"From Chalkboards to Chatbots: The Impact of AI on K-12 Education"
House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education
2025-04-01
Loading video...
Source: Congress.gov
Participants
Transcript
U
Unknown (SPEAKER_09)
I note that a quorum is present. Without objection, the chair is authorized to call recess at any time. Good morning. Artificial intelligence has been advancing at such a rapid pace in recent months, weeks, and days that by the end of this hearing, anything we say this morning will probably be outdated. That's perhaps a slight exaggeration, but it is the essential reality. Leading labs continue to put out new models each week, shattering benchmarks, demonstrating incredible capabilities, and pointing towards still greater advancements ahead. Indeed, there does not appear to be any limit to this progress in sight. This rapid acceleration towards the future has brought a host of anxieties, not least of which is geopolitical. At this moment, America holds a clear but precarious AI advantage. There are also concerns related to jobs, privacy, safety, control, and more broadly, a sense of uncertainty about the social changes that coming breakthroughs will herald and what our world will look like for the next generation. As understandable and important as these concerns are, the bigger picture is one of opportunity and a truly limitless sense of possibility. Even with the state of the art as it now exists, let alone what it will be next week, next year, or a decade from now, we suddenly have tools to address many longstanding challenges in new and powerful ways. Education is one very clear example of that. I'm a former high school teacher, and I believe one of the greatest failings in our country's modern history is the way millions of kids have been deprived of a decent education. Our school system has shameful achievement gaps, nowhere more so than in my home state of California. Owing to the neighborhood they were born into, far too many young people in this country are not receiving the education they deserve and are robbed of the opportunities that a quality education provides.
U
Unknown (SPEAKER_09)
Meanwhile, the educational attainment of the country as a whole has been on a sharp decline. AI can change that. It has the potential to give every child in America a richer educational experience than any child in America had just a few years ago. It can give every teacher in America a greater ability to reach students than any teacher did in the past. It can empower parents to follow their child's progress and guide it accordingly. For a glimpse of this potential, here's a short video. One teacher in a classroom of more than 20 students, it may be hard for them to get around to everyone during a class period. But now with the help of this artificial intelligence tool, students are getting more one-on-one tutoring without replacing that human interaction.
What was your nonfiction Catalina Toledo is enjoying the extra set of instructors in her 10th grade reading class at Santa Lucia High School. It's a tremendous amount of help because it reiterates everything that I've taught them and then it allows them to go back and forth with it. It is called Conmigo, an artificial intelligence power tool through Con Academy. That's a supplemental, secure educational program the district was already using. It's the advancement of technology, guys. We're living through it. Students like Tiffany Chofee are among the first to use this virtual tutoring program, giving her individual attention. It doesn't give us answers at all, actually, right now. It's asking questions about the story, and he's like, oh, what would happen next? Instead of throwing the answer at me, he's like, let's figure it out together. Let me see what you got. Toledo says diving into the world of AI can be scary and overwhelming at first. She doesn't worry about a computer taking her job, but knows it's part of the future, so better to use it in a controlled environment. The kids are going to utilize things that are out there. So I feel like if they're able to utilize it with us, then it's better because we can monitor it.
U
Unknown (SPEAKER_09)
Sign up for free to see the full transcript
Accounts help us prevent bots from abusing our site. Accounts are free and will allow you to access the full transcript.