SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Burgess Owens of Utah questioned several education experts Wednesday about the impact of artificial technology on college students during a committee hearing in Washington.
Owens, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, spoke about the potential benefits of using AI in education, but said institutions should ensure that students acquire the skills they need to succeed in an increasingly AI-driven workforce, without sacrificing other learning.
He said the challenges posed by new technology were “significant.”
“When students are able to produce sophisticated work without real learning, the value of the qualification diminishes for employers, institutions and students,” Owens said in prepared remarks. “The academic integrity framework built in previous eras is under great strain, and institutions are still figuring out how to respond. Concerns about bias, data privacy, and cybersecurity remain unresolved. And many educators are rightly wondering what the widespread adoption of AI will mean for fundamental skills like writing, critical thinking, and problem-solving.”
The committee heard testimony from several educators, including Florida State University Vice President and Chief Information Officer Jonathan Fozard, who said AI is “rapidly becoming a defining capability.” He said universities should focus on teaching students how to use technology responsibly to prepare them for the workforce.
“Higher education must enable students not only to use AI, but to understand it, question it, improve it, make it safe, and apply it in ways that serve people and strengthen our nation,” he said.
But in response to Owens’ question about how universities can balance AI education without compromising other learning, he said technology should support teachers and students, not replace them.
“While we don’t believe AI will replace instruction or the classroom, this partnership will give our students exposure to the tools, workforce and platforms they will use in their future careers,” he said.
Fozard said AI is “not magic” and should not replace “human thinking, critical thinking, ethical judgment, and interpersonal communication.”
“If students use AI as a shortcut, we risk undermining the very skills that education is meant to build,” he said.
Dave Duke, top product officer at education company McGraw-Hill, said there is a widening gap between the AI skills that companies want and the AI skills that universities are teaching.
The problem, he said, is that some students are constantly using AI without supervision and are “learning to produce output without developing the ability to evaluate it.” However, he said many schools are restricting the use of AI and telling students that it is something to avoid. Taken together, these results leave graduates “over-reliant on AI and at the same time under-prepared to work with it professionally.”
“The right answer is neither unlimited use nor aggressive restrictions,” Duke said.
Michael Horn, an author and adjunct professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said universities may need to adapt to ensure students are learning what they need to learn.
“If AI can complete tasks, then perhaps the tasks themselves will need to change,” he said, suggesting that tests and papers could be replaced with oral exams and presentations to “ensure that students continue to engage in rigorous learning.”
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