Tennessee lawmakers hope to set guidelines on how AI is used in classrooms

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Artificial intelligence can be both an incredible and terrifying tool. In the classroom, students could use it to translate words into different languages, but they could also use it to cheat and plagiarize on papers.

That's why lawmakers hope to set some ground rules on how the technology is used in Tennessee classrooms.

"We’re trying to get a handle on this in our classroom before it becomes a problem," said Rep. Scott Cepicky, a Republican from Culleoka, during the House Government Operations Committee Monday. "Some of it is extremely good for students, I’ve seen it presented to me. Some of it can be very detrimental to education."

Cepicky's bill would require each public school district and university in the state to come up with their own policy for AI usage.

"So a policy in Nashville would be different than the one that’s in Maury County or in Wayne County," said Cepicky, in an interview with NewsChannel 5.

Talking AI with... AI

So what specific concerns come with using AI for education? NewsChannel 5 decided the best expert on Artificial Intelligence might be... well, Artificial Intelligence itself.

See Chris type his question to AI in the player above.

We typed into ChatGPT, an online AI service, this question:

Can you write a TV news story about the positives and negatives of AI in the classroom?

It sent us back a formatted TV script, not quite how we do it at NewsChannel 5, but pretty close. It wrote out interviews with experts and teachers about some of the positives of AI.

"With AI algorithms, teachers can provide instant feedback and identify areas of improvement and adapt lesson plans accordingly," wrote ChatGPT — according to an unnamed Education Expert. "Teachers can cater to each student’s unique learning style."

The ChatGPT script also talked about some drawbacks.

"Including privacy rights, data breeches, jeopardizing the safety and security of our children," wrote ChatGPT.

But all of those so-called experts appear to be completely made-up interactions. That's not going to get you an A on the paper or make you a very credible journalist.

If the bill passes, districts and universities will have to keep updating those AI policies every year, given how rapidly AI is expanding.

"What we have now to work with will probably be antiquated within weeks, if not days," said Cepicky.

As a part of the bill, the University of Tennessee has agreed to work as a resource for school districts and other universities, providing best practices involving AI.

Other AI bills

House Republicans have other bills dealing with Artificial Intelligence as well. One bill would require a disclaimer on any content created by an AI service.

"If you create something with AI and it’s not really that person. If it’s not really you in that video, there should be a disclaimer that says — look — this is AI created, it’s not this person," said Rep. William Lamberth, the House Majority Leader from Portland, during a media availability last week.

The Governor also has a music AI protection bill, called the Elvis Act.

"Those artists need to be protected — that’s their intellectual property. That’s the magic that they’ve brought to our world, through their voices and their ideas," said Lamberth.

Republicans are also sponsoring a bill that would prevent someone from creating AI generated child pornography, to get around state laws against such content.

"There are some of these pedophiles out there that think they can go around our laws by having child pornography that’s AI created. It’s just disgusting and so we’re going to make sure we cinch our laws up," said Lamberth.

Rep. Justin Jones, a Democrat from Nashville. also has a bill that would prevent groups from using AI to create misleading AI content to influence an election.