The role of artificial intelligence in San Francisco Unified School District classrooms is drawing questions from parents following comments made by the district’s superintendent at the Dreamforce conference last week.
Parents say they want to be more involved in shaping the district’s policy on AI in class.
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During her comments at Dreamforce last week, SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su was careful not to specifically say “AI” or “artificial intelligence.” Instead, she described “technology” and “tools” that will help in the classroom of the future.
“We need to support educators to learn how to use tools. To learn how to use technology in the safest way possible. But in order to do this we need to understand the tools,” Su said.
Last week, Salesforce also announced $18 million in education grants to school districts in San Francisco, Oakland and three other cities, specifically to support continued learning in AI.
SFUSD has already approved a couple of AI-supported applications in classrooms. Amira is an AI reading tutor, and ChatGPT Edu has been deployed to 12,000 students and teachers across the district.
Members of the San Francisco Parents Coalition say there are several concerns about artificial intelligence in classrooms and want the district to tread carefully.
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“One, is student safety. Especially at a young age. Our children’s likenesses, their faces, their voices being recorded, is something that needs to be thought through,” said Rebecca Kee, executive director of the SF Parents Coalition.
Kee says there are also concerns about older students becoming dependent on tools like chatbots or other AI agents. Adults also need to be ahead of the AI curve, and parents are concerned they are not.
“The district already has a lot on its plate, so understandably parents are wondering, how can they keep track of all of these tools, and all the things they can do, and meanwhile, keep children safe, and support their learning with them. It’s a lot to take on,” Kee added.
The union representing teachers has also raised concerns about tools like Amira for adding to educators’ workloads rather than helping relieve it.
Right now, the district does not have a policy on AI use. Instead, individual schools are adopting guidelines and practices. But composing a districtwide policy is in progress, so the parents coalition is encouraging parents to become part of that effort.
The Board of Commissioners is scheduled to vote on that new policy next March.
