Week 5 – Wait…Was that AI?

The Beginning of the End

I feel that I very clearly expressed my opinions and thoughts regarding the use of AI in education last week, in what I had thought may be the last blog post of the term. But it was only the beginning to the end, and today we are going to continue closing up EDCI 338 with another, more analytical piece about AI in Canada, using policy-based sources and some more general personal thoughts.

The irony of this title is that some do believe that the increased use of AI is the beginning to our end…

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Risks and Opportunities of AI

Canada’s new AI for All strategy recognizes the opportunities AI provides citizens in Canada and plans to create a National AI Literacy Initiative, reaching one million entry-level post-secondary students and providing AI learning kits to more than 3,000 educators, as well as educating the general public through community intiatives and workshops (Prime Minister of Canada, 2026).

However, AI also increases risks such as misinformation, deepfakes, biased information, privacy concerns, and overreliance on technology. MediaSmarts (2025) reports that two-thirds of Canadians encountered AI-generated misinformation multiple times in the previous year, and another 74% of Canadians are concerned about misinformation produced through generative AI.

This concerns me as an educator because many students may not always recognize when information is misleading or completely fabricated. As AI is becoming more advanced it’s getting more difficult to notice its flaws, and young students especially are at risk of falling for misinformation. Students will use AI whether we tell them to or not, so I think we need to more importantly teach them to question it. I do not believe that AI should support students’ thinking, because problem-solving and critical thinking is best built from experiential learning, however, the risks for AI do provide a space for students to develop the skills to recognize the credibility of information.

There are also consequences beyond the classroom. Gilmore (2026) raises concerns about the environmental impact of Canada’s growing AI infrastructure, particularly the large amounts of electricity and water required by data centres. The government of Canada failed to mention any climate change related concerns regarding AI in its statements and has been loosely avoiding its environmental checks in data centre affected areas This is a reminder that digital citizenship should involve more than asking whether AI is useful. Students should also consider who benefits from technology, is it equitable and equally accessible, how their data is being used, and what environmental or social consequences technology may have now and in the future.

Media Literacy and AI Misinformation

Media literacy is especially important because AI is making misinformation more convincing. Images, videos, voices, and written information can now be generated or manipulated to appear real and espeically human-like. MediaSmarts (2025) “Wait… What?” campaign encourages Canadians to pause, verify information, recognize bias, and think before sharing. I think this can act as a simple but powerful lesson for students. Social media encourages us to scroll and react quickly, while media literacy asks us to do the opposite.

Students should learn to ask: Who created this? What evidence supports it? Why am I seeing it? Is it trying to make me angry or afraid? Can I verify it somewhere else?

These skills are also important when encountering extremist or radicalizing content. AI can make persuasive misinformation easier to produce, while social media can repeatedly expose users to those same narratives. This has already been seen in the use of modern propaganda, and in extreme red-pill content. Media literacy can teach students to recognize emotional manipulation, conspiracy theories, scapegoating, bias, and “us versus them” narratives before accepting or sharing them.

Is Canada Doing Enough?

Canada is beginning to address these issues, but I think there is still more work to do. The AI for All strategy proposes stronger protections for personal information, greater AI transparency, an online-safety regime, and expanded AI literacy education (Prime Minister of Canada, 2026). The government describes responsible AI adoption as requiring Canadians to have confidence that AI is developed and used “safely, transparently, and in ways that reflect our values” (Prime Minister of Canada, 2026).

MediaSmarts is also supporting educators and students through Media Literacy Week and AI-focused resources. Its 2025 campaign emphasized that critical media literacy is necessary for Canadians to determine what information they can trust online (MediaSmarts, 2025).

While these are positive steps, policies and curricula need to continually change alongside AI. As AI becomes more advanced, students will need practical opportunities to identify misinformation rather than simply being told that misinformation exists.

On the environmental side, Canada has failed to address the true concerns for the land we live on. If reservations and rural communities still lack clean running water, why are we funding projects that may take away more of our basic needs and resources and further the problems of clean water scarcity? For a country that prides itself on its nature, and beautiful landscapes, I feel extremely disappointed to see that we are pushing aside our policies to protect it in the name of money and technological development – which is not a basic need for human survival the way that the Earth is. #thereisnoPlanetB

AI-Amplified Misinformation on Canadian Social Media

An example I have noticed online is the growing presence of AI-generated political images, videos, and posts. A realistic-looking video could make it appear that a Canadian politician said something they never actually said or may create deepfake sexual content of public figures affecting both their personal and professional lives. Someone may watch a short clip on TikTok, Instagram, or another platform, become angry, and share it before checking whether it is authentic, and this has proved true in many situations today.

