Teachers in Transition – Episode 259: I, Robot and the Wolves We Feed: AI, Ethics, and Career Reinvention

What can a 2004 sci-fi film teach us about modern AI—and our careers? In this episode, Vanessa Jackson breaks down I, Robot, explores the Two Wolves metaphor, and reveals how teachers can use AI ethically to reclaim time, clarity, and direction offering real-life ways to work with AI instead of fearing it.

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The transcript to this podcast is found on the episode’s homepage at Buzzspout

Transcript

Hi, and welcome back to another episode of Teachers in Transition! I'm Vanessa Jackson I spent over two decades in the classroom teaching in Texas and Alaska, left teaching to go work in the staffing industry for a Fortune 500 company, and now I work for teachers.  I help teachers transition to new careers and toxic situations of work that doesn’t drain their soul. I’m spending the summer framing my message surrounding wellness and career transition through the lens of some of my favorite things: movies.  Since my mobility has been significantly limited (thank to one of those little foot boots), I have been comforting myself with Science Fiction.  One thought let to about fifteen others, and with AI being such an increasing presence, I thought it would be perfect to talk about I, Robot this week.  This movie was released in 2004 by 20th Century Fox and Stars Will Smith and Bridgit Moynihan.  The title character is voiced by the brilliant Alan Tudyk – who did actually provide also the motion caption before that was common place.  Alan Tudyk is one of my favorite actors ever, and no doubt he’ll pop up in a few more of these movie-based episodes before summer is out, but for the moment, I will refrain from turning this into a Alan-Tudyk appreciation episode, althought I could do that.

 I, Robot, was inspired by the stories of Isaac Asimov and this masterpiece of a screenplay was written by Jeff Vintar.  The director, Alex Proyas, had to fight hard to keep the classic science fiction framework intact – studio executives kept wanted into inject more humor and jokes. It cost him – there’s a reason you probably don’t know the director’s name – he hasn’t’ been given the opportunity to do a much in the way of big budget films after I, Robot.  If you're someone who's feeling wary about this whole AI thing. if you're overwhelmed, unsure, or maybe even a little creeped out by how fast it's all moving – this episode is for you.

We’re going to unpack what AI really is, what it isn’t, and how you can use it ethically and strategically to help you move forward in your career.

Because spoiler alert: you're not a robot. And the tools you choose to use should serve your humanity, not replace it.

Let’s dig in.

So I, Robot is set in 2035, in a world where robots are as common as smartphones. They’re everywhere—delivering packages, walking dogs, and serving humans under a strict set of ethical codes called the Three Laws of Robotics, first imagined by science fiction author Isaac Asimov. These laws are supposed to make the robots safe and obedient. Here they are:

1. A robot may not harm a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given by humans, unless it conflicts with the first law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as it doesn’t conflict with the first two laws.

And as a bit of a side note, Isaac Asimov added a Zeroth law to precede the other three that said: A robot may not harm humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

These seem airtight, right? And yet...

The whole plot of the movie hinges on the fact that a robot appears to have broken the first law. A prominent scientist is found dead, and the evidence seems to point to a robot named Sonny. Will Smith’s character, Detective Del Spooner, already doesn’t trust robots. He has a gut feeling they’re dangerous. And over the course of the film, we learn that even rules designed to prevent harm can backfire when applied too literally or too broadly.

Without spoiling too much, let me say this: the movie isn't just about machines going rogue. It's about what happens when we outsource our moral judgment to systems that we think are "neutral."

It’s also about trauma, bias, and the limits of logic when it comes to being human.

And if that doesn’t describe the current conversation around AI, I don’t know what does.

So,I am going to shift now to something a little more metaphorical, but just as relevant.

You might have heard the old Native American story about the two wolves. A grandfather tells his grandson, "Inside every person, there are two wolves in constant battle. One is evil—it is anger, envy, greed, arrogance, and fear. The other is good—it is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, compassion, and truth."

The grandson thinks for a moment and asks, "Which one wins?"

The grandfather replies, "The one you feed."

Now, I want you to think about AI like one of those wolves.

Right now, we are collectively feeding both. We're training AI models on the best and worst of humanity. On data sets that include both brilliant ideas and deeply harmful biases. We're letting it write poems and code vaccines—but we're also seeing deepfakes, phishing scams, and manipulation campaigns.

AI, like those wolves, is being shaped by what we feed it. And just like in the story, the outcome isn’t inevitable. It depends on our choices.

You have a say. You get to decide whether the tools you use reinforce fear and burnout or clarity and courage.

And that brings us to today’s most important truth: AI is not a monster. It’s just a mirror.

It reflects the intentions of the people who build it and the people who use it.

So let’s talk about how you can use it ethically in your job search and career reinvention.

I want to start with the fact that a lot of teachers I talk to are skeptical of AI. And I get it. I’ve heard things like It’s creepy, and it’s cheating.

You already feel like you’re being watched, evaluated, and automated in the classroom with scripted lessons that aren’t very good. The idea that now your job search should be handled by a robot? I can see where that would not land well.

But let me reframe this for you: AI is simply a tool.  You are still the driver. You are the human at the center of things.  AI is a very good tool. 

If you are still in the classroom, and you are looking for ways to spend less time on the nonsense, AI can do that too.
 
 Here’s an example: 
 
 In my last year of teaching the lesson plans had gotten insane.  I can’t imagine that they’re any better now. Planning your lesson is important – no argument there – but after over two decades in the classroom, I had a very good idea how my classes needed to go and how to set up for them. My administration had a different plan.  We had a lesson plan template format that we had to fill out and post in a folder that parents could access.  Initially they wanted it in placed, like,  7 days before it launched, but eventually they agreed that they just needed to be there before the week started.  They were practically scripted and included things like  “anticipate possible questions learners will have and provide those questions and answers here.”  I have blocked much of it from my memory.   I spent HOURS on that every week and it had NOTHING to do with the rehearsal plan required for my classes.  I had to do that with more time. 
 
