Building Ethical AI Together in Education

CoSN 2026 wrapped up with a theme that has been echoing in my head ever since I left Chicago. Building what is next, together. It is a beautiful sentiment for a conference banner, but the reality of this work is incredibly heavy. We absolutely cannot do this alone. Trying to figure out the ethical path forward for our students feels like trying to lift an impossibly heavy box by yourself. It holds the weight of the world for our kids, and we have to lift it together.

The Human in the Loop

I had the privilege of presenting on SceneCraft with Joe Meledez-Naharro, and I honestly learned so much just by sharing that area of the AI Playground with him. He views the platform from an entirely different vantage point than I do. While I am looking at the classroom experience, Joe sees the behind-the-scenes architecture. He highlighted fact that the program does not collect personally identifiable information from students. He also deeply shares my belief in keeping the human in the loop. It is an authoring tool where the teacher remains the main driver. Students get to step into the experience to kick off a new unit, whether they are sitting at a desk in a physical classroom or logging in virtually.

The Learner’s Permit

The rest of the tech presentations were amazing, and I even managed to learn some new tricks for tools my district has already paid for (a rare and wonderful thing). But the conversations also shed light on the dangers of artificial intelligence. The risks are huge, honestly much bigger than I had even considered before this week. The repeated drumbeat across every session was that AI literacy must be explicitly taught. Allowing students to use these tools without developing any foundational understanding is like handing a teenager a driver’s license before they ever get a learner’s permit. We have to guard our students by deliberately helping them make good choices and understand the machinery before we simply hand over the keys.

Building What Is Next

My brain is full right now. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to share an AI initiative like SceneCraft with educators from all over the world, but I am also just deeply tired. I am excited to see what we all build next together. Right now, though, my biggest technological hurdle is hoping that my daughter will make dinner tonight. 

Have a great weekend, everyone.P.S. If your district is navigating this heavy lift and looking for a partner in ethical AI implementation, I would love to connect. You can view my speaking availability and book a session with me here.