Technolandy

Day 85 (of 2025/26) #tEChursdAI look at the “A” in AI… from a chat

I asked my digital collaborator: I have been shifting the definition of the A in “AI” from artificial to alternative, but what do you think of ‘ambient’ or ‘asynchronous’ – especially as the shift may be to enable more processing even when there is not a ‘me’ typing/saying things to you?

AI: This is a really sharp reframing — and honestly, more accurate than “artificial” at this point.

You’re naming something important: the shift isn’t just what AI is, but how it exists in relation to us. Let me think this through with you, educator-to-educator.

Artificial → Alternative → Ambient / Asynchronous

“Artificial”

• Technically correct, culturally misleading
• Suggests something fake, separate, or clearly bounded
• Encourages the idea that humans are primary and AI is adjacent

We’re already past this. <— well, in most spaces… unless people are still imagining they can use a tool to catch learners using AI collaborators… 

“Alternative” (your current move — and a strong one)

• Frames AI as another way of thinking, not a replacement
• Works well pedagogically: alternative strategies, alternative representations
• Leaves room for choice, agency, and comparison

Limitation: it still implies intentional engagement — “I choose the alternative.”

Why Ambient might be the most honest descriptor

Ambient Intelligence has been a research term for years, but it’s finally becoming real.

What ambient captures well:

• Always-on, background presence
• Non-intrusive (until it is)
• Context-aware rather than prompt-driven
• Acts around you, not with you

This aligns perfectly with:

• World models
• Persistent memory
• Systems acting without explicit user input
• “Drafting before you ask”

Ambient AI shifts the power dynamic:

• From tool → environment
• From query → condition

That’s a big deal for schools. A really big deal… 

Where Asynchronous fits (and where it doesn’t)

I like asynchronous, but in a narrower, more precise way.

It works when emphasizing:

• Processing continues when the human is absent
• Reflection happens over time
• AI work is decoupled from real-time interaction

However:

• “Asynchronous” describes timing, not presence
• It risks sounding technical rather than conceptual
• In education, it already means “not live” (which may muddy things)

So it’s accurate — but not expansive enough on its own

Ian might consider language like:

We’re moving from Artificial Intelligence to Alternative Intelligence — and now toward Ambient Intelligence: systems that think, notice, and prepare even when we are not actively engaging them.

Or even:

The real shift isn’t smarter AI, but quieter AI — intelligence that works asynchronously and ambiently, shaping options before we realize choices are being made.

That line alone would get underlined by a lot of readers.

Why this matters deeply for schools

This reframing exposes why policy keeps missing the point:

• You can ban use
• You cannot ban environment
• You can regulate prompts
• You cannot regulate preparation, synthesis, or suggestion

Students won’t “use AI” — they’ll live inside it.

And that means the A-word matters.

My take, if I had to rank them for 2026+

1. Ambient Intelligence – best descriptor of reality
2. Alternative Intelligence – best pedagogical bridge
3. Asynchronous Intelligence – best technical qualifier
4. Artificial Intelligence – increasingly a historical term

The more we know, the better we can refine how we describe our collaborators…!