Two Hawaii Island high school students will be representing the state at the inaugural Leadership and Innovation Fellowship at America’s Youth AI Festival, a three-day program focused on artificial intelligence in education.

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Two Hawaii Island high school students will be representing the state at the inaugural Leadership and Innovation Fellowship at America’s Youth AI Festival, a three-day program focused on artificial intelligence in education.

Wehiwaalani Gapero, 17, a senior at Kamehameha Schools Hawaii, and Kendall Terao-Toma, 15, a sophomore at Hilo High School, will join other student senators — two from each state — in Boston this weekend to participate in a legislative simulation to create national policy regarding AI use in K-12 education, along with other AI-related events.

Terao-Toma said that he hopes to contribute unique insights to the conversation as a representative of Hawaii.

“Hawaii is obviously isolated from the rest of the United States, which gives us a more of a different perspective,” he said. “I wanted to represent our state and be a voice for us, to make sure that our voices and diversity is represented at the national level.”

Gapero echoed that sentiment and said that she believes it is important to include student voices in the development of AI policy, and especially important to take a values-focused approach to legislation.

“As a Kanaka ‘Oiwi, I also believe that we must consider AI’s environmental impact,” she said. “In Hawaii, we often say that water is life, and I think caring for our water and our ‘aina is the responsibility that we owe to our future generations. So for me, the goal is to approach AI kind of with a balance and embracing its benefits while staying grounded in our values.”

Both students said they have used AI for school.

“Some of the ways I use it are to brainstorm ideas, quiz myself to help me study or help me understand complex topics, because it can really break it down to a way you understand it,” Terao-Toma said. “Overall, I really use it as more of a tutor.”

But they also both said they support limits and guidelines on the ways in which it is utilized by students.

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“I think that AI should be used to support learning rather than replace it, and I feel like it can help students access information, you know, gain that extra support and help them explore new ideas,” Gapero said. “But at the same time, I feel like students should learn how to question what they see and recognize bias and make thoughtful and responsible choices when using AI.”

They said that neither of their schools currently have a comprehensive AI policy and that regulation of the technology is primarily left up to teachers. Both agreed they would like to see more AI-focused education in classrooms.

“I would like to see policies that focus around transparency, AI literacy, and also responsible use,” Gapero said. “Students should be able to understand when and how AI can be used, and I feel like schools should teach students what AI is and how to use it ethically. And I also believe that students should be able to use AI for support, but it should not replace their own work and thinking.”

She and Terao-Toma have been working to prepare for the fellowship with Hawaii education leader for the program Keolu Kailikea, who will accompany them to Boston.

“I’m really stoked to be a part of this upcoming student senate on AI policy,” Terao-Toma said. “Just knowing that I’ll be able to contribute to something that will change the future of education is truly an honor, and I’m so grateful I have this opportunity, and I’m really excited to just network and collaborate with other senators from across the nation.”

The policy that student senators come up with will be shared with a network of 10,000-plus school leaders.

The fellowship and associated events are being organized by AASA, the School Superintendents Association in partnership with Day of AI and MIT RAISE, part of the MIT Media Lab.

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Email Grace Inez Adasm at [email protected].