Cana Fuest, PhD Candidate

Artificial intelligence—whether we’re talking about AI assistants like ChatGPT or highly specialized learning algorithms—stands on an impressive foundation. But there’s a limit that AI will always have, rooted in the way it functions. AI is trained on data from the past. It’s learning from patterns, structures, and information that already exists, and that gives it a certain efficiency. But what it lacks is the ability to push forward in the way the human mind can.

Think about it: each time an AI responds to a question or tackles a task, it’s filtering through enormous amounts of prior data. It’s taking the knowledge that humans have already produced and mimicking, summarizing, or reordering it. What it doesn’t do, and perhaps what it never truly can do, is innovate independently. It doesn’t have inspiration, motivation, or that “what if?” spark that allows people to invent new solutions and dream beyond what’s been tried.

Humans, on the other hand, have an inherent potential to do things differently. When we’re working through a challenge or brainstorming a new project, we don’t always rely on what’s been done before; in fact, the most groundbreaking ideas often arise by stepping out of that comfort zone. This isn’t to say that AI doesn’t help—it can be an excellent collaborator, synthesizing information or quickly generating ideas. But the control of creation still rests with us.

In education, we see this gap more clearly. AI can pull from established knowledge, structure content, or even simulate personalized tutoring. Yet, teaching—real teaching—requires adjusting, responding to the unpredictable needs and ideas of students. It’s a process of listening and innovating on the fly. AI’s contributions, however helpful, remain anchored in the established, the tried-and-true. It cannot experience or respond to newness in the way a human can, making our creative and forward-thinking abilities more important than ever.

So, as we work with AI tools, especially in teaching, let’s appreciate them for what they are: valuable, responsive repositories of past human knowledge. But as educators, let’s remember that our role isn’t just to repeat what’s known but to push into the unknown.