In a recent CTV article, it was noted that nearly 9 in 10 Canadians turn to AI for health concerns and help (Marfo, 2026). Some of the health advice we may be given online from who we think are doctors, are also just AI “influencers” disguised as medical professionals. A professor of law and public health at the University of Alberta noted that even his physician wife was fooled by an AI-generated video giving advice about thyroid problems (Marfo, 2026). I have even fallen for health advice from what ends up being an AI-generated doctor and a product or false claim they are trying to sell, and it is quite scary. Our public health sector needs to be supported and their voices should be amplified before we accept AI solutions and fake doctor influencers. The results of following advice from AI-generation can be detrimental if we do not check the sources and credibility with real-life professionals.

This could influence public opinion because misinformation often produces an emotional response before someone has time to question it. MediaSmarts (2025) demonstrates how widespread this problem has become, reporting that two-thirds of Canadians have encountered AI-generated misinformation multiple times. For me, this reinforces the important lesson that: seeing something is no longer enough evidence to believe it.

A Media Literacy Lesson: Pause, Investigate, Verify

If I were developing a media literacy lesson for students, I would call it “Pause, Investigate, Verify.” Students would examine several realistic social media posts, including legitimate information, misleading headlines, AI-generated images, and manipulated content. I may even include some vidoes created by MediaSmarts, such as the house hippo.

Students would then follow three steps:

1. Pause: What emotional response is this content trying to create?
2. Investigate: Who created it? What evidence is provided? Could AI have generated or altered it?
3. Verify: Can the claim be confirmed through multiple credible sources?

Students would then learn which examples were authentic and reflect on which ones they initially believed. This connects directly to MediaSmarts’ (2025) “Wait… What?” campaign because the goal is to develop the habit of questioning information before believing or sharing it. This is also similar to media literacy workshops I took part in as a elementary school student where I learned about reliable sources and what can or cannot be considered credible for school assignments and in life.

Privacy and Student Data

Privacy is another important part of AI literacy. In Canada, PIPEDA establishes rules surrounding how private-sector organizations collect, use, and disclose personal information. However, introducing third-party AI tools into education raises additional questions about what happens to student information.

As an educator, I think we need to ask: Is collecting this information actually necessary for learning? Is the platform protecting student information? Does the platform have ties to other companies with history of using user data related to students/children? Do students or their parents understand what they are agreeing to? What are the possible reasons for the need of collecting student data?

Canada’s new AI strategy recognizes these concerns and proposes strengthening protections for Canadians’ personal information while improving transparency around AI systems (Prime Minister of Canada, 2026). This makes me think more carefully about introducing AI tools into my future classroom, and especially with younger students. A tool being convenient or engaging does not automatically make it appropriate for students, especially not children. My main priority as a teacher is holistic learning, and providing safety for students, and for me, it seems that AI is not at the standard for me to implement it into my future classroom.

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References

CBC News. (2026, June 4). Carney launches new national artificial intelligence strategy.https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/carney-ai-strategy-9.7223236?utm_source=chatgpt.com

CTV News. (2025). AI health misinformation is getting harder to spot, and Canadians are falling for it, expert warns. CTV News. https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/ai-health-misinformation-is-getting-harder-to-spot-and-canadians-are-falling-for-it-expert-warns/

Gilmore, R. (2026, June 4). Carney has AI strategy for ‘all’ (unless you care about climate change or don’t like data centres). Substack.https://rachelgilmore.substack.com/p/carney-has-ai-strategy-for-all-unless

Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. (2026). Canada’s national artificial intelligence strategy: AI for All. Government of Canada.https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/ised/en/canadas-national-artificial-intelligence-strategy-ai-all?utm_source=chatgpt.com

MediaSmarts. (2025, October 27). “Wait… What?” Media Literacy Week highlights growing concern over AI-driven misinformation.https://mediasmarts.ca/about-us/press-centre/wait-what-media-literacy-week-highlights-growing-concern-over-ai-driven-misinformation

Prime Minister of Canada. (2026, June 4). Prime Minister Carney launches AI for All: Canada’s new national artificial intelligence strategy. Government of Canada.https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2026/06/04/prime-minister-carney-launches-ai-all-canadas-new-national-artificial