Unsafe AI for Education: A Conversation on Stochastic Parrots and Other Learning Metaphors

Abstract

This interview article discusses the impact on popular and educational discourses of the metaphor for a Large Language Model of a “stochastic parrot”. The metaphor comes from the title of an influential paper on the harms of large language models from 2021. Here we present a perspective on the short but influential history of the metaphor through an interview with one of its creators, Professor Emily M. Bender. Using the broad lens of metaphor as a way to shape and frame discourse, the editors interviewed Professor Bender and asked her a series of questions to spark discussion around AI in Education. A variety of topics were covered, including: on how metaphors and anthropomorphisation when carelessly used can elide harms and obviate responsibilities; the role of BigTech, data theft and metaphors of colonisation; Whether AI is unsafe for education and if so to which learners; Techno-solutionism; Positionality and AI “voice”; and whether EdTech is a key driver of AI bullshit and enshittification. This article aims to give readers an accessible insight into how a particular metaphor may be enacted in discourse and to contribute to wider critical debates about how GenAI operates in the context of datafication and educational harms.