Tech literacy is media literacy
Mizzou hosts an annual Scholastic Journalism "JDay" during our spring break, 1,500 high school students and advisors from around the state gather on campus for workshops and discussions.
This morning I got to speak with a group of advisors about the practice of teaching the ethics of GenAI. Slides are linked below for interest but briefly:
Media literacy cannot be taught as separate from tech literacy. Everything we do as journalists is mediated through the tools, platforms and policies of Big Tech.
Thinking critically about generative AI (or any technology) means first understanding how it works, and then asking the right questions: Who is it built for? Who profits? Who might it harm?
And of course, as Paul Virilio wrote, the costs and benefits of a technology are two sides of the same coin. "When you invent the ship, you also invent the shipwreck; when you invent the plane, you also invent the plane crash.” So, we have to teach stories rooted in the values of journalism that explore both the promise and the risk.
That accomplished, we can then make rational and intentional choices:
- Sandbox the GenAI to specific tasks. (Contain)
- Perform manual verification of all findings. (Correct)
- DO NOT use GenAI for a task. (Curtail)
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