Chapter 2: The Impact of AI Technology on Future Generations in the Workforce and the Role of Out-of-School time Providers

The out-of-school time (OST) community has a long history of embracing innovative practices and staying abreast of evolving trends throughout their years of dedicated work. Hence, the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and resources should come as no surprise. However, we are now witnessing the substantial impact that this new tool and its capabilities can have on the field. Youth are coming into programs with new technology, wanting to work on new projects, and professionals are racing to keep up.

As we delved into the development of this publication, the emergence of AI technology and tools started to make waves in news headlines and global discussions. In an incredibly short span of time, the discourse shifted from casual inquiries like, “Have you explored AI for creating meal plans? It’s fascinating to experiment with!” to a scenario where every virtual meeting starts with AI-assisted reading software and collaborative sharing of notes with action items when the meeting ends. This transformation prompted us to explore the notion of, “Let’s request ChatGPT to compose a chapter and see what insights it can offer to the OST community.”