As programming code and algorithm models gradually enter primary and secondary school classrooms, and students can complete simple tasks using AI tools, have we overlooked a more important educational question: beyond technology, how should children understand the relationship between AI and humanity? How can they maintain respect for life and care for others while using technology?
1. The Hidden Concerns Behind the Technology Boom: When AI Education Becomes a “Code Bootcamp”
In a key primary school’s “AI Creative Workshop,” sixth-grade students are using generative AI tools to create posters for a “Future City.” Student Xiaoyue’s work features a glass skyscraper that can automatically adjust its temperature and can talk. She proudly tells the teacher, “This was generated using Midjourney; I only input a few keywords: ‘high-tech, eco-friendly.'” The teacher asks, “How do the elderly live in the city you designed? What if a child gets lost?” Xiaoyue is taken aback: “I didn’t consider those; AI will handle it, right…?”
Another typical case is the “AI Competition Fever.” In a “Youth AI Innovation Competition” organized by a district education bureau, 70% of the projects focused on practical designs like “smart vacuum robots” and “voice-controlled desk lamps,” while topics related to “AI ethics” and “technical limitations” were almost absent. One judge lamented, “Children’s technical implementations are becoming increasingly mature, but their thinking about ‘why this technology is being developed’ is becoming increasingly vague.”
These phenomena reflect a deep-seated contradiction in current AI education. When we are eager to have students master AI tools, we often overlook a fundamental issue—technology never exists in isolation. As educator John Dewey said, “Education is not about forcing children to absorb external things, but about allowing their inner selves to grow freely.” If AI education only stays at the level of “how to use technology to solve problems” without questioning “who technology serves” and “what impact technology may bring,” then what we cultivate may only be “technical operators,” rather than “empathetic technology users.”
2. The Core of Humanistic Care: Returning AI Education to Its Essence of ‘Nurturing People’
(1) Humanistic Care is Facing the ‘Limitations of Technology’
AI is not omnipotent, and this must be conveyed to students from a young age. Wang Fang, an information technology teacher at a middle school in Beijing, designed a “trap” while explaining “AI image recognition”: she showed a photo of a woman wearing a mask and sunglasses and asked students to use AI tools to identify her gender. The tool made an error, and Wang took the opportunity to guide the students in discussion: “Why did AI get it wrong? Because it has only seen photos of people wearing masks without sunglasses, and has never seen someone wearing both. What does this indicate?” The students chimed in: “AI’s learning depends on data,” “Incomplete data can lead to errors,” “We cannot fully trust machines.”
This teaching method of “exposing limitations” is more meaningful than simply showcasing “how powerful AI is.” When students understand that technology has its boundaries, they will learn to remain rational and not blindly worship technology; when they realize that AI’s errors may stem from data biases (such as fewer representations of women in training data), they will become aware that the fairness of technology requires active human maintenance.
(2) Humanistic Care Awakens the ‘Responsibility of Technology Users’
In a “Smart Pet” project at a primary school in Shenzhen, students used Arduino development boards to create an electronic pet that could “act cute.” Initially, the children designed features like “crying when hungry” and “making noise when bored” to make the pet “cuter.” However, when the teacher guided them to consider: “If this pet were a real animal, would it feel stressed from being disturbed repeatedly?” the children fell silent. Later, they modified the program so that the pet would gently call out when it was “hungry” instead of crying continuously; when it was “bored,” it would play with a small ball instead of frequently seeking its owner.
The key to this transformation lies in the teacher guiding students to shift from being “technical implementers” to “technical responsibility bearers.” When students realize that their designs may affect others’ feelings (even if it’s a virtual “pet”), they will begin to think: Does my technical application align with ethics? Does it respect others’ rights? This kind of reflection is the most basic seed of humanistic care.
