Guam educators: AI is not a substitute for critical thinking and human judgment

 By Jayvee Vallejera

The most commonly known artificial intelligence model, ChatGPT, was first released in November 2022. Less than three years later, we now have Microsoft’s Copilot, Google’s Gemini, Claude and newer versions of ChatGPT, among a host of other AI models.

AI is now everywhere, like an omnipresent leviathan that threatens our relevance. It can prepare a spreadsheet, analyze data, paint, make movies, compose music, write articles and draft legal briefs, among many other tasks.  There is now even an advanced “God Mode” that can guide you in making decisions or creating a strategic life plan.

“We are seeing it immediately in areas of workforce training and development,” said Dr. Mary Okada, president of Guam Community College.

Yet AI remains largely unregulated. Plagiarism is rife, and AI is used not only for simple searches but also to craft reports, write essays and even create cheat sheets.

Mary Okada

The burden, then, of ensuring that AI isn’t a free-for-all Wild, Wild West falls on educators and lawmakers, who must craft the basic rules and regulations to ensure it serves as a tool for progress, not to stifle human innovation and creativity.

Because that’s what AI is—just a tool, said Wil Castro, principal of Career Tech High Academy Charter School and former Guam senator. “Our role as educators is to teach students how to use it wisely, question its outputs, understand its limits, and apply it with ethical reasoning,” he said.

Noting that AI is reshaping industries across the board, Castro said Career Tech is integrating AI into its curriculum to ensure students gain the skills they will need later.

Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez, president of the University of Guam, stated that the university is incorporating AI literacy into all disciplines. “We are preparing students not only to navigate an AI-powered world, but to shape it,” she said.

The Guam Department of Education is also working to integrate AI into its curriculum, according to Joe Sanchez, deputy education superintendent. He added that a growing number of courses will feature AI components to enhance both teaching and learning. “AI is going to be with us forever. The key now is how we adapt to this latest technological advancement,” he said.

Anita Borja Enriquez

Enriquez acknowledges that today’s workforce needs a hybrid skill set that is grounded in the basics of technology but balanced with critical and creative thinking. She noted that specific fields "need professionals who can interpret and apply AI, not just operate it.”

Castro agreed that foundational skills in AI and technology, blending computer skills, digital literacy, critical thinking and philosophy, will also play a significant role in preparing students for success.

At GDOE, Sanchez said the department’s overall approach remains consistent with how it has historically embraced advances in technology. “We don’t view technology as something to be taught in isolation,” he said. “You don’t learn technology for the sake of learning it; you learn it through the work you do.”

Joe Sanchez

Instead of creating separate courses solely dedicated to technology, Sanchez said GDOE will focus on equipping teachers with the tools and training to integrate technology into their existing instruction. That way, he said, students can apply new and emerging technologies in the real world.

The Northern Marianas College is taking a similar approach, according to its president, Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero. “You use a computer pretty much for every class, right? For every course, we're treating AI as a tool that's used in every course,” he said. “It's not limited to just one course, knowing that it will be affecting a lot of professions.”

For her part, Okada said adapting to AI is not so much about changing a school’s curriculum, but more about exploring ways to ensure the technology enhances, rather than replaces, the learning process.

Wil Castro

Okada said the GCC Governing Council has sent out an AI policy to the campus community for input and expects to finalize it in the fall. She doesn’t expect any changes to the curriculum as a result of the AI policy. Rather, the changes will be reflected in documents such as the syllabi template, college catalog, adjunct handbook, student handbook and Distance Education handbook.

At NMC, Deleon Guerrero said the college adopted an AI policy over a year ago. It is focused on two key areas: setting safeguards to protect academic integrity and leveraging AI to maximize student learning and college operations. This has involved updating anti-plagiarism policies, among other measures, and providing training for faculty and staff. “We embraced it head-on,” he said.

Deleon Guerrero said that at a recent meeting of the Association of Community College Trustees, they learned NMC is one of the few U.S. institutions with both an AI policy and AI procedures in place.

Another NMC initiative, he said, is using AI to migrate its different IT and network systems into a single platform. One feature of that new system is an AI-powered chatbot that provides academic advising to students.

