It’s been a busy week for reporting on the use of artificial intelligence in education.
Shaw Local’s Jessie Molloy on Friday analyzed how districts are responding to emerging technology (tinyurl.com/ShawAIschools), a piece that incorporated a Capitol News Illinois assessment of the state board of education’s guidance on the topic – a report that itself used some AI to present findings.
Discussions are complicated by a lack of common vocabulary. “Artificial intelligence” means different things to different people, and while it’d be useful to educate on the difference between machine learning and large language models, the reality is most folks offering insight here have their own notions of the terms of engagement and would rather argue from those perspectives.
I’ve never used ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or any other such tool, and can’t see a reason to start. But I’ve been typing search terms into websites since the last millennium, along with using computer software for photo editing and newspaper design since high school.
As much as I’d love to argue “AI” has no place in public schools, from student work to teacher prep and anywhere else you can imagine, the overall technology horse is so far out of the barn right now that it’s become impossible to draw logical bright lines.
Like explaining drugs in health class, it’s important to teach what’s available and how to avoid misuse and abuse. But who are the trustworthy experts?
SATURDAY IN THE PARK: One of my favorite recent reads came courtesy of Aimee Barrows, editor of The Scene, Shaw Local News Network’s entertainment section. Barrows highlighted several special municipal parks in the area, including two that my family visited for baseball last weekend – Lippold in Crystal Lake and Emricson in Woodstock. Her list also included places we enjoyed when we lived in Ottawa several years back.
Our kids aren’t as young these days, but I still enjoy a good walk in the woods or along the water when I’m not glued to a baseball game. Find the summaries yourself at tinyurl.com/ShawLocalParks.
HAVE YOUR SAY: For the first time in the last decade, the Illinois Judicial Conference and state Supreme Court are conducting a public survey on the circuit court system. Through July 31, visit tinyurl.com/IllinoisCourtSurvey to participate. The survey asks what best describes each respondent: including party to a civil case, a criminal or traffic defendant, juror, wedding participant, legal staff and more. Questions involve disability accommodations, language interpretation, and how to access information about the legal system. All responses are anonymous. If the web isn’t your thing, courthouses have paper and electronic versions.
The legal system consumes a significant share of public resources. Illinoisans would do well to pay close attention and speak their mind when asked.
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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July 18, 2026 at 10:06AM
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