AI Has Changed the Way We Work and Interact

Before writing this blog post, I decided to embrace the moment.

So I asked an AI tool the following prompt:

Here is how it began:

“In today’s rapidly evolving techno-pedagogical paradigm, artificial intelligence serves as a catalytic nexus for transformative stakeholder engagement, empowering agile learning communities to leverage synergistic innovation pipelines in pursuit of mission-aligned excellence.”

I stopped reading somewhere around “catalytic nexus.”

Just kidding. Sort of.

Now let’s try this again.

We recently wrapped up Jan-Term here at Chatham Hall, and as usual, it was one of the most energizing and refreshing parts of the year. Students stepped out of their traditional schedules and dove deep into their interests through immersive experiences, internships, hands-on courses, and creative projects… Real learning that stretches you a bit.

And yes, AI showed up. 

Students used AI tools to brainstorm ideas, refine writing, explore concepts, and experiment. In some cases, AI may have acted as an interviewee for a topic that’s kind of hard to interview an actual person for. Perhaps in a moment of downtime, a student freshly thinking about the college search process was able to ask ChatGPT or Gemini to provide a list of the top ten public universities within 1000 miles of Chatham that offer private violin lessons, a minor in forensics, and have career placement over 95% for Environmental Science majors. 

Having that sort of information available in ten seconds can be an extremely powerful tool. And that’s really the point.

Working in IT and education right now, especially working in “Educational IT,” feels somewhat like standing on a moving walkway. The tools change…daily, and the capabilities expand exponentially, and what felt cutting edge in the fall is two or three generations behind in the spring.

The question certainly isn’t whether AI has changed the way we work and interact because clearly, it has. What we should ask is whether we are being intentional about how it shapes our community or if we are letting momentum make that decision for us.

AI is, without question, a powerful tool. It can help students (and adults) generate ideas, accelerate research, and see alternative approaches. If we use it thoughtfully, it can help to reduce some of the early friction in exploring a new topic and allow students to push further, asking better questions.

But it can also make it very easy to skip the uncomfortable parts, which is where a lot of the growth happens. There is something very formative about wrestling with the building of a paragraph to get it just right. About sitting on a problem longer than you’d like to because you just haven’t had that ah-ha moment. About revising…and revising again because the first version wasn’t good enough. If we let AI replace that process entirely, students will definitely produce something very polished, but perhaps they won’t develop the same depth along the way.

This is where our values come into play. Courage means engaging AI in a thoughtful rather than a reactionary way. Integrity means being transparent about when and how it’s used. Excellence means refusing to settle for average work simply because we can easily produce it. In many ways, these same values were paramount during the early days of many technological advancements. I’m sure many of us can think back to the mid to late 90’s when the thinking was that the internet was going to completely ruin research. That didn’t really happen; in fact, many would argue that the tool made the process better and definitely more efficient.

Our students will soon enter a world where AI literacy will be expected. Colleges are adapting. Employers are increasingly integrating AI into their daily workflows. Ignoring that would not prepare them well. At the same time, our goal isn’t to graduate students who can simply write the perfect prompt. The goal is to graduate young women who think critically, lead with character, and use powerful tools wisely.

We have a huge advantage being a boarding school because these conversations don’t stop when the bell rings. They continue in advisory meetings, in the dorms, and at the dinner table. Students challenge one another and themselves while faculty model balanced use. Advisors and other trusted adults are there to help students reflect on what might feel appropriate or not.

AI has changed the way we work and learn. That is obvious. What matters most now is that we ensure that it strengthens curiosity rather than replaces it, supports growth rather than short-cuts it, and advances our mission and goals instead of distracting from it.

And if the tools help me “Draft this email in a more professional, but charming manner-” without drifting into “techno-pedagogical paradigm”, I’ll gladly take the assist.