Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the new calculator

Carlotta A. Berry, PhD
16 hours ago
6 min read

Calling AI “the new calculator” isn’t hyperbole when used in the context of how it will transform learning and skill sets.

I recall when calculators first arrived and there was this uproar that students would become overly dependent on them. The calculator would become more of a crutch than a tool and students would lose some valuable math skills. In fact, I made social media posts on this very topic as part of my #EngineeringProfessorAdvice series. I discussed the fact that students needed to sanity check their results because #GarbageInEqualsGarbageOut. A calculator can give you the wrong answer if you make a fat finger error or don’t obey the order of operations. Shout out to Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally For her Lingering Rheumatism (Parentheses Exponents Math Division Addition Subtraction from Left to Right).

TI-84 PLUS Pink Calculator showing math solution for 9/2(1+2)

In fact, PEMDAS is still haunting us to this day. Every few months on social media, there are these math wars on the correct answer to a math equation. It goes something like this, what is the answer for 6/2(1+2)? Folks almost come to virtual fisticuffs over whether the answer is 1 or 9. Once I’ve had enough of the drama, I blow the dust off my pink TI-84 calculator and BS in mathematics and make a tutorial post on the order of operations. The answer is 9, BTW (whispers in the voice of my 7^th grade Algebra teacher).

"We shouldn’t fear technology in the classroom. We must teach students how to use it thoughtfully, critically, and confidently."

This is also why having estimation and mental math skills is so vitally important. What does your gut say? Does it feel like that answer is correct or is it an order of magnitude off? I also tell my students you don’t have to put everything in your calculator; there is also a good one right on your shoulders.

Now, here we are years later and there is a calculator in everyone’s pocket. Guess what else is already there? Did SIRI overhear your last conversation about needing a new coffee maker and show you the latest Keurig ad when you opened Facebook? HMMM 🤔.

Although there are valid concerns about the use of AI, including stealing intellectual property, job loss, academic integrity, energy use, and bias, it is important to emphasize that AI is not going anywhere. Therefore, it is our job to shape the way it is used to mitigate any damage, particularly against protected classes.

As a roboticist, my relationship with AI is a little bit different because of how we use it to create robot control architectures. For a robot to complete tasks or go to goal we use the three primitives: sense, plan, act. The organization of these primitives in software creates behaviors which is the robot’s artificial intelligence. Simply put, I cannot do what I do without AI.

AI is often discussed in ways that feel exclusionary or intimidating. Since the motto for my business is #MySTEMIsForTheStreets, my goal is to take AI from being some mystical boogey tech monster to something everyone can understand and respect. I aspire to democratize AI and robotics so that those who choose to use it can do so thoughtfully and creatively because at its core, AI is simply about patterns, prediction, and problem-solving.

Fears & Concerns About AI

Skills Degradation – As opposed to looking at this concern from the glass half empty, the advent of AI and robotics presents an opportunity to elevate higher order thinking and skill sets beyond what AI or a robot or calculator can do. For example, perception, design, trouble shooting, problem solving so that we ask better questions.
Academic Integrity – AI has now taken over where Chegg, Wikipedia and textbook solutions left off. This means that students are going to use these tools if they exist. Therefore, our job as academics is to teach them how to use these resources appropriately and responsibly. For example, how to vet and evaluate anything that is produced by AI because it can lie to the user. Also, how to use them in ethical ways for activities such as brainstorming, organizing, and critical thinking.
Bias in AI – Since AI learns from data in the world and there is bias and prejudice in all walks of life, this will unfortunately show up in algorithms. Thus, it is vital to train AI on data that is diverse, unbiased, and large enough to be useful instead of perpetuating stereotypes. AI needs to be accessible to everyone so that it does not widen the digital divide based upon socioeconomic factors. This requires actively promoting diversity in development teams, data cleaning, and bias training.
Job Loss – Similar to the concerns about skills degradation, the adoption of AI and robotics presents opportunities to elevate skill sets for better job opportunities. By moving into these new positions, we can be leaders in tech fields instead of being stuck in isolation with fear of tech.
Copyright Infringement & Energy Loss – The only way to ensure that AI is being used appropriately by users as well as the people who create them, is to develop a universal policy. This requires government and legislation to catch up to the technology and set the policy for transparency such as how data is used, when an algorithm is biased, and how it will be used.

AI For Good

Now that we’ve discussed some of the bad and ugly, how about some good?

Representation Matters – One of the ways that I use AI is for Afrofuturism because it can help young people to see the future they seek in STEM and other careers. To see an example of this please check out this Twitter X post.
Efficiency – Assists in automating tasks such as organizing copious amounts of data or categorizing information into affinity groups.
Adaptive learning and tutoring – It may be used to make quizzes, notes, and summaries of course notes or technical literature.
Decision Making – Processes substantial amounts of data to summarize to create more effective decision making.
Natural language interaction, translation, and literacy – Providing a great tool for translating text to speech and speech to text and between different languages
Robotics Coding and Simulation – Assists in testing algorithms before making large investments in physical hardware
Improving Accessibility – AI provides screen readers, note taking, captioning and voice capture.

Using AI Art to Envision a Diverse Future of STEM

Final Thoughts for Indy Women in Tech Week

AI is a tool for change and just like calculators revolutionized education, AI will usher in smart, accessible tools. AI is already in search engines, customer service, and yes, our phones. The question is whether to fight it or embrace it and shape it. AI isn’t going anywhere so it is time for us to lead it or get out of the way. It is more than a trend; it is embedded in our future.

It is our job to identify and address bias, be in the room on the design teams, have a voice on how these tools can be used appropriately. Either we will be in the room where the scripts are written or the room where it happens, or we will be written into them.

As we celebrate Indy Women in Tech Week, let’s move beyond hashtags and headlines to understand what AI is and what it is not. That means approaching this technology with a healthy dose of skepticism, coding with compassion, and implementing with inclusion.

In conclusion, as an engineer and educator, I aim to present emerging technologies in a way that helps people see themselves in STEM.

"When girls and Black and Brown youth recognize that they belong in STEM, they are empowered to create the equitable and accessible solutions of tomorrow."

— Dr. Carlotta Berry, NoireSTEMinist®