Stop Swapping “X” for AI: Students Deserve Better

Let’s get this out of the way: It’s totally fine to co-create with AI. In fact, I encourage it. Use it to brainstorm, draft, iterate, or polish. You really SHOULD go for it. The tools are powerful, and when used well, they can unlock time, creativity, and capacity.

But for the love of all that is pedagogically sacred, can we please stop treating AI like a Mad Libs replacement for whatever the last shiny thing in education was?

You’ve seen the posts. The webinars. The headlines.
“AI is the new PBL.”
“AI is the future of UDL.”
“AI is how we personalize learning.”
(Insert buzzword here.)

I get it. We’re excited. We’re moving fast. But if we keep copy-pasting frameworks, ideas, and talking points from yesterday and slapping “AI” on them, we’re not actually saying anything new. We’re not doing thought leadership. We’re doing thought recycling.

What we desparately need is insight.

We need educators who are experimenting and sharing what’s working (and what isn’t). We need school leaders who are asking real questions about what it means to be educated in the age of AI, how prepared (or unprepared) schools are to adapt to ongoing, persistent disruption, and how we get students to trust us in the learning process once again. We need developers and innovators who aren’t just building tools, but co-designing with teachers and students in mind.

AI in education isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about possibility.
What becomes thinkable that wasn’t before?
What becomes teachable when AI can scaffold complexity?

If you’re publishing content about AI in education, great. I'm doing the same. But let’s challenge ourselves to go deeper than just listing tools or renaming trends. Bring your lived experience. Bring your skepticism. Bring your “I tried this and it flopped.” Because that’s where the real value is.

The educators I respect most aren’t just sharing shiny new things—they’re sharing hard-won insights. And they’re asking better questions.

Let’s stop regurgitating and start reimagining.

We can do better.
And if we’re going to do AI in education right—we have to.

- Chris