Recently Dr. George Veletsianos delivered a keynote and led hands-on workshops at the University of Texas Arlington that challenged the audience to move beyond simplistic views of Generative AI. Here’s the core of his message—and why it matters for all of us in Learning Technologies.
🎤 Beyond “Magic” or “Monster”
Too often, conversations about Generative AI fall into one of two camps:
- It’s magical—a utopian tool that will transform education overnight.
- It’s evil—a dystopian threat poised to undermine learning, assessment, and academic integrity.
Dr. Veletsianos argued that both positions are oversimplifications. Generative AI is neither a unicorn nor a Kraken. Instead, it introduces competing demands, conflicting values, and challenging trade-offs that require nuanced responses.
⚖️ Negotiating a New Equilibrium
- Process vs. Product
- Should we evaluate how learners arrive at an answer, or the answer itself?
- Should we evaluate how learners arrive at an answer, or the answer itself?
- Learning vs. Cognitive Offloading
- When does AI support deeper understanding, and when does it merely do the thinking for students?
- When does AI support deeper understanding, and when does it merely do the thinking for students?
These aren’t yes/no questions. They represent the delicate balancing act of integrating powerful technology while preserving education’s core mission and values.
