The biggest concern I hear from teachers about AI is around ethics, especially environmental impact.

So many teachers feel conflicted about artificial intelligence.

They're using it, but they've also feel like it's terrible for the environment, trained on stolen content, taking away jobs, and rotting our brains.

And then there's the practical reality: it's 2026, and AI is literally embedded in everything online now. Instagram search. Email filters. Even online bill pay.

So ... what are doing here?

I sat down with Dr. Karen Boyd, an AI ethics consultant who works with schools, to get some real answers.

This conversation pushed my thinking in ways I wasn't expecting.

Here are a few things worth knowing from our convo ...

On the environmental piece: You know that stat about AI using a bottle of water per query?

It's not true.

The actual number is about 29.6 queries per bottle of water across the US on average. And here's the thing—most of that water use is actually from the training phase, not our individual queries.

Karen isn't saying there's no environmental cost. There is. But the conversation is way more nuanced than "you're destroying the planet every time you use ChatGPT."

On uncovering what's actually bothering you: When something about AI feels "icky," it's usually because a specific value feels threatened. Is it:

• Intellectual property concerns?
• Worry about jobs being lost?
• The violation of effort and craft?
• Authenticity?

Karen suggests that once you name the specific value you feel AI is infringing upon and creating moral injury, you can make more precise decisions about how to use it (or not).

On finding your stance: Karen talks about a spectrum from "AI enthusiast" to "conscientious objector"—and most of us are somewhere in the middle, trying to figure out how to use it in ways that don't conflict with our values.

She offers some strategic positions on AI beyond just refusing:

1. Wait and see - I'm not ready yet, but I'm paying attention
2. Constrain - I believe in limited use cases
3. Compensate - We're using AI to generate art, so we'll offset that by commissioning a human artist for our school mural
4. Rethink the work - Let's change our whole workflow to include AI and quality checks for it
5. Shape the ecosystem - Let's ask vendors about their energy sourcing before we buy, and use our consumer dollars and platforms to effect change

You can obviously take on multiple stances, and shift them over time. It's most important, Karen says, to avoid drift. Don't just ignore AI or use it and feel guilty with no personal ethical stance.

Here's what I appreciated most about this conversation:

Karen doesn't tell you what to do. She doesn't say AI is great or AI is terrible. She validates that reasonable people can disagree, and then gives you frameworks to think it through for yourself.

In the end, she says, here's the reality: whether you use it or not, someone's going to judge you. So you might as well make choices that let you feel good about what you're doing, and develop your own thoughtful approach.

It's a long conversation (about an hour), but worth it if you're trying to figure out where you stand on all this.

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I also made a video for it on my new YouTube channel, So What Are We Doing Here? It's shorter, and focuses on why guilt tripping each other about individual AI use is missing the point.

Let me know what you think.

Angela

P.S. If you're looking for a way to help students think about what they lose when they outsource their thinking to AI, check out my Stay Human: Protect Your Brain Power in an AI World mini-unit. Karen and I talk about it in the episode—it's designed to work alongside (not against) these bigger ethical conversations.

Angela Watson Stay connected on social media: ​​​​​​

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