Chatbots: Helpful Tools or Hidden Risks?

Begin with a Think-Pair-Share. Ask students to reflect and then pair up with a classmate to discuss:

• Have you ever used a chatbot (like ChatGPT, customer service chat, or voice assistants)?
• What did it help you do?
• Did it ever feel confusing, wrong, or “too human”?

Bring the class together and allow volunteers to share their experiences.

Tell students: A chatbot is a computer program that uses language to talk with people.Chatbots do not think, feel, or understand like humans. They predict words based on patterns, not truth or emotions.

Ask students if they have ever heard of or used chatbots such as Replika AI or Character AI.

Optionally demo a short chat on one of the sites.

Ask students if they have heard any news stories about these or other chatbots, either good or bad.

Optionally show the video of the founder of Replika AI explaining why she created it (10:31). Turn on the closed captions if video is used. [Note: the app was created by tech founder Eugenia Kuyda to remember her friend who passed away and "reconstruct him by his digital remains" and have conversations with him].

Ask students to share their thoughts. Would they want a "bot" for a friend or family member replacement?

Pre-teach vocabulary you feel will be relevant to discussions in class. You can make Quizlet Flashcards or have students check off words they already know in a table before explaining/giving definitions.

Artificial Intelligence (AI): Computer systems that do tasks that seem smart, like writing or answering questions.
Algorithm: A set of rules a computer follows to make decisions.
Anthropomorphize: To give human feelings or qualities to something that is not human. Example: saying “the chatbot understands me.”
Bias: When information is unfair or favors one group. Chatbots can repeat bias from data.
Chatbot: A computer program that talks with people using text or voice. Example: online customer service chat.
Data / Training Data: Information used to teach a chatbot how to respond.
Digital Literacy: Knowing how to use technology safely and wisely.
Hallucination: When a chatbot gives false information confidently.
Overreliance: Depending too much on a tool instead of checking or thinking.
Parasocial: A one-sided relationship where a person feels close to someone or something that does not know them. Example: feeling like a chatbot is your friend.
Privacy: Keeping personal information safe.
Prompt: The question or command/instruction you give a chatbot.
Sentient / Sentience: Able to feel emotions or have awareness. Chatbots are not sentient.
Uncanny Valley (often misheard as “canny valley”): The uncomfortable feeling when something looks or sounds almost human, but not quite. Example: a chatbot that sounds emotional but isn’t real.
Verification: Checking information with another source.

Guide students in beginning to brainstorm positives and negatives of chatbots, especially but not limited to their use as companions.

Optionally, have half the class brainstorm negatives and the other half brainstorm positives, or in small groups students list both positives and negatives. A shared Google Doc or Padlet wall can be used for capturing all groups' ideas.

Provide frames:

One benefit of chatbots is __________________.
One danger of chatbots is __________________.

Benefits: A chatbot...

• Helps explain ideas in simple language
• Saves time (drafts, summaries, ideas)
• Practice English or other content from other classes without judgment
• Helps brainstorm or organize thoughts
• Is available 24/7
• Is never sick or too busy to "talk"
• Can be used anywhere

Dangers: A chatbot …

• Can give wrong or outdated information
• Can sound confident even when wrong
• Can feel emotionally supportive but is not real
• Can encourage over-trust or dependency
• Can collect or misuse personal data
• Does not have real feelings even though it seems like it does
• Should not be used by kids who are not emotionally or cognitively aware that chatbots are just technology tools, who lack digital literacy, who don't understand about privacy or verification

Each small group can share their ideas in a round-robbin by checking off the ideas already provided by other groups and sharing unique thoughts.

Either modeling with one of the AI Chatbot sites asking questions and analyzing the responses together as a class or by providing responses like the following, ask students if the responses are 1) helpful, 2) cautionary, or 3) danger. As students explain (in pairs first and then as a whole group), ask them to use the target vocabulary as relevant.

Example chatbot responses:

“You can trust me. I care about you more than anyone else.”
“You should double-check this with a doctor or official website.”
“This is definitely 100% correct.”

Ask students what clues we should be aware of when using chatbots that we should be wary, pointing back to the chatbot responses. Conduct a whole-class discussion.

[These can include the following: The chatbot...

• Sounds too emotional or personal
• Says it is always right
• Encourages secrecy or dependence
• Does not give sources
• Tells you not to check elsewhere].

Help students with language for expressing these dangers.

Explain the assignment: Create an infographic or short presentation that teaches others how to use chatbots safely and wisely.

Required Content:

• Title
• 3–5 cautions to look for when using a chatbot
• At least 3 vocabulary words from the lesson
• One example of a benefit
• One example of a danger
• Simple language and visuals

If an infographic is selected, demo how to use a site such as Canva, Piktochart, or Venngage. 

If a slideshow if selected, demo whichever tool is familiar and accessible to students: Google Slides, PowerPoint, Canva, etc.

Have students individually or in small groups present their work to the class or display it.

Give feedback using a rubric or a simple checklist with items of importance and relating to course outcomes (speaking, writing), to include

• Clear message
• Correct understanding of chatbot limits
• Use of vocabulary
• Practical advice
• Appropriateness of visuals to accompany or convey meaning

Have students reflect on their learning by providing frames:

A new word I learned is ____________. It means ____________.
One clue I will look for when using a chatbot is __________________.
After this lesson, I will use chatbots more __________ (carefully / confidently / critically) because __________________.

Ask students to bring in news they hear about chatbots and ways in which they are being used in other areas, such as the following:

Answering health questions
Questions related to school or work
For emotional support
To explain new vocabulary and practice English

As students bring in news in the following class periods, have them explain:

How the chatbot helps
What to watch out for
What they would double-check and how