Generative AI is an increasingly important topic to discuss in learning environments. The still emerging technology is likely to have transformative effects on higher education, students’ future careers, and society as a whole. As educators, we have a responsibility to approach conversations about generative AI with care and intentionality. 

That said, many of us are still learning about AI and its implications for teaching and learning, and there has been much debate about its potential benefits and pitfalls. Some concerns raised by educators center around AI and academic integrity, but there are unknowns related to privacy, security, and copyright as well. Before we can have meaningful discussions about AI with students—and before we employ AI tools in our teaching—we should familiarize ourselves with these issues. 

This guide will acquaint you with generative AI, address some of the concerns around its educational uses, and provide concrete suggestions for how to openly and effectively discuss AI with your students.

Trust has always been fundamental to pedagogical relationships, enabling or limiting the possibilities for partnership, participation, and learning. Conceptions of trust typically focus on individual instructors’ or students’ integrity, ability, or character. However, the idea of trust as “a confident relationship with the unknown” (Botsman, 2017, p.15) is a radical departure from the norm for most university teachers and learners. As higher education confronts the new unknown of artificial intelligence(AI), I advocate facing this challenge together through partnership practices that nurture pedagogical trust—a confident, reciprocal learning relationship between students and teachers that is open to uncertainty and co-navigated through dialogic decision-making and shared sense-making.