Over the past several months, I’ve had the opportunity to work on several projects that address artificial intelligence, including a presentation and a research project on AI and learning spaces. Both have afforded me the opportunity to continue thinking about the role of AI in education. In this post, I explore what it means to lead schools through the rapidly evolving landscape of education and AI by identifying and discussing two core aspects of school leadership that are particularly relevant to the new landscape of education + ai.
Leading Through Enduring Value
My question: As a leader, can you clearly define and articulate the enduring value that you and your organization bring to education and your school community? The answer seems simple, but this is a big-picture question, one that asks you to look beyond website mission statements, strategic plans, and your Profile of a Graduate to the deeper essence of what it means to be human. This question challenges you to identify the foundational “north stars” that express your unique and enduring value as a human being (and as an organization) that can drive your leadership efforts. Perhaps in the hyperbolic environment of AI, focusing on leading through enduring human values will provide clarity and a resolute sense of direction amid the disruption created by AI.
Our ability to be contextually aware, to engage with empathy, and to make sense of complexity are defining aspects of the human condition. Add to these intuition, imagination, and ingenuity, and we can see a distinctly human foundation that forms a timeless basis for leadership, one that guides how we think and act in an era increasingly influenced by the technological and social impacts of AI. These are the qualities that, at least for now, separate us from artificial intelligence. In my opinion, these six elements should frame how leadership acts, defining and contributing to a model for how the school and its inhabitants should also act. Shouldn’t schools define their value not just by preparation for college and careers, but by promoting the development of the enduring core elements of what it means to be a human being?
The Importance of Point of View
A point of view is a human-centered lens that guides how you engage and act. It represents your perspective and who you are. It shapes how you interpret your environment and the challenges it presents, and guides you on how you will respond. Any individual can have a point of view about education, school, and the broader aspects of what it means to be human.
For leaders, the task is to cultivate a point of view that unites the diverse perspectives within a school around a shared and purposeful direction. That has always been one of the most difficult challenges of school leadership. In the era of AI, shaping a collective point of view demands renewed attention to the enduring qualities that define what it means to be human, especially as schools navigate the challenges and impacts of artificial intelligence.
Chris Lehmann, CEO of the Science Leadership Academy of Philadelphia, gets this. From Chris: He wants students to develop into people who are thoughtful, wise, passionate, and kind. Simple. Purposeful. Elegant. Memorable. And distinctly human and enduring.
Can AI be used to support that point of view? Of course, but any application of AI to the learning process, and the development of those qualities, is fundamentally guided by a desire for that outcome for students. You can do all of that without any AI.
Perhaps your mission, vision, and values already contain elements that focus on distinctly human outcomes. If so, that’s good, you’ve got a great start. If not, perhaps consider how your point of view about education and leadership might evolve to more clearly express the human capacities and values that will define your school’s enduring relevance in the age of AI.
Leading through enduring value begins with remembering that technology, no matter how advanced, is not the center of the work of educators and that people are. Technology never has been. Artificial intelligence may redefine processes and how tasks are addressed, and streamline efficiencies and productivity, but it cannot redefine a true purpose.
There is much work to be done, and balancing the risks and rewards of AI use will be crucial in informing an organizational point of view. But when schools lead through empathy, contextual understanding, intuition, imagination, and ingenuity, they model the very qualities that shape empathetic, caring, and productive human beings. That is the true promise of leadership in the age of AI: to ensure that the future of learning remains unmistakably human, and that students develop the enduring qualities that lead them to lives of purpose and value.