 In an era of AI, I can now create an automation through a custom GPT that would generate those useless plans in under a minute based on official state standards and the written goals and parameters provided.  Then another few moments formatting and  BOOM! It’s done!  
 
 Think about other tasks that are time-consuming and soul-sucking with no real function other than someone’s power trip via paperwork.  Chances are those can be automated.  That can either make teaching easier so you can stay a little longer if that is what you want or need.  OR it can create space in your week so that you can focus on your exit strategy from the classroom. 

And used wisely, AI can do a lot to make your transition easier.

So here are some ethical, intentional ways to work with AI:

Analyze a Job Posting for Keywords
Copy/paste a job description  (or more!) into a tool like ChatGPT and ask: "What are the key skills, experiences, and qualifications this role emphasizes?"
This saves you time and helps you tailor your resume more effectively.

Translate Teaching Skills Into Business Language
AI can help bridge that language gap between education and corporate speak.  Those are two very different languages. You can say, "Help me rephrase this classroom management bullet point for a project coordinator role."

Draft a Cover Letter
Start with a rough prompt: "Write a friendly and professional cover letter for a former middle school teacher applying to an instructional design position." Then you tweak it to sound more like you.

Or, you can take the long way around – take the cover letter you’ve written and feed it to AI and ask it to provide feedback to improve your odds of making a positive impression. 

Identify Skills Gaps and Recommend Learning Paths
AI can suggest certifications or free courses - or low cost courses -based on your target role. You don’t have to guess what to learn next.

Practice Interview Questions
Ask AI to role-play as a recruiter and run a mock interview. You’ll get practice answering common questions and receive feedback you can improve on.
 
AI can scrape the internet in a very short period of time and do a lot of your research work.  Ask for links and verify the sources because AI can hallucinate answers. 

But let’s be clear: This isn’t magic. Just like in I, Robot, rules can only take you so far. The tools won’t make the decision for you. They won’t tell you your worth. And they sure as heck won’t know your story unless you teach them how to reflect it.

If you feed fear into your prompts, you’ll get fear-based answers. If you feed your curiosity, creativity, and values into the process, you’ll get some powerful insights back.

That’s why AI is not your replacement. It’s your assistant.

You are still the strategist.
 You are still the storyteller.
 You are still the one who gets to say: this is who I am, and this is what I stand for.

Let’s go back to the movie for a moment.

One of the most powerful scenes in the movie is when the robot Sonny asks Spooner, "Can a robot write a symphony? Can a robot turn a canvas into a masterpiece?"

Spooner snaps back: "Can you?"

And Sonny quietly answers, "Not yet."

The point isn’t fear. The point is responsibility.

We’re the ones holding the paintbrush. The ones writing the next scene. And if we want AI to support justice, creativity, and human dignity, we have to feed those wolves first.

Because ultimately, AI will take the shape of the people who teach it. And your courage, your ethics, your integrity - those are the things that no machine can ever replicate.  And teachers are some of the most ethical people I know.  We are absolutely the ones who need to be shaping where this is heading. 

So remember: whether you’re navigating burnout, building a resume, or questioning your next step:

You’ve always brought humanity, creativity, and care to your work  and no tool can replace that. AI can support your journey, but the direction, the vision, and the values? Those still come from you

If you’re feeling unsure about what comes next — whether you want to stay in the classroom, find a different role in education, or make a complete career shift — I invite you to check out my DECIDE workshop. It’s designed specifically for teachers who are on the fence and need a safe, supportive space to explore whether staying or leaving is the best plan.

This is the first step in a bigger journey — and while the other courses in my transition series speak to the more active components of job search and career transition, DECIDE is ready for you right now. If you're tired of spinning your wheels, and you’re ready to get clarity, this is your sign.

And if you’re ready to go further, or just want to talk through where you are? I’d love to hear from you. You can always book a free 20-minute discovery call with me — no pressure, no strings.

The tools are here. The support is here. Now’s the time to take the next step — on your terms.

And I’m just talking about the AI aspects of the movie I, Robot.  I could talk a great deal about how Del Spooner’s experiences with the robots have created trauma and it deeply embeds into everything that he does and I can draw an allegory to that about classroom experiences and teachers, but we don’t have all day to sit here and have sci-fi chit cha t with me.  It’s summer. You need to go out and enjoy that.

Meanwhile, if you’re just looking for some more wonderful sci-fi to binge during the summer months, I’d like to recommend not just I, Robot; I’d also like to recommend the series on Hulu called The Orville.  The Orville is a sci-fi show that is written and directed by Seth MacFarland who you probably know from Family Guy and The American Dad -not necessarily my band of humor.  But I do love sci-fi so when it came out I thought it was just going to be some sci-fi parody of Star Trek.  And I think maybe it start  off that way, but it three seasons, and it turns into some of the most amazing sci-fi that I could think of and it’s still enjoyable throughout the entirety of the series.  Highly recommend!  It’s on Hulu, go check it out. 

That’s the podcast for today! If you liked this podcast, tell a friend, and don’t forget to rate and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. Tune in weekly to Teachers in Transition where we discuss Job Search strategies as well as stress management techniques.  And I want to hear from you!  Please reach out and leave me a message at Vanessa@Teachersintransition.com  You can also leave a voicemail or text at 512-640-9099. 

I’ll see you here again next week and remember – YOU are amazing!