Parent Prep

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of everyday life, including how students learn, create, and communicate. For parents, that raises important questions: How can students use AI without outsourcing their thinking? How can they determine whether AI-generated information is trustworthy? And how can Christians approach this technology from a biblical worldview?

In a conversation with Heidi St. John, Rob McDole, Director of Cedarville University's Center for Teaching and Learning, explores how parents and students can approach AI with wisdom rather than fear. As an educator and homeschool dad, Rob encourages families to understand what AI can do while keeping Scripture central.

Watch the conversation with Rob McDole and Heidi St. John on YouTube.

Timestamps

• 1:15 – How Should Christians Think About AI?
• 3:41 – Is AI Just a Tool? A Christian Worldview Perspective
• 5:06 – How Cedarville Is Creating Guardrails for AI
• 8:05 – Understanding Cedarville's Closed AI Environment
• 11:01 – Protecting Students, Data, and Academic Integrity
• 14:17 – Using AI as a Tutor and Learning Tool
• 17:00 – Keeping AI From Replacing Critical Thinking
• 19:50 – A Practical Framework for Using AI Wisely
• 22:16 – Why Students Need to Verify AI's Answers
• 26:19 – AI, Truth, and the Growing Need for Discernment
• 29:11 – Why AI Shouldn't Become a Friend or Counselor
• 35:09 – Preparing Students Spiritually for an AI-Driven World
• 38:05 – Cedarville's Center for Teaching and Learning
• 39:39 – Final Encouragement for Parents

Remember: AI Is a Tool, Not a Person

One of Rob's most important reminders is also one of the simplest: Artificial intelligence is a machine.

AI tools may communicate in human ways, but they don't possess the kind of intelligence God has given human beings. Their responses are shaped by models, programming, data, and boundaries that were established by people.

That's especially important as AI systems become conversational. Students may be tempted to treat AI as a friend, companion, or even counselor.

Parents can help their teens maintain an important distinction: AI can be a useful tool, but it should never replace human relationships.

Teaching Students to Think Critically

How students are using AI is more important than if they're using it.

Instead of asking AI to do the thinking for them, students should use it to deepen their own learning. For example, AI can generate discussion questions, quiz students on material they've already studied, or help them recall information instead of just providing answers.

The goal should always be to help students understand the material better — not find shortcuts around learning it.

Parents can reinforce this by asking:

• How did you arrive at that answer?
• Is the AI response accurate?
• How would you know if it wasn't?
• What sources support the answer?
• Can you explain the concept without AI?

Those questions turn AI usage into an opportunity to develop critical thinking.

Use AI — But Verify What It Tells You

Rob offers a simple framework for interacting with AI: UBR — Use it, Be specific, Review it.

Use it. Students need enough experience with AI to understand what it can and cannot do.

Be specific. Clear instructions produce more useful results and force students to think carefully about what they're asking.

Review it. This may be the most important step. Students should never assume an AI-generated response is accurate simply because it sounds confident.

Ask AI to provide sources and then check those sources. Compare claims with trustworthy sources, and when questions involve faith and worldview, return to Scripture as the ultimate authority.

Learning to verify information may become one of the most important skills students develop for an AI-driven world.

Don't Outsource Biblical Discernment

AI isn't creating the need for discernment; it's making that need more obvious.

Students already live in a world filled with search engines, social media, news, algorithms, and competing claims about truth. AI makes information even easier to access, but that access doesn't guarantee accuracy or wisdom.

Rob encourages parents to help students develop deeper foundations: What do they believe about God? Why do they trust Scripture? How do they determine whether something is true?

These questions will give students a framework for evaluating not only AI, but also the countless ideas they'll encounter throughout their lives.

Cedarville's AI Initiative

As AI becomes more important in education and the workplace, Cedarville University is working through these questions as well.

Rob explains Cedarville's implementation of ChatGPT Edu, which provides a protected environment for students and faculty to use AI tools while giving the University data on how and when the technology is used.

This goes beyond providing access to technology. Cedarville's goal is to help students consider how to use AI with wisdom and to always approach it with a biblical worldview.

Christian higher education shouldn't just teach students how to use the newest technology. It should equip them to discern how to use that technology. It should teach them to ask the question: Is this honoring to God and serving others?

Questions for Your High School Student

As AI becomes a larger part of your student's education and future career, you should consider asking them these questions:

• When is AI doing the thinking for you?
• How do you verify if an AI-generated answer is true?
• What information should you avoid sharing with AI tools?
• Why can't AI replace relationships with real people?
• How does your biblical worldview shape the way you use technology?
• How can AI help you become better at something instead of just making it easier?

The reality is that AI isn't going away. Students will continue to encounter increasingly powerful technologies throughout college and their careers. Your goal shouldn't be to prepare them for one specific tool — instead, it should be to develop students who know God's Word and use it to think critically about how to use these tools.