Community Impact spoke with Meng Li, founder and director of the Bauer Human-Centered AI Institute and Endowed C.T. Bauer Chair of AI at C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, to discuss the role of AI in academia.
As schools adapt policies, Li emphasized that both teachers and students learn to navigate the AI era together. While some concerns remain, he said the integration of AI in education is less of a threat and more of a necessary evolution; one that, if managed correctly, could enhance education.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Have you seen students using AI tools in the classroom, and has it become a problem?
Of course, within the classroom and also outside the classroom. Students are young; they're quick. They adopted AI tools, so of course that's happening.
It really depends on the context. I think the reality is we cannot ignore AI. Students are using it, so we cannot let them not use AI. I think when ChatGPT first came out, schools restricted students from using it, but it's not happening anymore. People are more welcoming of AI for students. I think the bigger question is how to best use AI in the classroom, or how to help our students learn based on these AI tools.
What might the early stages of integrating AI into education look like?
We need to define what AI tools are appropriate, how to structure learning around them and how to adopt them in meaningful ways. It will take time. We’re still at the beginning of this transformation. We need experimentation, feedback and collaboration between educators and technologists to make AI work effectively in education.
How might AI affect how students think, create and problem-solve in the long run?
A lot of people worry that students will become too dependent on AI—that it will replace critical thinking or creativity—but I don’t think it has to be that way. If we use AI the right way, it can actually help students think better. AI can give fast feedback, generate ideas or show different ways to approach a problem, but students still have to decide what to use and how. That decision-making process, that's where the learning happens.
Does the rapid advancement of AI worry you?
Well, I think of replacement—task replacement, job replacement. We already know that’s happening, and some people are not happy. For our society, it will have a big impact, but I think we don't really need to worry too much. The reason is, we are smart. We have seen this, probably not with AI, but we’ve seen other technology like the internet, computers. I think we are fine. We don’t really need to worry too much.
What role do schools and educators play when it comes to AI?
I think a lot of university schools are developing AI policies. Train the professors, educators, teachers, to learn how to use AI in their classroom or at least understand it. I think that's important and schools should do it. It is a very tough task because this AI scene is developing quite fast but the discrepancy between the knowledge of students and the teachers is a big worry. As I said, students quickly learn those AI tools so how do we, the teachers, know what AI looks like in practice? I think that's very relevant. People probably ignore that.
