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Thought Experiments · For Educators

Adult Dilemmas, Practical Decisions

The AI policy in your classroom is a values statement. So is the absence of one. These experiments are designed for staff meetings, leadership retreats, and the conversation you wish you'd had before the vendor demo. Start with a flagship, or browse the bank below for a specific dilemma you're already living.

Four original interactive experiments — multi-stage scenarios designed for the questions educators face right now: about authorship, about test scores vs. critical thinking, about AI proxies, about what mastery means. Each one takes 5–15 minutes and ends with a discussion guide for your school.

The Shortcut

If you could bypass the entire process of learning and arrive at mastery instantly — should you?

Flagship→

The AI Authorship Quandary

Same essay. Same AI. Four people. Four completely different truths.

Flagship→

The Reluctant Educator

When test scores and critical thinking pull in opposite directions — make the call.

Flagship→

The Digital Doppelgänger

A five-act semester. Voice clones. AI proxies. Who was educated?

Flagship→
Browse the bank
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

Plato's Cave

What if everything you know is shadows on a wall?

KnowledgeEducation→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

Mary's Room

Mary knows every fact about color. So does Riya. So does an AI. Does any of them know red?

MindKnowledge→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Chinese Room

If a system speaks fluently but no part understands — does it understand?

MindAI Ethics→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Experience Machine

A perfect simulated life is offered to you. Plug in?

AuthenticityEthics→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Ring of Gyges

If you could never be caught, would you still be just?

EthicsMoral Psychology→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

A perfect city. One suffering child holds it all together.

EthicsJustice→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Drowning Child

You'd save a child in a pond. So why not a child across the world?

EthicsJustice→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The Paperclip Maximizer

An AI is told to make paperclips. It's very, very good at its job.

AI EthicsEthics→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

The AI in the Box

A super-intelligent AI is contained. You're the gatekeeper. It wants out.

AI Ethics→
NEW
9–12Educator PD📄 Kit

Are We in a Simulation?

If civilizations build many simulations, you're probably in one.

KnowledgeMind→
NEW
Educator PD📄 Kit

Surveillance vs. Privacy

Your district considers AI that scans every student message for self-harm signals.

AI EthicsPrivacy→
NEW
Educator PD📄 Kit

The False-Positive AI

An AI flags a student for cheating. The student insists it's their own work.

AI EthicsFairness→
NEW
Educator PD📄 Kit

Designing Your Classroom AI Policy

What rules will govern AI in YOUR classroom this year?

AI EthicsEducation→
NEW
Educator PD📄 Kit

Should AI Grade My Students?

An AI tool offers to grade essays in seconds. Your prep period vanishes — or does it?

AI EthicsEducation→
NEW
Educator PD📄 Kit

The Admissions Algorithm

An AI helps your school admit students. Patterns emerge.

FairnessAI Ethics→
NEW
Educator PD📄 Kit

Should I Worry About My Student's AI Friend?

Your student tells you their best friend is an AI chatbot.

MindAI Ethics→

Continue Exploring

Hub & explainer

What thought experiments are, why they matter

K–5

Grade-by-grade stories

6–8

Story-based dilemmas

9–12

The philosophical canon

Dialogue Toolkit

Norms, protocols, decision tree