Educators Race to Keep Up with Rapid AI Advancements

Teaching students not just how to use AI tools, but also how to protect themselves from misinformation

Feb. 5, 2026 at 4:23pm

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Educators across the country are working to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into their classrooms and curriculum, recognizing the transformative impact it will have on education. Teachers are customizing AI chatbots to guide student learning, while also instructing students and adults on how to identify AI-generated content and misinformation online.

Why it matters

As AI technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, it is crucial that educators equip students with the skills to navigate this new landscape. Teaching media literacy and the ability to spot AI-generated content is essential to building trust and preventing the spread of misinformation in the digital age.

The details

Seventh and eighth grade social studies teacher Dan Jones has incorporated a custom-built AI chatbot into his classroom, using it to guide and probe student knowledge rather than as a shortcut to answers. Meanwhile, instructor James Sturtevant has been teaching AI to adult learners, but finds that the content he presented just six months ago is already outdated. And Jeremy Carrasco has built an online classroom called ShowtoolsAI to help people identify AI-generated videos and other content, recognizing that 'once distrust in real videos hits a breaking point, a lot of our social interactions online become very, very fraught.'

  • In the past 6 months, the AI content taught by instructor James Sturtevant has become 'prehistoric'.
  • Over the past 9 months, Jeremy Carrasco has built the ShowtoolsAI online classroom to help people identify AI-generated content.

The players

Dan Jones

A 7th and 8th grade social studies teacher who has incorporated a custom-built AI chatbot into his classroom.

James Sturtevant

An instructor who started teaching AI to adults just 6 months ago, but finds the content he presented is already outdated.

Jeremy Carrasco

The creator of the ShowtoolsAI online classroom, which helps people identify AI-generated videos and content.

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What they’re saying

“As soon as I started working with it, I immediately knew [AI] was going to change education forever.”

— Dan Jones, 7th and 8th grade social studies teacher

“Everything that I look at that I presented in September seems prehistoric.”

— James Sturtevant, AI instructor

“The reason why we want to identify AI is because we want to know who to trust. Once distrust in real videos hits a bit of a breaking point, which I think that we're closer than even the AI companies understand, just to be clear — that means that a lot of our social interactions online become very, very fraught.”

— Jeremy Carrasco, Creator of ShowtoolsAI

The takeaway

As AI technology continues to advance rapidly, it is crucial that educators take proactive steps to incorporate AI into their classrooms and curriculum, not just teaching students how to use the tools, but also how to identify and protect themselves from AI-generated misinformation. Developing media literacy skills is essential to building trust and navigating the digital landscape in the years to come.