AI and the Future of STEM Education

I’ve been a “technology person” my whole life. From childhood days spent tinkering with electronics projects and learning to code on the first personal computers, to a career deep in electronics and software engineering, I've witnessed technology evolve at a dizzying pace. But now, we're all faced with a new technological wave – Artificial Intelligence – whose potential impact dwarfs anything I’ve seen in my lifetime.

If you’re an optimist like me, and you believe (as I do) that the capabilities of AI systems will continue their rapid advance, then AI holds the promise of ushering in an unprecedented era of abundance. Imagine a world where AI helps us solve intractable problems, from climate change to disease. Yet, even this utopian vision raises troubling questions about the role of humanity. What do we do in a world where our efforts are no longer strictly necessary? And that's without even dwelling on the dystopian possibilities – massive job displacement, autonomous weapons gone rogue, or even the subtle erosion of human connection.

Setting aside the more extreme dystopian future concerns for a moment, I’m grappling with the implications of AI on two levels:

1. The Here and Now: How does AI impact me, my work, and our students today?
2. The Horizon: How will AI reshape our lives and careers in the next 2 years, 5 years, and beyond?

Navigating the Present Tides of AI

In the near term, we're largely dealing with practical issues. AI is great at a lot of things, so we should embrace the new productivity tools, right? It can enhance your writing, coding, creativity, learning, and so forth. The tools keep getting better, but the AI “experts” recommend we all jump on the wave and learn to be adept with them as they evolve. And they are already so good at writing (prose AND code!). Our brains aren’t going to atrophy too much if we let AI take on more and more of the “grunt work”, ...are they?

While widespread economic disruption from AI hasn't fully materialized yet, we're already encountering new challenges. In education, we see the immediate issue of students using AI to cheat, forcing us to rethink assessment. Beyond the classroom, there are emerging mental health questions surrounding AI companionship and the nature of human-AI relationships. These are the initial ripples, and we need to address them now, or the next generation of “AI native” kids may have social issues even more profound than those we experienced due to the attention-vampire algorithms of social media.

Peering into the Foggy Future

When it comes to the long-term issues, the crystal ball gets decidedly fuzzy. This is where the uncertainty can feel overwhelming, especially for parents and educators. How do we advise young people on what to study, what skills to cultivate, or which career paths to pursue when the landscape is shifting so dramatically? Consider the current rate of AI progress – how profoundly different might our world be in just five years?

And then, let's throw another log on the fire: what if sophisticated humanoid robots become commonplace within the next decade? If these robots can perform not only complex intellectual tasks but also physical labor, what kind of work remains for humans? What uniquely human contributions will still be valued, and how will we structure an economy and society around that?

This brings us to some truly fundamental questions that AI forces to the forefront, especially for us in education:

• Why should we learn, and what should we learn? If AI can perform nearly any intellectual task more efficiently and accurately than a human, what's the intrinsic value of building our own intellect?
• Is Career and Technical Education (CTE) still meaningful? In a world where AI might possess all the technical career skills one could imagine, how do we guide students in vocational paths? Does the focus shift from specific skills to adaptability and human-AI collaboration?
• What becomes of human purpose? If humanoid robots can handle most tasks, both intellectual and physical, we're not just talking about careers disappearing – we're talking about a fundamental shift in what it means to contribute and find purpose.

Imagining "A Hundred Years Out": The AI Utopia and the Human Spirit

Let's engage in a thought experiment. Fast forward a century, and assume the AI utopia has largely come to pass. Problems are solved, resources are abundant, and physical labor is a choice, not a necessity. In such a world, what is the point of education, of nurturing a student's intellect?

Perhaps the enduring purpose of education is enabling individuals to appreciate the world and thrive within it.

• Appreciate: To truly appreciate the richness of life, one needs understanding. A grasp of science allows for a deeper marvel at the cosmos; an understanding of art and literature enriches the soul; knowing how AI itself works demystifies the magic. Curiosity fuels this appreciation.
• Thrive: Thriving isn't just about survival; it's about having the motivation to set personal goals and pursue passions. That, along with the organizational skills, social skills, and confidence to leverage technology and other resources to achieve those goals.

But a key question emerges: where does that motivation come from? If all our basic needs are met, if AI can generate endless streams of fantastic art and entertainment perfectly tailored to our tastes, and if there are no grand societal problems left to "solve" in the traditional sense, will humanity become collectively dispirited and unmotivated? In such a scenario, intrinsic motivation might become our most precious human resource.

Fear not, though: there is hope for the future! Even today, as educators, part of our job is to manufacture motivation. It’s not always easy, but it is achievable. After all, games are designed to do exactly that - challenging our minds (and with sports, our bodies) while providing a framework for struggle, growth, and success. Perhaps in the future, broad participation in games will take on a new level of importance, providing challenge, motivation and reward.

