From Dialogue to Disinformation: Rethinking AI’s Role in Education and Trust

Something unusual is happening in classrooms and newsrooms alike, we’re starting to ask not just what AI can do, but how it should do it. As artificial intelligence begins to shape the way we learn, teach, and consume information, it’s not speed or efficiency we need most, it’s reflection, discernment, and trust.

The future of AI in education, for instance, can’t be about typing answers faster. It must be about thinking deeper. Instead of turning AI into answer engines, we need to shape it into dialogue partners, ones that help learners stay curious, question assumptions, and explore ideas. This isn’t just a technical upgrade; it’s a cultural shift.

At the heart of this shift is what some call interactional intelligence: AI designed not to shortcut thought, but to stretch it. Whether through digital Socratic dialogues, value-sensitive prompts, or trust-building tools, these systems aim to make space for slower, more meaningful learning. We’ve seen promising steps in this direction, like Claude’s “Learning Mode,” but what we really need is an ecosystem, a collaborative culture of tools, educators, and students building AI literacy together, grounded in equity, autonomy, and mutual respect.

The Trust Crisis: Tim Davie’s Warning

This week, BBC Director-General Tim Davie put it bluntly: the UK faces a “trust crisis.” Speaking in Salford, he warned of the corrosive effect disinformation is having on democratic societies, especially as it floods social platforms unchecked. Deepfakes, fake headlines, and AI-generated deception are becoming disturbingly easy to produce and even harder to trace.

Davie didn’t just sound the alarm; he called for action. The BBC is expanding its reach on platforms like YouTube and TikTok to engage younger audiences, and it’s developing AI-powered tools for fact-checking, tools that merge the speed of machine intelligence with the integrity of public-interest journalism. Importantly, he emphasized editorial responsibility: even in an AI age, human judgment must remain at the core.

AI Against Disinformation: Teaching Trust

Here’s where education and media meet. If AI is going to play a meaningful role in fighting disinformation, it has to do more than flag falsehoods. It has to foster critical engagement. That starts in the classroom, with media literacy, yes, but also with AI literacy - understanding how systems work, what their limitations are, and how to question what they produce.

This is the premise of TITAN. We help individuals be more resilent against disinformation by not telling them that something is disinformation, rather we help them make that decision for themselves. At TITAN we believe we don’t just need better AI. We need better relationships with AI. That means building tools and curricula that slow things down, support real questioning, and even invite a little discomfort - the productive kind that helps us grow.

A Call to Co-Create

This isn’t a solo project. Educators, technologists, journalists, and students all have a role to play. Whether it’s developing transparent algorithms, curating reliable sources, or simply encouraging the habit of asking “why,” the work ahead requires cooperation.

We are standing at the intersection of two cultural frontiers: how we learn and how we trust. The way forward is not to automate more, but to think better, together.