From Policing AI to Teaching with AI

by CFO Phyllis Chen

For a while, the conversation around AI in education felt familiar: fear, resistance, and attempts to shut it down. But that phase is ending quickly. The reality is simple—AI is already in the classroom, whether educators like it or not.

What’s more interesting now is a growing shift in mindset. Instead of asking “How do we stop students from using AI?”, more teachers are asking a better question:
“How do we teach students to use AI well?”

Across universities, educators are beginning to experiment in thoughtful ways. Some are using AI as a personalized tutor, helping students who struggle to grasp concepts through traditional lectures. Others are designing assignments where AI becomes part of the workflow—supporting brainstorming, testing ideas, or even challenging assumptions.

This doesn’t mean lowering standards. In fact, it often means raising them.

When AI can generate answers instantly, the value of education moves beyond output. Teachers are placing more emphasis on process, judgment, and critical thinking—asking students to explain how they arrived at an answer, not just what the answer is. AI becomes a tool to accelerate learning, but not replace understanding.

There’s also a deeper opportunity here: building AI literacy. Students need to know not just how to use these tools, but how to question them—understanding their limitations, biases, and occasional inaccuracies. This is a skill set that will matter far beyond the classroom.

The educators leading this shift aren’t ignoring the risks. Concerns about over-reliance and shallow learning are valid. But rejecting AI altogether doesn’t solve those problems—it just pushes them out of sight.

The real work is harder, but more meaningful: redefining what it means to learn in a world where answers are abundant.

And the teachers who embrace this challenge aren’t losing control of the classroom—they’re redesigning it for the future.

Source: Inspired by reporting from CBC News on how professors in Canada are integrating AI into higher education classrooms.

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