I start with a simple question: Can AI Teach Empathy?
The short answer is no.
But, can we leverage AI to develop empathy in ourselves?
Yes.
Before I go further into the post, I want to let you know that this was not the post I intended to write this week. It was one on mental health, rumination, and possible ideas to find opportunities through obstacles. But I decided to skip sharing it this week and rethink what I was sharing from my own perspective. I skipped it because of feedback I garnered from ChatGPT seeking input on what I had written.
As I wrote the original post, something felt off, but I kept going. My process is often to learn through writing, not necessarily share my learning through writing.
But when I was done, I opened up ChatGPT, copied and pasted what I had written, and wrote the following simple prompt:
“any challenges to this post?”
And there were challenges!
So.
Many.
Challenges.
So, I asked it to rewrite the post addressing what I had missed, and although it was in my voice, it wasn’t my understanding. I didn’t want to post my writing unless I genuinely understood what I was sharing. Leveraging AI showed me holes that I had in my own logic.
Empathy could be defined as the following: “…the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.”
Although asking the question was a good start, I needed to soak in the feedback and challenges before I was comfortable posting in my own words and perspectives.
This does not negate my own experiences in any way. I believe that if we face similar issues to others, our solutions for one can benefit many.
I just didn’t want to downplay the experiences of others, especially with the topic of mental health.
As I shared in “The Innovator’s Mindset” where “empathetic is listed as the first characteristic of that thinking, “…starting with empathy for those we serve is where innovative teaching and learning begins.”
You can never truly understand the perspective of others, but you can also try to get as close as possible.
So, the next time you share something or post information to your school, think of using the following prompt: “Any challenges to this post?”
Technology does not make us smarter, nor does it make us any more empathetic. But if we leverage it properly, it might provide you with a perspective you (or I) unintentionally overlooked.
(I also shared a podcast about this experience, so if you want to learn more about this process, you can listen on Apple Podcasts or watch it on YouTube.)
