Pennsylvania’s AI Education Policy Landscape

Student Population : 1,743,200

Official Policies

Guidance on PA Dept of Education site regarding AI use in translation: “Some artificial intelligence (AI) applications have made significant gains in their ability to translate text from one language to another and are far superior to other computerized translations. However, use of computerized translation of any kind on its own is not recommended. A qualified person should always review any translation before it is published or shared with students or families”.

In the News

As of November 2023, there were plans to discuss AI policy and education extensively during Integrated Learning Conference (ILC) held November 8-10.

Universities

Pennsylvania State University has a series of modules centered around AI literacy on their site which discuss the following topics: The history of AI technology, The ethical use of AI in education, Evaluating AI-Generated Content, and the Use of AI in Course Assignments.

UPenn has numerous resources posted on their site regarding AI’s role in the classroom. The most recent of these is a webpage published on November 7th on the UPenn Almanac which begins with the following statement: “Penn embraces innovations like generative artificial intelligence (AI) models in teaching, learning, research, and the effective stewardship of Penn’s resources. To this end, this document provides guidelines for members of the Penn community who are using, or interested in using, AI in pursuit of Penn’s mission”. UPenn supports the use of AI in its classes as long as students recognize certain biases and so-called “hallucinations” that exist alongside the technology.

Carnegie Mellon University’s Block Center for Technology and Society has a page called “Responsible AI” in which it lays out the framework for AI use in and out of the classroom. The university also has 6 Examples of different levels of AI use in the classroom, from “Students may NOT use generative AI in any form” to “Students are fully encouraged to use generative AI”.

School Districts

Philadelphia, PA (Population: 166,744): As of August 2023, the school district was “currently limiting the use of the AI software for students until they learn more about it”, and have blocked ChatGPT in school and on student Chromebooks.

As of August 2023, the school district planned to pilot Let’s Talk, an AI-powered widget aimed to answer FAQs parents and students may have that would normally appear in unread emails to the district.