Competencies in the AI Era: Critical Thinking

How can we better engage students in critical thinking about the societal, cultural, ethical, and legal implications of generative AI (GenAI)? This workshop aims to help professors design an in-class activity in which students will be asked to accomplish a task using GenAI tools, then reflect on the potential implications of using these tools. We will begin with an overview of some of the key questions that have been raised about GenAI: its potential impacts on jobs, the environment, labor relations, intellectual property rights, cultural production, and the nature of how we understand “reality,” among others. Following this overview, the workshop facilitator will share an example of an activity designed for Communication students that led to a productive in-class discussion of GenAI’s implications for that field. Finally, workshop participants will work on designing a similar activity for a course they teach and share their ideas. Participants will leave the workshop with a view on how to approach Critical Thinking competencies in their teaching and a plan for an engaging activity that prompts students to reflect on and discuss the broader consequences of GenAI for their chosen field of study.