It is excellent that the AFT and the UFT are establishing the National Academy for AI Instruction to prepare teachers to harness the benefits of AI and to stay abreast of the technology (“AI Academy Launches,” Sept. 5 issue). But what is missing in this benignly accepting approach is the historical awareness of about 400 years of bosses using technical advances to de-skill workers’ crafts, downsize the workforce, and weaken or destroy workers’ organizations. The actual economic and social benefits of these advances accrue to the bosses, and in any case are highly overrated.

There is no reason to believe that AI will not follow this pattern and take over the development of curriculum and classroom activities to no one’s advantage but the bosses. In the process, it will dilute the warmth and emotional support inherent in a good teacher’s relationship with students — support that does so much to make learning a joyful experience, especially for struggling students. We already see the negative effects of a world inundated by gadgets on the social and spiritual development of the young and on human communication.

As teachers, we must be wary of AI and take steps to ensure that the student-teacher relationship remains central in our schools and that our collective strength survives.

Ed Beller, retired