Boston Globe: Congressman Amo pitches artificial intelligence literacy in schools
PROVIDENCE, RI - Today, the Boston Globe wrote about Congressman Gabe Amo (RI-01) and the bipartisan bill that he recently introduced with Congressman Tom Kean Jr. (NJ-07) — the LIFT AI Act. In the article, Congressman Amo spoke about the need to develop appropriate grade-level curriculum so that artificial intelligence can become a regular part of K-12 education in a safe, responsible, and thoughtful way.
The text of the Boston Globe article written by Steph Machado is provided below.
‘It’s not going away’: RI congressman pitches artificial intelligence literacy in schools
As artificial intelligence becomes more and more prevalent in daily life, a Rhode Island congressman wants to make it a formal part of K-12 education.
Representative Gabe Amo, a Democrat from Rhode Island, introduced a bill this week alongside Republican Representative Tom Kean of New Jersey to help develop artificial intelligence literacy curriculum for schools and provide tools for educators to teach it.
“AI is going to be more and more important to us in every dimension of our lives,” Amo, a freshman congressman, said in an interview with the Globe. “The purpose of this legislation is to make sure that we have a comprehensive learning and understanding of what AI is, to make sure that we’re unlocking its power for good. And a lot of that starts in the classroom.”
The bill, dubbed the “LIFT AI” Act, would authorize a grant program through the National Science Foundation for the research and development of AI literacy curriculum, along with professional development opportunities for schools. There’s no actual funding tied to the legislation yet; if it passes, the NSF could use money from its budget, or Congress could appropriate the funds, Amo’s office said.
Educators across the country have been grappling with how to deal with AI programs such as ChatGPT, which can spit out answers to a math problem or even write a whole essay in seconds. Some schools have banned chatbot programs from being used on their networks, while others have set up policies for how it can and cannot be used.
“What we need to figure out is how we deploy it for good,” Amo said, noting that when he was high school it was CliffsNotes — which summarized books so you didn’t have to read them — that was plaguing teachers.
He argued the curriculum should become a regular part of K-12 education, with age-appropriate lessons teaching the “safe, responsible and thoughtful use” of AI and also what to avoid.
There can be confusion and misunderstanding about what AI tools can do, according to Suresh Venkatasubramanian, the director of the Center for Technological Responsibility at Brown University. He previously worked on a blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights for the White House.
“I think it’s important that we train people to be more aware, more thoughtful, and in some ways critical around AI,” Venkatasubramanian told the Globe. “I think it’s clearly important that we build a citizenry that has the sophistication and understanding of what these AI tools do, and often do not do.”
He said banning ChatGPT and other generative AI tools in schools is an “understandable reflex.” But instead, schools could help students engage with the tools and see how they can “fool” the technology — “kids love to break things,” he joked — and discover the technology’s abilities and limits.
“These tools aren’t going away,” he said, noting that teachers should have a say in how it’s used in the classroom. “The most ironic application I’ve heard of is the one where we use AI systems to detect the use of AI-generated content.”
Rhode Island leaders have started to dip their toes into studying AI. Governor Dan McKee created an Artificial Intelligence Task Force, which met for the first time in July, aimed at “assessing and advising state policymakers on the risks and opportunities presented by the advancement of AI.”
The 24-member task force is chaired by former Congressman Jim Langevin and includes members of the business, health care and education communities.
Just as teaching students how to use the internet became “de-facto mandatory” in schools years ago, Amo hopes teaching AI will eventually be a default part of K-12 education, even if it’s not actually mandated by law.
“It’s not going away,” Amo said.
The bipartisan legislation will be considered by the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
