Anniston Teachers Tackle AI Bias, Deepfakes and ChatGPT in District Workshop

Context The Anniston City Schools hosted a full‑day training led by Dr. Stacie Chanda, a Chicago‑based AI consultant. Superintendent Dr. D. Ray Hill opened with a video urging staff to share opinions on AI integration. The session blended caution with curiosity, aiming to equip educators with both awareness and hands‑on tools.

Key Facts Dr. Chanda framed artificial intelligence as a familiar part of daily life, citing online shopping recommendations, grammar checkers and streaming algorithms. She marked the late‑2022 release of ChatGPT as the point when AI became widely accessible and entered classrooms in earnest. Throughout the day, teachers voiced mixed reactions. One educator praised AI‑driven recipe suggestions, while another warned that “you don’t know if the picture is real or it’s not,” reflecting concerns over deepfakes—synthetically altered media that can spread misinformation.

Chanda emphasized that AI systems inherit biases from the data used to train them. She illustrated this with an AI‑generated image that misrepresented historical figure Benjamin Banneker, stating, “AI is biased. Responsible AI use requires us to challenge bias rather than reinforce it.” The workshop’s four “careful considerations” were ethics, safety, privacy and bias. Energy consumption of data centers and the potential for scams also featured in the discussion.

Teachers explored how AI might affect critical thinking and memory. Chanda reassured participants that good teaching remains unchanged; AI is a tool, not a replacement. High‑school English teacher Kyle Shelton summed up the sentiment: “AI is currently the boogeyman, but the fact is, it’s here. We need to teach our students how to navigate that.”

Hands‑on sessions let educators experiment with AI‑assisted lesson planning. The goal, according to Chanda, is to save time while deepening student engagement, mirroring how calculators augment math instruction without discarding foundational skills.

What It Means The workshop signals Anniston’s proactive stance on digital literacy. By confronting bias and deepfake risks, the district aims to equip students with critical evaluation skills before they rely on AI tools. As AI capabilities accelerate, educators will likely face ongoing training to balance innovation with ethical safeguards. The next step will be monitoring how these new practices affect student outcomes and whether district policies evolve to address emerging AI challenges.