Parents concerned that chatbots are now being used in Vancouver classrooms

Artificial intelligence is now officially in Vancouver schools. Parents have concerns about their kids' education.

Artificial intelligence tools are being rolled out in Vancouver secondary schools, with the school board saying students need to learn how to use the technology responsibly as it becomes more and more common.

Over the past two weeks, Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot was introduced to students aged 13 and older.

The technology can write essays, solve equations and conduct research, all on demand.

Christina Walker, the board’s digital literacy mentor, told CTV News that the district must address AI.

“It can’t be ignored,” she said. “Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could just step back and go, ‘Nah, we don’t want to deal with this. Let’s just kind of keep things a status quo.’ But the world is changing so fast.”

Many parents worry students might rely on the technology too much.

“As far as parents go, I think our major issue is trying to get children to be on screens less,” said parent Geordie Martinez.

He is also concerned about students advancing through school without knowing the basics.

“You get this idea that there’s going to be kids moving on to the next level and they’re not going to have a proper amount of education or understanding of core concepts,” he said.

Ben Humphreys of PACES Vancouver, a parent advocacy group, said students should develop critical thinking skills without chatbots.

“The students are learning how to think, and if you give them this shortcut, they don’t learn how to think,” Humphrey argued.

The group is calling for a two-year pause on the use of generative AI in classrooms and homework assignments.

The province said it expects school districts to use an informed approach to AI use in school.

“The government will continue to monitor how AI is implemented across districts, learn from emerging practices, and update guidance as needed,” the Ministry of Education and Child Care said in a statement.

Walker said Copilot will be limited to secondary schools and supervised by teachers, who will determine when and how often the technology is used.

“We want to make sure that they are using these tools in a responsible and ethical way,” she said.

The school board insisted any parent who does not want their child using artificial intelligence can opt out, in which case another lesson would be found for them.