A Structured Approach to Teach Responsible AI Use

Fahmida Rahman

Background

• Students either over-rely on AI or avoid it completely
• A structured way to use AI responsibly is missing

Where Things Go Wrong

​

• Copying AI output without verification
• Shallow understanding
• No transparency in AI use
• Difficulty assessing student learning

​

AI becomes the answer, not the process

Let’s Try This…

• Reading: https://www.its.ucla.edu/news/for-the-press/traffic-congestion/
• Ask AI: Provide two cost effective solutions to reduce congestion in highways

​

What concerns you if students stop here?

A 3-Step Ethical AI Framework

• Step 1: AI-Assisted Synthesis
• Use AI to summarize or organize ideas
• Step 2: Verification (Critical Step)
• Cross-check with original sources
• Identify errors or missing points
• Correct inaccuracies
• Step 3: Independent Construction
• No AI-generated final slides/reports
• Students explain in their own words

AI supports thinking — it does not replace it

Apply It to Your Class

What would verification (Step 2) look like in your course?

What This Looks Like in Practice

• Provide two cost effective solutions to reduce congestion in highways
• AI Output:
• Implement Congestion Pricing: The most direct and cost-effective way to reduce traffic is to charge a fee for road use during busy times.
• By adding capacity i.e. adding freeway lanes
• Issue:
• Oversimplified solutions without context
• Ignores feasibility and constraints (cost, land, policy)
• “Adding lanes” is not always cost-effective

​

What This Looks Like in Practice

• Student Verification:
• Adding lanes often leads to induced demand and involves high construction costs.
• Congestion pricing is effective but:
• Requires policy approval and public acceptance
• Needs supporting infrastructure (technology, enforcement)
• More cost-effective strategies exist, such as:
• Ramp metering
• Signal coordination
• Incident management

​

What This Looks Like in Practice

• Student Final Answer:

“While congestion pricing can effectively manage demand during peak periods, its implementation depends on policy and public acceptance.�Adding freeway lanes is often not cost-effective due to high construction costs and induced demand effects.�More practical and cost-effective solutions include operational strategies such as ramp metering, improved signal coordination, and traffic incident management.”

​

Why This Works

​

• Promotes critical thinking
• Builds verification skills
• Encourages transparency
• Prevents passive learning

​

AI becomes a starting point, not the final answer

Transferability and Wrap Up

• Adaptable Across Any Course
• Same structure, different content
• Takeaway
• “If students are already using AI, our role is not to restrict it—but to teach them how to question it.”