Does a future where games are a primary means of motivation and physical/mental exercise for us humans sound crazy? Maybe so, but even today games are a factor! How many people today long for the next video game release, look forward to tailgating at the next big game, or follow their favorite sports team with fervor? You have to admit, it's a source of motivation!

And alongside direct motivation, let’s also consider the "appreciation" point. This can certainly fuel motivation, yet it relies fundamentally on curiosity - another crucial pillar of education, both now and for the future. If we can ignite and nurture a student's innate curiosity – about how computers work, the intricacies of biology, the elegance of mathematics, the power of language, or any other subject that sparks their interest – we equip them and motivate them to explore and truly appreciate the universe, AI-driven or not.

Stay Challenged, Stay Curious: Our Role Today

Let's be clear: we are a very long way from any "utopia" fully describing the human condition on this planet. A brief look around reveals a multitude of complex problems demanding solutions – social, environmental, scientific, and political.

Tackling these existing challenges will require highly motivated and intensely curious humans working in partnership with powerful technological tools like AI. There are countless ways we can strive to make the world a better place, and I believe that even in a hundred years, new challenges and frontiers for improvement will continue to emerge.

Our curiosity, too, is a boundless motivator. It will perpetually lead us to explore new frontiers, whether in the depths of the oceans, the vastness of space, or the intricate complexities of consciousness itself. Around every corner lies an infinite amount to discover.

Putting it Into Practice

We’re all adjusting to the impact that AI is having on our lives, and trying to prepare ourselves as the advancements continue at a breakneck pace. Here are some actionable practices that you can incorporate for yourself and your students.

Make a habit of challenging yourself

Any time you tackle a new project and bring it to fruition, with or without the assistance of AI, you’re going to learn something new. With the help of AI your goals should be loftier - have high expectations!

Applying this to STEM education, your ability to pose authentic real-world challenges to your students has never been greater. Prove to them that the tools aren’t going to solve problems without curious, motivated humans to guide them.

Train like an athlete

As AI advances, more and more of the things that used to keep us mentally sharp will be offloaded to machines. It’s analogous to the advent of motor vehicles and other automations that have made physical exercise “optional” rather than essential to our daily work. We’ve learned that to keep our bodies fit we must take time to exercise. It’s not really optional if you want to feel good and have a long, healthy life. It’s no different with our minds. So, yes, you’re going to need to take your brain to the gym!

For yourself and your students this means setting aside time to deliberately increase the cognitive load, even if a machine could do it for you. Maybe AI could write that paragraph, or that Python code, but you need the exercise. When an athlete spends time lifting weights, it’s not a waste of time. It enables them to play the game at a higher level!

As a classroom example, our CodeSpace learning platform requires students to type in Python code manually, without AI assistance, as they complete Missions. The student experience is structured to provide just enough “productive struggle” to induce learning. That’s the “weight lifting” phase. But we follow it up with remixes. This is where the student’s individual creativity can shine, where they cement their knowledge and expand it. It’s helpful to practice remixes without AI assistance, but this is also a great opportunity to integrate AI coding experiences - just like the pros.

If you're interested in how AI can help you code fabulous remixes for CodeX, CodeAIR, and CodeBot right now, check out our guide at Using AI with CodeSpace.

Embrace the Tools

Currently the large companies producing AI models provide a level of free access to their LLM chatbots and other tools. Notably: ChatGPT from OpenAI, Gemini from Google, Grok from xAI, and Claude from Anthropic. I suggest you try each of them. Some of them allow you to select which model to use for your queries. Experiment with the most powerful LLMs you can get your hands on! The learning curve is short, since you’re just conversing with the AI as you would with another person. Simply ask the AI if it can help with your topic of interest. A word of caution - AI’s can make things up, and can tend to be sycophantic, so you need to maintain a critical-thinking mindset! If nothing else, AI is an incredibly powerful tool for exploring ideas. If you find it very useful, you might consider paying for one of the premium tiers for access to more powerful models, or fewer usage limits. In any case, keep an open mind, learn what AI can and can’t help you with now, and keep exploring!

Onward with STEM Education!

So, considering AI and all, do students still need to learn how to code? An emphatic YES!

After all, technology is not getting less relevant, is it?

Specific career skills are always in flux, but when you’re in a wave… Ride the Wave!

For us at Firia Labs, and for educators everywhere, this moment is both daunting and exhilarating. Our mission in CS and STEM education becomes even more critical: not just to teach coding or engineering principles, but to cultivate those uniquely human attributes of critical thinking, problem-solving, adaptability, relentless curiosity, and the unwavering motivation to engage with the world. These are the skills that will allow our students to navigate, shape, and ultimately thrive in whatever future AI helps us build.