Educational technology developers can draw on the model of commuter train “quiet cars” to encourage learning in the AI era, according to Mona Fixdal (Princeton University). She notes how invasive AI tools in apps can pull students away from learning or discourage them from processing information on their own. She explains that spaces like quiet cars—a train car designed as a noise-free zone for commuters—should exist in educational technology so that learners can process information without the distraction of AI. Fixdal concludes by saying that AI has important uses in education, but that those in the tech and education sectors must come together to carefully think about when it is appropriate to include AI tools in online spaces.
