Holding a lead, or the tail wagging the dog? Exploring educator influence over the behaviour of AI Digital Assistants

As GenAI tools become more pervasive in learning, the ways in which educators can influence the behaviour of these systems should be a focus for research and innovation. As part of designing and trialling an institutional AI digital assistant for study, we are exploring where and how educators’ technological, pedagogical and content expertise could be brought to bear in the way in which the assistant behaves. In this paper, we draw on feedback from 20 educators and education researchers who took part in a trial of a prototype of the system and reflect on the process of designing the system to be embedded into the study of online courses. We highlight six methods through which educators can exert influence over the behaviour of such assistants and reflect on the alignment, possibilities and limitations of these to meet educator goals. This contributes to opening up a space for educators to think strategically and creatively about teaching with AI.