(3) Humanistic Care Connects to the ‘Humanity Behind Technology’
In an AI class at a special education school in Hangzhou, a touching story occurred. Xiaohang, a child with mild autism, showed extraordinary focus on programming. Encouraged by the teacher, he used AI voice synthesis technology to create a “birthday wish for mom”—despite the sentences being somewhat stiff and the tone not very natural, when he pressed play, his mother was moved to tears. After class, the teacher discussed with Xiaohang: “What role do you think AI played here?” Xiaohang slowly replied: “It helped me turn the words I couldn’t say into something my mom could hear…”
This case shows us that the most touching value of AI technology lies not in what it can replace humans in doing, but in how it can help humans better express emotions and connect with each other. When teachers guide students to focus on the needs of ‘people’ in technical practice, technology transforms from a cold tool into a warm bridge of connection.
3. Practical Pathways for Value Guidance: Specific Strategies from Classroom to Life
Since humanistic care is so important, how can it be implemented within the limited classroom time? Frontline teachers might try these specific methods.
(1) Replace ‘Virtual Tasks’ with ‘Real Problems’ to Root Technology in Life
Many teachers tend to use general tasks like “designing a smart garbage sorter” or “creating a voice assistant” when designing AI projects. However, these tasks are somewhat distant from students’ real lives, making them feel like they are doing projects just for the sake of doing projects. Instead, starting from problems students encounter daily could be more effective. For example, younger students could design a “backpack organizing assistant” (using AI to recognize textbooks and stationery, reminding them of missing items); middle-grade students could create a “campus plant encyclopedia” (using image recognition to document campus plants and generate introduction cards); and older students could design a “community elder care plan” (using AI to create fall prevention reminder devices and voice companionship robots).
(2) Integrate ‘Ethical Discussions’ Throughout the Classroom to Cultivate Dialectical Thinking
Incorporating ethical discussions into AI education does not require complex theories; it only needs to capture “small moments” in the classroom. For instance, when students generate a painting using AI, one could ask: “Who owns the copyright of this painting? Is it AI, you, or the data providers who trained the AI?” When students write an essay using AI, one could ask: “If the article written by AI is completely different from your own thoughts, would you submit it directly?” When students design a game using AI, one could ask: “If a character in the game is bullied, how would you set its response?” These seemingly casual questions are actually guiding students to establish a habit of “technological reflection.”
(3) Use ‘Interdisciplinary Integration’ to Broaden Perspectives, Connecting Technology with Humanities
AI education has never been isolated; it is inherently connected to subjects like language, ethics and law, and science. For example, after studying “Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats” in a language class, the information technology class could allow students to simulate an “information war”—if Zhuge Liang had big data analysis tools, could he predict Cao Cao’s reactions more accurately? After completing the lesson on “Respecting Others” in ethics and law, the AI class could have students design “barrier-free smart devices,” considering how to make technology more accessible for visually and hearing-impaired individuals.
4. Be a Humanistic Guide in the AI Era
Finally, I want to say to frontline teachers, you may not be AI experts, but you are certainly important guides in your students’ life journeys. Integrating humanistic care into AI education does not require advanced technology; it only requires a bit more of a “human perspective”: when students excitedly showcase their AI projects, instead of rushing to praise “the code is amazing,” you could ask: “Who do you most want to help with this design?” When students encounter technical difficulties and want to give up, instead of quickly teaching them “the correct algorithm,” you could ask: “If it were you, how would you solve this problem? What help do you need?” When students debate whether AI will replace humans, instead of rushing to provide an answer, you could ask: “What abilities do you think humans will always possess that AI can never learn?”
These seemingly simple questions are actually planting a “humanistic seed” in students’ hearts. One day, this seed will sprout and grow, allowing them to have more respect when using technology, more thoughtfulness when facing choices, and more warmth when embracing the future.
The purpose of education has never been to turn children into “slaves of technology,” but to make them “masters of technology.” In the classroom of primary and secondary school AI education, we must teach students how to converse with AI, but also how to converse with themselves, with others, and with the world. Because, more important than mastering a technology, is having a heart that remains warm.
Author: Guo Weitong, Associate Professor, College of Educational Technology, Northwest Normal University
