Scotland's first AI teacher warns pupils: Don't trust everything it tells you

Some teenagers are already using artificial intelligence to tackle homework, revise for exams and sharpen coursework.

Others are steering clear of it completely.

At one Scottish school, staff have decided that pretending AI doesn't exist is not an option.

Mearns Castle High School in East Renfrewshire is believed to be the first school in the UK to appoint a dedicated principal teacher of AI literacy, creating a role focused entirely on helping pupils and staff understand the risks and benefits of the powerful new technology.

The job has gone to Jamie Laycock, a former principal teacher of biology, who says schools must help youngsters understand both the opportunities and dangers of AI.

The message underpinning the new role is: "We can't just hope AI goes away".

But rather than teaching pupils to embrace AI, Laycock's mission is to ensure they can question it, challenge it and use it responsibly.

In one of his first lessons, pupils were shown a mixture of real and AI-generated images and asked to spot the fakes.

The result?

It was much harder than many expected.

Laycock says it's becoming increasingly difficult by the day, highlighting the rapid advances in so-called deepfakes.

But identifying fake images is only part of the course.

Laycock also teaches pupils about "hallucinations" where AI confidently provides information it has made up.

"I think hallucination is actually a really bad word, but it basically makes stuff up," he says.

"For a young person, if you don't have what we call 'foundational knowledge' it might be hard for you to figure out whether something is a hallucination or whether it's genuine."

He says young people need to be taught to be sceptical of any AI output and then go and check it to determine whether it is a genuine fact.

Another danger is "anthropomorphisation", where people treat chatbots like trusted friends or experts simply because they sound human.

"It has human-like qualities but actually this is just a machine," Laycock says.

"And for a young person, in particular, that is actually a really difficult thing to keep in perspective all the time."

Laycock also warns that AI often flatters users and agrees with them rather than challenging their ideas, creating risks for young people who may accept answers without thinking critically.

"It's sycophantic," he says. "It always tells you you're amazing, that your idea is great.

"We need to be teaching our young learners about that so that they don't get trapped and hooked into the technology and become over-reliant."

Another area pupils will be taught is AI's biases towards certain norms because of the information it is trained on.

The teacher says the lessons will be tailored to "different ages and stages" with younger pupils needing to be focused on foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills before moving on to practical uses of AI.

"We're not saying that we're advocates for AI, and we're not saying that it is good or bad," Laycock says.

"Our learners need to know how to use it appropriately so that they can get the best out of it.

"They need to be aware that this is a machine that they are interacting with, and for it certainly not to impact on their own ability to think and critically evaluate things."

Many schools in the UK have AI leads, teachers who take on some responsibility for AI alongside their day jobs, but this is thought to be the first time in the UK that a school has designated a specific role to AI literacy.

It follows a report by Edinburgh University, external published earlier this year which concluded that Scottish schools have not had the time nor capacity to prepare properly for the rapid rise in AI.

At Mearns Castle, all pupils in S1 and S2 will receive AI literacy lessons, while older year groups will cover the subject through citizenship and personal education (PSE) classes.

An elective course will also be available for senior pupils.

Laycock will also help to train colleagues on the use of AI and develop teaching materials which can be used by other schools.

The role was created after growing interest from both parents and pupils, many of whom are asking how AI will affect future careers.

A number of S6 pupils have volunteered to work with Laycock on how best to teach AI to the rest of the school.

Among them is 17-year-old Tomo, who had been planning to study finance and economics as he had always wanted to be a trader.

He now wonders whether AI could transform the profession before he even graduates.

"I think everybody's worried about what's going to be taken away by AI because we've got our university applications in the next few months," he says.

Fellow pupil Aydin said the technology should be used as a tool to aid understanding rather than provide easy answers.

"It shouldn't be used constantly," he says.

"It shouldn't be abused. I think it is always good to be as a little side help.

"It's better to use that for how to get to the answer, rather than just letting it do it for you and getting the straight answer there."

Another pupil, Anna, said the deepfake exercise left her less confident about her ability to distinguish real images from fake ones.

Head teacher Stuart Clark says it is clear that the implications of AI will be profound for the economy and on society.

"We're really clear that acting on AI is not the same thing as advocating for it or promoting it," he says.

"There will be risks associated with AI and there will be opportunities and it's really important that we don't make the same mistakes that society made with social media with young people adopting social media use without being fully educated on the implications."

The Scottish government published national guidelines on AI in March this year which highlight the importance of the ethical use of it, including not relying on it too much in educational settings and not allowing it to replace meaningful human interactions.

Education Secretary Màiri McAllan said: "It is encouraging to see schools and councils exploring how best to support AI literacy.

"As AI becomes more visible, it is important that learners and educators are supported to understand both the opportunities and challenges these technologies present.

"The guidance sets out principles to support local decision-making on the use of AI in education settings. Councils can use these principles to inform their approach to AI, taking account of their legal duties, existing arrangements and local circumstances."

She added: "AI, as a technology, is constantly developing at an exceptionally swift rate. As such, the Scottish government will keep matters under continual review."