Dispatches from Iceland

1. 0:00 – 0:09

   Students’ first impressions: excitement, uncertainty, and ‘is it good or bad?’

   1. SPSpeaker0:00

      So guys, what are your thoughts on AI?

   2. SPSpeaker0:02

      It's such a new thing, so I don't really understand-

   3. SPSpeaker0:05

      Yeah

   4. SPSpeaker0:06

      ... if it's a bad thing or a good thing.

   5. SPSpeaker0:08

      [laughs]

2. 0:09 – 0:45

   Schools in denial: cheating fears and the ‘everyone knows it’s used’ reality

   1. SPSpeaker0:09

      There is a big group of teachers that think that AI is ruining the school system or the educational system.

   2. SPSpeaker0:20

      And ruin-

   3. SPSpeaker0:21

      Icelandic.

   4. SPSpeaker0:22

      Yeah. [gentle music]

   5. SPSpeaker0:24

      They're always thinking about the students are cheating-

   6. SPSpeaker0:26

      Yeah

   7. SPSpeaker0:26

      ... when they're using AI.

   8. SPSpeaker0:29

      Some of the teachers know about AI, but they just look the other way.

   9. SPSpeaker0:34

      Mm.

   10. SPSpeaker0:34

       So it's kind of like this, we're trying to hide it, he's trying to not know about it, but everyone knows it's there and knows it's being used. [gentle music]

3. 0:45 – 1:11

   A ‘tsunami of change’: educators and students adapting together

   1. SPSpeaker0:45

      The current generation of both educators and students, they are in the same tsunami of change, so we have to find out new ways of doing things. [waves crashing]

4. 1:11 – 1:39

   Launching a pilot: teachers stepping into ‘project manager’ roles

   1. SPSpeaker1:11

      We got an email just, like, saying, "Would you be interested in-

   2. SPSpeaker1:16

      Be a, like-

   3. SPSpeaker1:17

      ... being like project managers-

   4. SPSpeaker1:18

      ... managers

   5. SPSpeaker1:19

      ... for the pilot program?"

   6. SPSpeaker1:21

      We really like when we are asked to work together.

   7. SPSpeaker1:24

      Mm-hmm.

   8. SPSpeaker1:25

      And therefore we said, "Yes." We have been teaching together for, uh, 17 years. She's also my best friend. Should I describe her more or... [gentle music]

5. 1:39 – 2:05

   Teachers become learners: using AI to create, but redesigning lessons takes effort

   1. SPSpeaker1:39

      AI was like a new thing for us. We became the students and we learned how to use it. I don't know how to program or anything like that, but with AI I can create games. Just makes learning easier in a way. Yes, I'm using AI. Does not save me time at the moment. I have to put in a lot of effort to change what I am teaching.

6. 2:05 – 2:34

   AI as study support vs. the irreplaceable role-model teacher

   1. SPSpeaker2:05

      AI helps me quite often when I'm studying because it helps me understand what I'm doing, but I think the role of a teacher is to inspire students and that's something that AI does not have. You know, you see Tinna and you see a great woman that you're like, "Wow, I kind of want to be like her," but AI is not [laughs] like that. [waves crashing]

7. 2:34 – 3:42

   Vocational education: pragmatic adoption to work faster and produce quality materials

   1. SPSpeaker2:34

      AI, I mean, I hope it will be useful. I'm not using it much, I think.

   2. SPSpeaker2:41

      I think everyone's gonna use it in the future, so... Uh, we are a vocational school mostly. Uh, we do everything from fixing cars to building houses. Got electrical department, we got a nature department, and also the hairdressers. That's pretty nice thing to have when you need to get your hair cut. [laughs] My department is heavily AI users. We in the vocational a- area, we are always trying to make things easier so we can do more. If we can get something to help us to work faster, to work better, then why not use it? AI helps us to reduce the time we need to build, uh, quality material, like drawings and, and interactive stuff.

8. 3:42 – 4:12

   The ‘AI slop’ critique: easy shortcuts, lost learning, and the threat to creativity

   1. SPSpeaker3:42

      I feel like AI can help a lot of people, but people aren't using it [laughs] to help other people. They're just using it to generate AI slop. [laughs] People see it as like an easy way out of, like, projects and school projects, so they don't learn, so it just becomes uncreative and that just ruins the most human thing in the world. The right approach to using AI would be, uh, using it like a teacher, not someone to do the work for you. Help

9. 4:12 – 4:47

   A better model: treat AI like a tutor, not an answer machine

   1. SPSpeaker4:12

      you, like, get started on things or teach you more about sources or direct you to websites that you... that are helpful, but not like, "Here are the answer from A to Z on this test," or something. [laughs] [water running]

10. 4:47 – 5:50

    Public anxieties and family boundaries: Terminator fears and parenting challenges

    1. SPSpeaker4:47

       I have a brother who's s- suspicious of it. Thinks it's gonna take over like in Terminator.

    2. SPSpeaker4:54

       I, I don't think about it at a- at all. [gentle music] [seagulls squawking]

    3. SPSpeaker5:17

       We have three children. The oldest is 18. He is too quick to go to AI. They have a topic they have to do an assignment on. They have, uh, some material from the teacher and, uh, books. I think he skips maybe that part and just goes straight to the AI. So I have to be able to put some boundaries also, but it's also, um, a part of being a parent. You are not very popular. When

11. 5:50 – 6:47

    From fear to possibility: returning to school to learn AI, and the need for guidance

    1. SPSpeaker5:50

       AI was new, I thought that it would just ruin everything and we didn't have to think independently anymore or anything. But I went back to school. They are teaching us to use it, and then I realized the possibilities

    2. SPSpeaker6:07

       And I think it's very important, but I think we need guidance with it. I think,

12. 6:47 – 8:02

    Icelandic optimism and open-ended outcomes: ‘We’ll figure it out’

    1. SPSpeaker6:47

       uh, Iceland is just an optimistic, uh, country. We live in just darkness, so I think you just have to be optimistic or you just get depressed.

    2. SPSpeaker7:01

       I don't have a clue how it's gonna be in the future.

    3. SPSpeaker7:06

       I think we're making the right steps as teachers, but I guess the future will tell us.

    4. SPSpeaker7:14

       I think we have survival instincts in using tools for continuing our existence on this rock in the Atlantic.

    5. SPSpeaker7:34

       So what do you think is the right way to approach all of this?

    6. SPSpeaker7:42

       Yeah, it's, uh, I think, uh, I would say, say that to this.

    7. SPSpeaker7:46

       Hundred percent.

    8. SPSpeaker7:48

       Yeah.

    9. SPSpeaker7:50

       We'll figure it out. [singing]

    10. SPSpeaker8:01

        That was great.

Episode duration: 8:10