Once disparaged now embraced, AI receives about-face at Jewish day schools
As educators shift stance on AI in school, key word becomes 'resource'
Someone tell John Henry, the machines won again. During the past two years, leaders of Pittsburgh’s Jewish day schools have changed their attitude and approach to artificial intelligence. Though educators once entered the school year decrying — and even attempting to outlaw — ChatGPT and similar apps capable of solving equations, creating images and video, and even drafting or translating texts, teachers now boast the tools’ merits.
The shift stems from increased appreciation for what technology is and is not, according to Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum, CEO and head of school at Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh.
Asking systems or software to complete tasks only takes one so far, Rosenblum said. “You have to take it and make it yours. You have to add soul to it and add a personal touch.”
Rosenblum and his colleagues often use AI for development, human resources and to help draft policy.
Regarding fundraising, “we have great grant writers, but we’ve used it to write grants,” Rosenblum said. Similarly, when it comes to specific messaging, “we have good writers, but we will use it to come up with narratives for our drives.”
AI, Rosenblum said, has been especially helpful for articulating school procedures.
For field trips and other off-campus excursions, a policy at Yeshiva Schools regarding transportation — eligible drivers, required vehicles — was initially composed by AI. Rosenblum then took the text, edited it and brought it to the board for approval.
The policy was adopted, “but it started with AI,” he said.
Community Day School’s Casey Weiss said the about-face toward AI occurred because using the systems “has become the norm.”
In her work as the Jewish day school’s head, Weiss relies on ChatGPT largely for speech writing.
She often begins by looking through the Torah for an appropriate verse, or a school database for past donors, she said. Once she’s found a specific detail relevant for her address, AI helps by creating supplemental copy.
The key word in understanding AI’s role at school, according to Weiss, is “resource.”
Both for educators and students, “we cannot outsource all we do to AI,” she said.
Yikara Levari, Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh’s interim principal and academic director, said she and her colleagues are committed to understanding how educators “can utilize AI to be more efficient.”
As an administrator at the Jewish day school, she said, she’s aware of not only students’ use of ChatGPT but its adoption among educators.
“I know a lot of my colleagues use it to create rubrics and lesson plans,” she said.
As a lead-up to Hillel Academy’s first day of school, and in an effort to promote professional development, Levari invited Rabbi Baruch Noy, a Long Island-based expert who has worked with more than 200 schools on approaches to integrating technology into classrooms.
When considering how best to use AI, the “human element” must be considered, according to Noy.
Writing in the Journal of Jewish Day School leadership, a publication from the Consortium of Jewish Day Schools, Noy noted that behind every AI text created is a “human element” guiding the platform to produce an “optimal” response. “In other words, humans are directing the nature and content of the final product even if they are not producing the end result.”
Ensuring a text rendered by AI matches one’s stance on the subject is essential, Noy added.
“AI learns your preferences and style over time,” but one shouldn’t forget certain “core values,” Rosenblum said. “AI doesn’t have a soul … It’s a helpful tool to be more efficient, but you have to take whatever AI gives you and take it to the next level.”
The imperative, he continued, is one educators, students and even folk heroes should easily recognize: “Keep toiling.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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