidelines and learning outcomes.
According to the AI Learning Lab on TikTok: “AI Literacy is probably the single most important thing anyone can do for themselves in the next 18 months to two years.” They explain the three steps to getting AI literate as being: 1) to play, 2) to mindfully create, and 3) to generously lead.
Lauren Barbeau discusses her appearance as an English PhD at a Computer Science conference on a panel about AI in education, and how important it is that students are taught to use AI tools effectively and appropriately, but that it remains unclear at what age students should start engaging with AI.
Stefan Bauschard stresses that while using AI builds AI literacy, using AI can’t do things such as develop our communication and critical thinking skills, so education should be preparing students for a world shaped by AI.
Edvative Learning has created a resource called Developing AI Literacy Among Students that is Creative Commons licensed (requires registration to access).
Google’s AI Essentials course ($49 on Coursera) promises to teach AI skills through self-paced study from AI experts at Google, covering tools, prompts, and responsible use.
Business
Ethan Mollick and his team have a new Harvard Business School paper Don’t Expect Juniors to Teach Senior Professionals to Use Generative AI: Emerging Technology Risks and Novice AI Risk Mitigation Tactics about how younger employees aren’t necessarily going to be the go-to people for advice on how to use new AI technologies in the workplace.
The 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report from Microsoft and LinkedIn includes some AI skills and training-related statistics, including: there is a 142x increase in people adding AI skills to their LinkedIn profiles, 66% of leaders are now saying they wouldn’t hire someone without AI skills, yet only 39% of users have received AI training at work and only 25% of companies expect to offer it this year. This points to a mismatch between company expectations and professional training opportunities.
Sustainability
Kimberly Pace Becker says one aspect of AI literacy that is less visible is the understanding of the financial and environmental costs of tokens that power AI systems. Part of critical AI literacy means knowing how to take steps such as starting fresh threads, or copying and pasting parts of documents rather than uploading the whole thing, to limit the energy costs of using AI systems.
Transparency
The debate about whether or not to disclose your AI usage and the ethics surrounding this transparency issue is likely to continue to heat up. Christopher Rice argues that branding your work AI-free will become a competitive advantage going forward. Meanwhile, Nicole Leffer takes the position that her audience knows and expects her to be using AI assistance with her LinkedIn posts, and only mentions the fact if it makes sense in the context of the post.
