Empowering students through AI advisory boards: giving them a voice in the age of AI

Empowering students with a voice and a choice is more crucial than ever in a world where technology evolves faster than we can sometimes grasp. Not only do students need to understand how AI works (functional AI), and how they can use language to achieve their goals (rhetorical AI), but they also need to be taught how to navigate ethical issues of AI (ethical AI) and how to use AI for learning (pedagogical AI). To help them achieve these four goals, I created AI Advisory Boards in January 2023.

This blog post shares how AI Advisory Boards empower students, foster ethical decision-making, and prepare them for a future shaped by AI. My hope is to inspire educators and school leaders to bring this initiative or something similar into their own institutions, ensuring that students are not just passive consumers of AI but active, informed participants.

Why AI advisory boards?

When ChatGPT launched in late 2022, it created a wave of excitement, anxiety and uncertainty among my students. Recognizing this, I saw a clear opportunity: to transform this curiosity into meaningful exploration and learning.

The AI Advisory Boards initiative is built on four foundational principles:

1.Preparing students for the future

We are cultivating critical thinkers who understand the far-reaching implications of AI. Beyond functional skills, students need to navigate the ethical dilemmas AI presents.

2.Adapting to a changing landscape

AI evolves daily, and schools must stay agile. By involving students, we ensure that education remains relevant and responsive to technological advancements.

3.Empowering student voices

Education often underutilizes students' perspectives. Through advisory boards, students contribute to democratic decision-making processes and help shape how AI is integrated into their learning experiences.

4.Fostering ethical AI use

The initiative develops frameworks for real-world ethical decision-making. Students learn about AI biases, limitations, and responsible implementation.

How to start an AI advisory board?

Launching an AI Advisory Board requires two essential ingredients: an enthusiastic educator and a group of curious students. From there, the journey can unfold in four key stages:

1. Raising awareness

Begin by organizing sessions that showcase AI tools, demonstrate their real-world applications, and connect them to students’ daily lives.

2. Building a core team

Recruit a small group of students interested in AI and collaboratively define the board’s goals and scope. Diversity in this group across genders, interests, mindsets, and skillsets is key to dynamic discussions.

3. Expanding and evolving

As the board grows, refine your action plans and ensure inclusivity. Students can even help recruit peers to broaden participation.

4. Providing resources

Use readily available tools and templates to guide your efforts.  Here, you will find lesson plans, templates, discussion topics, and student role descriptions.

Benefits of AI advisory boards

The impact of AI Advisory Boards has been transformative. Students who participated in the AI Advisory Boards developed:

• A strong foundation in AI ethics, including biases, environmental impacts, and the human cost of AI.
• Practical skills in AI evaluation, enabling them to match tools to specific use cases effectively.
• Collaborative and leadership experience, honing their teamwork and decision-making abilities.
• A voice in democratic processes, where they actively shaped AI policies, ensuring their perspectives were valued and integrated.

Addressing challenges

Addressing challenges is part of any educational initiative, and the AI Advisory Boards were no exception. A June 2024 survey highlighted four key hurdles: time constraints, limited expertise, sustaining long-term commitment, and ensuring inclusivity. Rather than viewing these as obstacles, we saw each challenge as an opportunity for growth. As educators, our focus should be on finding solutions to ensure that the next iteration of the project is even more impactful.

Join the movement

AI is not just a buzzword; it is a transformative force that will shape every industry and our students’ futures. By creating AI Advisory Boards at your schools or universities, we empower students to lead, question, think critically and innovate in this rapidly changing landscape.