AI Task Force Calls for Teacher Training, STEM Push

While artificial intelligence (AI) technologies offer benefits for educators and their work in classrooms, the Federal government needs to do more to support teachers in AI training and literacy, and more broadly must improve science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) opportunities.

That was a top-line takeaway on the education front from the House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, which issued its final report in late December.

Chaired by Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., the 24-member task force worked to determine how the Federal government can advance the responsible use and development of AI tech.

Currently, the United States is facing a gap in the workforce talent necessary to research, develop, and deploy AI tools – and by addressing this in the classroom, the U.S. can work toward a solution, lawmakers said.

“AI is increasingly used in the workplace by both employers and employees. It is likely that workers will increasingly work with or alongside AI systems, which will require pathways to upskill an AI-enabled workforce,” wrote the lawmakers. “Fostering domestic AI talent and continued U.S. leadership will require significant improvements in basic STEM education and training.”

“Other nations are ahead of the U.S. in K-12 mathematics and science education,” they continued. “Addressing the future needs of the American AI industry will require that AI skills be bolstered by both workforce training and K-12 education.”

Most educators don’t yet possess AI literacy, with over 70 percent of K-12 teachers not receiving professional training on AI use in the classroom, according to the report. The Federal government must address this by providing funding to cover the cost of training for educators which would then allow teachers to incorporate AI into K-12 school systems, lawmakers said.

Other improvements that should be made include increasing access to computers at institutions of higher education, facilitating public-private partnerships to bolster the AI workforce at every level, and developing regional expertise when supporting government-university-industry partnerships which could bolster workforce pathways into AI-driven careers.

Outside of AI training alone, lawmakers also noted the importance of improving access to STEM education in the classroom – including continued Federal investment in STEM initiatives in rural and underserved areas.

“Addressing the future needs of the domestic AI industry must start with fostering AI talent,” the report says. “However, one of the major challenges to fostering domestic AI talent is a widespread lack of basic literacy in STEM concepts … It is critical the United States cultivates STEM talent in every zip code of the country.”

The U.S. should also promote a basic understanding of AI technologies and their societal impact, lawmakers added, to provide students and teachers with basic digital literacy in AI.