The Academy community recently hosted nationally recognized facilitator and strategic advisor Eric Hudson for a two-day exploration of artificial intelligence in education. On February 19 and 20, Hudson engaged with parents, students, faculty and staff, and the Academy’s AI Task Force to address the issue of AI in schools. With a background that includes a decade at Global Online Academy and 12 years of classroom teaching, Eric brought a seasoned, human-centered perspective to this rising technology.
During his sessions with students, “The AI Skills That Matter,” Eric challenged participants to discern real photos from AI-generated fakes. The exercise revealed a humbling reality — students across all divisions consistently struggled to tell the difference. “We’re bad at telling the difference,” he said. “We’re not going to be able to tell the difference, so what does that mean? What skills do we need to navigate this AI world?”
He described Large Language Models (LLMs) as complex, non-neutral tools influenced by human bias and designed for speed and authority. To navigate this, he encouraged students to practice “critical engagement” — interrupting AI’s default confidence by asking it to be more critical or by cross-referencing its output with other chatbots.
The conversation shifted from AI literacy to the mechanics of learning, specifically focusing on how AI can be a collaborator rather than a shortcut. Eric distinguished between direct use, where AI does the work, and collaborative use, where AI helps organize notes, create study guides, or provide feedback. While frequent, direct use can stifle critical thinking, he noted that collaborative use supports deeper learning. He challenged students and faculty alike to evaluate the purpose of assignments in this new era, suggesting that if an AI can complete a task with a simple prompt, the design of the assignment itself may need to evolve to favor augmentation over automation.
Beyond the classroom, Eric addressed the broader ethical landscape of AI, looking past simple concerns about cheating. He highlighted the dual nature of the technology: positive uses, such as accelerating medical research, aiding farmers in flood detection, and increasing accessibility for people with disabilities, versus its darker potential for deepfakes, modern warfare, and significant energy consumption.
AI is “arrival technology,” he said. “Nobody asked if we wanted this in our learning environment.”
This article was created by Google Gemini from notes taken during three of Eric Hudson’s presentations and then revised for accuracy and intent.
