Issue link: https://publications.tfs.ca/i/1531851
At TFS, we don't want to deny reality by banning generative AI outright, but we do want our students to demonstrate the school's values of integrity and discernment by applying generative AI tools wisely – and with the understanding that academic honesty places limits on their use. At the same time, our students need to think critically about how the materials they access may have been tampered with and how their own identity and that of others can be exploited. This includes scrutinizing sources more than ever and asking questions like, is it real? Where's the evidence? As a result, our Grade 7 and Level I students are engaging in digital citizenship mentorship sessions focused on how AI can alter what we see and hear. Through a presentation titled "Deepfake: The era of synthetic reality," students are introduced to generative AI manipulations such as face swapping, synthetic images and synthetic audio. In one exercise, small groups of students create audio scripts for characters in positions of public trust, such as a mayor, or personal trust, such as a grandchild. Scripts are recorded by a group member, and the recorded audio file is used to create a temporary voice clone AI model. Alternative messages are then introduced through text-to-speech, as the generative AI voice clone plays back an audio clip of the voice saying things it did not in fact say. This hands-on STEAM activity prompts engaged discussions about the concepts of trust and identity. Other social and ethical implications of generative AI are also explored, as students are asked about consequences both from a legal and academic perspective. Last April, an assembly was held for the entire Senior School on the themes of identity and trust in a world where AI is disrupting its way into ever-widening areas of content creation. One key takeaway we wanted our students to absorb is how essential it is to employ critical thinking and reflection before acting. As the TFS motto reminds us, we want to be individuals who reflect, citizens who (then) act. STEAM and Ethics: Asking Questions, Thinking Critically and Doing the Right Thing We can't talk about AI, or other powerful emerging technologies, without talking impact: how will they reshape socie, our careers, privacy, trust, identi, creativi, critical thinking and the human-to-human bond? By Maryann Shemansky 18 ENTRE NOUS