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House Bill 1859 bars community colleges from replacing faculty
with AI, though teachers may still use AI tools. Gov. J.B.
Pritzker signed the measure Aug. 15.
“AI is a tool, not a teacher,” said state Sen. Mike Porfirio,
D-Lyons Township. “Illinois must stay proactive when it comes to
cutting-edge technology. This measure would protect the jobs of
our teachers, and secure a legitimate education for our
students.”
State Rep. Paul Jacobs, R-Pomona, opposed the bill, calling it
too vague to work.
“It doesn’t really define AI. Anybody can put anything they want
in there,” Jacobs told The Center Square. “It’s just so
ambiguous … It’s going to stifle any kind of creativity.”
Jacobs warned that the speed of technological change will make
Illinois’ restrictions unworkable.
“How do you pay for compliance? Are we going to have AI cops out
there? You can’t enforce it. It’s just a very poorly written
bill. Enforcement is ridiculous, you just can’t do it,” said
Jacobs. “And as fast as AI is moving, this law will only make
sure Illinois falls behind, which is pretty typical for our
state when something promising comes along.”
Jacobs, who serves on the House Appropriations-Higher Education
Committee, suggested AI could provide more affordable learning
options for students if used carefully.
“Some classes can be taught with AI easily. Some people are able
to learn that way. Others need the attention of the professor,”
he said.
Jacobs, who also works in the medical field, pointed out that
forms of AI are already being used in everyday professional
settings, including health care.
“If you can define certain parts of AI to control, that might
work. In my practice we already use lower-level AI in equipment
that suggests diagnoses for glaucoma or tumors, but we mostly
ignore it and do it ourselves,” Jacobs said. “AI will keep
advancing, and while some might want to replace doctors with it,
that’s something we have to guard against. The definition in
this law just isn’t sufficient.”
A 2023 study by RAND Education and Labor found that roughly 25%
of teachers already use AI tools in the classroom, and
universities across the country, including Harvard, have
experimented with AI teaching assistants.
Jacobs said Illinois should focus on defining how AI can be used
instead of restricting it outright.
“They used to have programs where you taught yourself from a
book, then tested when ready. I could see AI working the same
way in college classes,” said Jacobs. “But professors and unions
will fight it, no matter how beneficial it might be. It’s like
the horse-and-buggy days when the car came along. Change is
coming, but we still need to balance it with the personal touch
in education.”
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