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Parent Engagement Network

with Bobby Hodgkinson | Mike Whitaker

Generative AI

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Learning Objectives

What can AI do today?
What really is “AI”?
What is happening in our community?

Nationally
Local K-12
Higher ed
CU Boulder

What does this mean for tomorrow?

Education
Society

What does this mean for me?

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What can AI do today?

Homework assistant (photo-> help)
Studying (NotebookLM flash cards)
Essay and writing support
Email and schedule assistant
Video and audio
Assist doctors with diagnosis
Resumes, interview practice
Google search “AI overview”
Others?

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Generative

AI

Deep

Learning

Machine

Learning

Artificial

Intelligence

What is AI, Why Now?

AI isn’t new
ChatGPT 3.5 ~Nov, 30th 2022
Communication with a machine

“Attention is all you need”

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Human <-> Machine Communication

Conversation interface lowered the barrier
AI works on abstracted information
Impacts every discipline
Translation across media
Progress in one area scales to others

There’s two big reasons behind the explosion we’ve seen since the release of ChatGPT 3.5. It isn’t from a new technology, it’s because that technology was made available to everyone, with an incredibly low barrier to entry - for the first time in human history we can interact with a machine the way we interact with each other. The second reason for the explosion is that the technology itself operates on an ‘abstraction of information’ said differently - we’ve begun to crack the code to give the machine a level of “understanding” to how we interact with the world - while we think of chatbots as operating on words, and image and video and sound generation as making pictures, movies, songs - at the core of all these is a simple idea - the machine operates on information and we’re seeing ways to translate the ways we interact with each other and the world to the machine. The machine can respond in our language, it can generate words, and images, and songs - that are human-like. And digging a little deeper here, we can see that since the technology operates on information - one advancement in the area of say word generation can be expanded to the topic of say audio generation with a few tweeks.

AI is moving quickly and touching every field. Many feel overwhelmed, but engaging with it now is about mindset, not mastery. This talk aims to reduce fear and build confidence.

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AI Won’t Replace Humans - But…

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AI in the job market (data supports the quote..kinda)

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2507.07935

For Parents

This study examined real conversations between users and an AI system (Microsoft Bing Copilot) to measure how much different occupations are using generative-AI tools for their everyday work. arXiv Key findings: many routine knowledge-work activities—especially writing, gathering info, and communicating—are very amenable to AI support. That means your child’s future job may very well involve working with AI, not simply ignoring or fearing it.� The takeaway: Encourage your child to build comfort with AI as a tool in the workplace and to focus on the uniquely human parts (judgment, creativity, orchestrating AI) because the machines are already good at assisting with the repetitive, information-based tasks.

For Undergraduates

The research maps user goals (what you’re trying to do) and AI actions (what the system is doing) to standardized work-activities and then computes an “AI applicability score” for each occupation. arXiv It found:

The strongest AI impact is in tasks like information gathering, writing/editing, and communication.�
Occupations based on knowledge and communication show highest applicability scores (e.g., writers, sales reps, translators). arXiv�
Physical/manual occupations or ones heavily based on machinery show much lower AI applicability.� The implication for you: If you’re heading into a field that involves understanding and communicating information, using AI is going to be part of your toolkit. Being able to integrate AI effectively could give you an edge. But the real added value you bring is how you use it—your reasoning, ethics, and creativity.

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AI in the job market (data supports the quote..kinda)

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Employers across industries are increasingly seeking candidates who can work alongside AI. Not just to use the tools, but understand when, why, and how to apply them responsibly. AI literacy, adaptability, and the ability to integrate AI into real-world tasks are becoming essential skills for the modern workforce.

Non‑technical “human” skills remain essential and are complemented by AI: adaptability, critical thinking, the ability to orchestrate AI rather than be replaced by it.

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How are employees using AI?

Assistant
“Agent” - caution!
Entry level jobs aren’t gone
They’re just different
Managers want increased productivity
Employees want guidance, training

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A Weird, Exciting Moment in Time

AI changes everything
Entry level jobs aren’t gone
Expectations are much higher
AI is a force multiplier

“In 2035, that graduating college student, if they still go to college at all, could very well be leaving on a mission to explore the solar system on a spaceship in some completely new, exciting, super well-paid, super interesting job,” Altman said to video journalist Cleo Abram

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Lots of money flowing into AI

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JD Vance on future of artificial intelligence 2/11.

