Rochester, NY — January 13, 2026 — Backed by $400,000 in funding from Google.org, Genesee Valley BOCES is calling for a fundamental reset in how schools respond to artificial intelligence by arguing that the real challenge is not AI itself, but the systems education built long before it.
As part of its TeachingAbout.AI initiative, Genesee Valley BOCES convened
international education, technology, and assessment policy leaders in Rochester, New
York, December 3–6, 2025. The result of that convening is a new public-facing
document titled “The Rochester Provocations,” a set of eight statements designed to
provoke action and reframe the national conversation around AI in education.
Rather than focusing on AI tools, detection, or classroom bans, the provocations argue
that AI exposes long-standing weaknesses in education, particularly around
assessment, validity, and institutional trust.
“One of our core conclusions is deliberately uncomfortable: there is no AI problem,” said
Christopher Harris, Project Lead and Director of Libraries and Digital Learning
Services for Genesee Valley BOCES. “Education itself is the wicked problem. AI just
makes the cracks visible. Treating AI as something we can ‘solve’ misses the
opportunity to redesign learning for the world we’re actually in.”
Among the eight provocations:
There is no such thing as AI-proof. Attempts to design AI-resistant assignments,
assessments, or careers are meaningfully impossible given the pace and ubiquity of AI.
Our assesements were broken before AI. The rise of AI accelerates the need to
rethink grading, performance, and teacher preparation.
Avoidance of AI in education is not an option. Failure to engage with harm reduction
and systemic impacts risks compounding broader social and public-health challenges
tied to algorithmic systems.
The provocations are grounded in the idea that technological change is ecological, not
incremental. They begin with the idea that new technologies reshape entire systems in
ways that cannot be isolated or reversed. From this lens, AI is not an add-on to existing
educational models but a force that challenges assumptions about long-held
educational practices.
TeachingAbout.AI builds on the success of LibraryReady.AI, a nationally recognized
PreK–12 scope and sequence that positioned school libraries as key hubs for AI
readiness at the intersection of computer science, media literacy, and information
literacy. The new project shifts the focus upstream toward the conditions schools must
address before meaningful AI education can occur.
Outputs from the convening, including The Rochester Provocations, will inform future
public reports, professional learning resources, and open educational materials aimed
at helping educators, policymakers, and technologists navigate AI’s impact on
schooling. All materials are available on the project website at https://teachingabout.ai.