Our Official Stance on AI

As we wade through truly remarkable times and the ongoing advent of technologies available at the disposal of regular people, it becomes imperative that we carefully consider impact when choosing which technologies to embrace and which to reject.

Each of us, as individuals and as members of the larger web of all living things, have responsibilities to the groups we join, the people we teach, and the greater collective of beings and forces that create this planet and plane we call home.

As herbalists, I believe our first and foremost objective should be stewardship of our planet before we ever take the step to harvest or use a plant for the medicine it can provide. As much as we are able, we should be minimizing the detrimental impacts to the Earth through the choices we make. We should be gatekeeping wild gardens and using incredible discretion in our instruction. We should be teaching our students to connect, to harvest with the utmost respect and conservatism, to approach our craft with a love for Earth that will ripple out into the healing experiences of their future clients.

After giving significant contemplation to the longterm impacts of Artificial Intelligence on our Earth, our societies, and ourselves, I have made the decision to enforce a strict No AI policy for the creation of courses, marketing materials, social media, and anything related to the operation and representation of our school and our instructors to the general public.

There is absolutely no judgment here if you use AI. I have used it, sometimes accidentally and sometimes intentionally. Almost every platform online has removed our choice when it comes to AI. It is nearly impossible to have your resume reviewed by a mainstream employer without using a chat bot to create something another bot will find “acceptable.” I have used AI for advice on how to overcome my fear of social media and other things. I’ve always had hesitation about AI but being a human I also have had experiences where I sought relief or answers where I struggled, and quickly, and AI was there - albeit briefly and only to its natural limit.

Many folks are using AI creatively, or to help get themselves unstuck, or to generate ideas that will meet the expectations of the masses. And I understand it. It’s a technology with massive potential for being a tool worth using, but for now it is so resource depleting that it is unethical. In addition to the ecological issues with AI, AI generated content is obviously AI generated - and that damages our reputation.

As a school focused on celebrating the natural, the human, and the divine, using artificial intelligence to do the work reinforces the dangerous ideology of productivity at all costs. Work is supposed to take time, and I refuse to contribute to a system that demands more than what a human is capable in the name of profit and/or outreach.

I want us as a school to teach our students to rest, to reflect, to go within. Most people who come to us as their teachers or clinicians arrive with severe burnout, anxiety, and sleep deprivation. Our purpose is to guide them toward rest, recovery, and reflection, ultimately leading to healing. We teach by example and our work influences those we reach. If we use AI in our work, the example that we demonstrate is one that does not consider impact on Earth or the human need to create, to rest, and to slow down.

Here's what this means for our instructors and students.

Effective August 31, the use of AI in the creation of course materials (handouts, notes, outlines, syllabi, course descriptions, images) is strictly prohibited. AI is not to be consulted for ideas, themes, editing, outlining, etc. **The only exception to this is if you are making a comparison to show the inherent detriment/lack in AI when compared to actual trained human knowledge. Dr. Nishek will be teaching a course like this in the near future that is extremely relevant to this time.

If AI has been used to create any aspect of a course that will be held on or after September 1 2026, the content/course description will need to be revised  by August 31.

Any instructor bios created with the assistance of AI will need to be re-written by August 31.

The use of AI in instructor made social posts, fliers, articles, or any published content referring to or mentioning Herbal Wisdom Institute is prohibited. 

Our applications for instructors, student teachers, apprentices, and students will all have a strict no AI policy.

Student work will have a strict no AI policy, which will be provided to current students in the next few days. Students found to use AI in their assignments will be given one opportunity to discontinue use in the remainder of their course. If the student does not comply, they will be removed from enrollment without refund.

This was not an easy decision to make, but I feel strongly that because we CAN make this change in at least one small part of our lives, we should. I had to dig deep and accept that my personal love of advancing technology should not outweigh what my soul feels is right for our school, our planet, and our people.

Again, I want to reiterate that there is no judgment against anyone who has used AI for any reason. Let's just change it going forward, together.

This is a time for us to create new systems using our human genius. It is how we will separate from the powers that be in a force of creative human potential. Together we CAN find ways to support each other when we need assistance creating images, proofreading, or preparing course content.

Our humanity is how we will forge ahead.