Our schools will teach students how to manage, how to supervise, and how to interact with ai enabled tools as they become more and more a part of our everyday lives.

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But how? (states are deciding for themselves)

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Then & Now

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Colorado Education Initiative

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Only about ⅓ of teachers in BVSD - slow adoption

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AI Tutors

Only about ⅓ of teachers in BVSD - slow adoption

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Student Use: The Good

Brainstorming partner
Drafts and clarifiers
Debugging aid
Learning assistant

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Brainstorming partner
Drafts and clarifiers
Debugging aid
Learning assistant

“Students want to learn…”

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How I Use AI

Assistant for reflection
Streamline feedback tasks
Personalized Chatbot
Custom apps for grading

“Students want to learn…”

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My mindset

“Cheating is the problem, AI makes it worse”

Nah. I dont think so

Motivation is the problem, cheating is a symptom
My job: motivate the content
Trust: students want to learn

or you’d be somewhere else…

Most important:

The future is “AI-augmented”

“Students want to learn…”

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Student Use: The Risks

Overreliance danger
Bypassing hard thinking
Generic, weak outputs
False sense of understanding

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⚠️Your Brain on ChatGPT⚠️

Overreliance danger
Not a replacement for your learning
Must be used intentionally
Find a balance

“Students want to learn…”

For Parents

The study found that students who used an AI-assistant (like ChatGPT) to write essays showed lower brain engagement, weaker memory recall, and a reduced sense of ownership over their work compared with students who wrote without AI. arXiv+2Science News Today+2 This doesn’t mean AI is “bad,” but it suggests that if students rely on it too early or too much, they risk missing out on deeper learning, critical thinking and memory-building — so parents should encourage AI as a partner, not a replacement.

For Undergraduates

Using ChatGPT from the start of a cognitively demanding task (like essay‐writing) reduced neural connectivity in brain regions linked to memory, reasoning, and self-reflection, and resulted in less original and less well-remembered writing. Scale+1 The implication: to maximize your learning, treat AI as an assistive tool rather than a shortcut — do the mental heavy-lifting yourself (idea generation, outlining, revision) and then leverage AI for support.

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How can you prepare?

AI Literacy
AI Fluency
AI Confident

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AI Literacy in a nutshell

Compliance: Only upload what you have permission
Caution: Confidence does not imply correctness
Communication: Speak naturally

(who, when, why, how)

Curiosity: Ask for help
Bonus: Context Engineering

Not prompt engineering

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How to Become AI Literate?

Take a (free) intro course
Try (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude)

“Hi. I’m new to this AI thing and I have <10 mins>. Can you please help me get started?”

Talk to others (RMAIIG)

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If you can speak - you’re already at step 2

Fear is natural
AI isn’t whitewater rapids

More like a giant river

Dip your toe first
Wade in gradually
Stay near shore

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A bit of caution

“Stranger on the bus”
AI models don’t need your data
They want your interactions
Why?

Philanthropy?
Education?
Profit?

“Agentic injection”

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How to Become AI Fluent?

Pick a project
Stay focused BUT don't get distracted
Reflect on learning
Engage with curiosity

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What we didn’t talk about

Ethics

Training
Usage

Environmental ($$$)
Global inequality
Safety
Economic (UBI?)

Agents
Bias
Regulations
Privacy
Creativity
Alignment
Mistakes

Ethics: How do we ensure AI is developed and used in ways that reflect human values, fairness, and accountability?�

Training: What data are these systems trained on, who decides, and how does that shape their capabilities and biases?�

Usage: How should we define appropriate and responsible use of AI in education, work, and daily life?�

Environmental ($$$): The energy and computing costs of training and running large AI models raise sustainability and equity concerns.�

Global Inequality: AI advancements risk widening gaps between countries and communities that have access to powerful models and those that don’t.�

Safety: How do we prevent misuse, misinformation, and harm from autonomous or generative systems?�

Economic (UBI?): As automation reshapes jobs, what social and economic systems (like universal basic income) might be needed to adapt?�

Agents: AI is moving toward autonomous “agents” that act on our behalf raising questions about control, trust, and accountability. Also Agents have been shown to be susceptible to agentic injection where malicious websites inject content (hidden text on images) to prompt the agent to act in a certain way.�

Bias: AI reflects the biases present in its training data and design understanding and mitigating these biases is critical.�

Regulations: Governments and organizations are still developing policies to guide safe, transparent, and fair AI deployment.�

Privacy: AI systems often process sensitive personal data, making data security and informed consent essential.�

Creativity: Generative AI challenges traditional ideas of originality and authorship, reshaping art, writing, and innovation.�

Alignment: Ensuring that AI systems’ goals and actions align with human intentions is one of the field’s hardest and most important problems.�

Mistakes: AI can sound confident but still be wrong recognizing and verifying errors is a key part of responsible use.

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Final Takeaway

No need to catch up
Stay curious, intentional
Use tools mindfully
Humans bring the value

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Play time

How to get started? How to get good?
Guardrails: “If it’s free, youre the product”
“Who”: are you? do you want to talk to?
“What”: do you want to talk about?
“How”: sign up..communicate..iterate

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chatgpt.com

notebooklm.com

google.com

perplexity.com

futuretools.com

lmarena.com

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For Parents

Talk to your kids
Use ChatGPT together
Try NotebookLM
Model safe exploration
Personal Project

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For Students

Use AI for study

Dont assume an AI policy
Avoid the solution manual trap

Personal project(s)
Explore independent study
Stay focused, not distracted

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In groups

AI as assistant
You lead the project
Assign tasks wisely
Avoid over reliance

Use AI in a defined role: feedback, outlining, testing. Don’t let it take over decision-making. The team must remain in control — orchestration is the human’s job. Mention how AI usage leads to narrow outcomes.

https://mitsloan.mit.edu/press/does-generative-ai-actually-enhance-creativity-workplace?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.14199?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://dl.acm.org/doi/fullHtml/10.1145/3663384.3663398?utm_source=chatgpt.com

What the research finds

In a study of university students working on digital storytelling, groups using generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Midjourney, Runway) saw improved collaborative problem-solving skills compared to groups without AI support. SpringerOpen+1�
Research shows that while teams augmented with generative AI can perform better than purely human teams on some tasks, the diversity of ideas produced by human+AI teams tends to be lower than human-only teams. arXiv+1�
A field experiment with professionals found that employees aided by AI were rated as more creative only when they had strong metacognitive skills (planning, monitoring their work, revising) — simply adding AI did not guarantee more creativity. MIT Sloan�
In group ideation settings (e.g., virtual canvases), participants valued AI for facilitation of idea generation and clustering, but also voiced concern that AI could reduce critical thinking, overshadow human perspective, or reduce ownership of ideas. dl.acm.org+1�

⚠️ Key Themes / Limitations

AI as facilitator, not lead: Generative AI often shines in helping kick-off brainstorming, clustering ideas, or surfacing variations. But for novel, culturally rich, or deeply contextual insights, humans remain critical.�
Risk of fixation: When a group works with AI, there’s a risk they’ll become fixated on the AI’s suggestions and stop exploring alternate directions — limiting creativity. ResearchGate+1�
Human oversight required: The best outcomes emerge when the team actively guides the AI, critiques its output, and injects diverse human perspectives.�
Metacognitive skills matter: Team members who can ask good questions, reflect on the process, and monitor their own thinking gain more from AI-augmented collaboration.�
Design of collaboration matters: How teams integrate AI (timing, role of AI, how people interact) significantly influences whether AI helps or hinders. arXiv+1

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Aerospace engineering jobs are expected to rise 6-8% compared to 4% in the next ~10 yrs

The government's official employment projections show AI will make aerospace engineers more productive, not obsolete. The combination of strong demand for commercial aviation, continued aerospace funding, safety regulations requiring human oversight, and the technical complexity of aerospace work means your field is well-positioned for the AI era. You'll use AI tools, but someone still needs to understand fluid dynamics, structural analysis, and propulsion.