“That's freeing up our faculty advisors to provide more career counseling, so that students can go to the system if they're trying to figure out, like, ‘How can I best schedule my classes to graduate by this date?’” Deleon Guerrero said. “That frees up faculty advisors to do less clerical stuff and do more work on career planning and goal setting.”

He said that NMC acknowledges some of the challenges AI poses to academic integrity, but it has already implemented safeguards “so that we can also make the best use of AI to maximize student learning and college operations.”

Galvin Leon Guerrero

Castro said it is educators’ responsibility to ensure students not only learn how to use AI, but also how to question it, understand its limits and use ethical judgment. “What remains clear is this: no machine can replace a teacher’s ability to care, connect, and guide,” he said. “Technology can enhance how we learn, but it cannot love a child, build character or nurture creativity the way a great educator can.”

For all the self-congratulatory tone of AI creators and the many doomsday warnings of jobs being lost to AI-powered robots, educators agree that, as a tool, AI is more likely to transform jobs than fully eliminate them.

“We’re preparing graduates for roles that demand human judgment, cultural understanding, and ethical decision-making—skills AI can’t replace,” Enriquez said.

Castro noted that AI is already starting to replace jobs that involve repetitive tasks and robotic precision. Tasks that once required hours of manual work can now be done in minutes. Yet as machines handle basic tasks, people are still essential for higher-level thinking, empathy and decision-making.

“While these technologies improve productivity, they also highlight a growing need for workers to adapt by learning new skills and taking on roles that machines can’t replace, such as supervision, strategic planning and customer engagement,” he added.

Sanchez agrees that AI will affect schools in many ways. But eliminate jobs and professions? Not necessarily, he said. He believes it will only ease work performance. “In the same way that the internet and computers revolutionized education by improving communication, expanding access to information and raising the overall quality of work,  AI has the potential to further support and strengthen teaching and learning,” Sanchez said.

He also pointed out that every profession has a human element. “AI may change how we work, but it won’t fully replace the value of human judgment, interaction and experience,” Sanchez said.

At NMC, Deleon Guerrero said the college is ensuring that students continue to learn how to think critically and solve problems, “because those skills transcend any job or any occupation or any industry.”

“There's more of a demand for those kinds of skills than specialized skills. We still offer courses that provide training and specialized skills, but we're finding that employers like deeper thinkers,” he added. “So, yes, use AI. But also, there's a time when you need to use the best form of intelligence, which is right in your skull.”

NMC, he added, is trying to future-proof its curriculum and students “so that they have the fundamental curriculum that will help them in any industry.”

AI will affect all industries and professions. Like the industrial revolution in the 19^th century that upended the entire manufacturing process, the AI revolution is predicted to be a global disruptor.

Currently, GDOE is developing new policies to understand and integrate AI into the classroom. Sanchez concedes that many students are already using AI to assist with homework, generate responses and support research. The goal, he said, is “to develop thoughtful policies around AI use, explore how it may impact assessments and provide training for teachers.”

Still, despite AI’s much-hyped capabilities in the classroom, Castro is optimistic. “What AI can’t do is connect with students on a human level. It can’t inspire, love or guide. That’s where our teachers come in—and always will,” he said.

In the classroom, AI helps personalize learning but can't replace the guidance of a great teacher, Castro said. “While AI is redefining tasks across these industries, it reinforces the need for human adaptability, creativity and ethical judgment. AI may not eliminate these professions, but it is changing how work is done, requiring upskilling and adaptation,” he said.

At the 38th Guam Legislature, Sen. Telo Taitague proposed Bill 64-38, which would establish a task force to study AI and recommend responsible approaches for Guam. “AI is advancing faster than many of our policies and safeguards,” Taitague said. “While these technologies offer incredible potential, they also present risks related to privacy, fairness, security and unintended bias.”

Taitague said Guam needs to be proactive in the face of AI’s substantial growth. 

“Bill 64-38 ensures that we're not caught off guard, and that we guide AI's development in a way that benefits our island without harming our people,” she said. 

Taitague said that Bill 64-38 is “not about stifling innovation, but about building a responsible path forward.”

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