Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Report authored at UNC Charlotte. As has become popular recently, the paper differentiates AI literacy, AI fluency, and AI competency. And it stresses four 'pillars' of comprehensive AI literacy: "understanding the scope and technical dimensions of AI, knowing how to interact with (Generative) AI technologies, being able to apply principles of critical, ethical, and responsible AI usage, and analyzing the implications of AI on society" (ironically whatever algo they were using spelled 'usage' as 'U.S.A.ge'). The authors stress the fourth pillar, arguing for "a systemic shift toward comprehensive AI literacy that centers human agency - the empowered capacity for intentional, critical, and responsible choice." Agency requires some preconditions: "True literacy involves teaching about agency itself, framing technology not as an inevitability to be adopted, but as a choice to be made. This requires a deep commitment to critical thinking and a robust understanding of epistemology." There's an image but my image uploader is broken today.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Feb 20, 2026 4:54 p.m.

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