Ashe County divided on Big Tech’s growing influence

ASHE COUNTY — Mixed perceptions about artificial intelligence’s impacts are driving local conversations and attitudes about Big Tech, with residents' input and education leaders’ insights highlighting the benefits and consequences of long-term adoption.

Although no developer has announced plans to build a local data center, several residents have spoken out about construction in Ashe County and asked commissioners to enact moratoriums to deter future development.

Local and federal public office candidates, including Les Colvard and Chuck Hubbard, warned about data centers’ environmental impacts while campaigning in West Jefferson last month.

Still, Ashe County has also seen investment in artificial intelligence education. During a Sept. 15 visit to Mountain View Elementary School, first lady Melania Trump marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Helene and highlighted the school's focus on AI, robotics, and engineering. Trump also announced AI learning subscriptions for 1,500 Ashe County students and 100 robotics learning kits for district schools.

School officials have also weighed in about the growing prevalence of AI in the classroom.

County school board members have discussed AI’s impact on the classroom during policy discussions at previous meetings.

Education officials suspect that some students have used ChatGPT, an open-source artificial intelligence and language platform that generates human-like text from user prompts, to complete assignments. It has also emerged as a plagiarism tool for students forging essays.

“I’ve seen some written stuff that was, 'Oh my Lord.’ It sounds good, but there was no substance to it,” said Board Member Dianne Eldreth. “So, we’ve got to be careful that we give the students the critical skills first before we move too much into the AI, the creation part. I think it’s very important that we do that.”

Eldreth said she’s aware of seniors who flunked courses after using AI to write essays.

School officials said students should use AI as a learning tool, not a substitute.

A parent of a Blue Ridge Elementary School student also raised concerns with the Ashe County Board of Education on March 30 about a new mental health app that uses an AI chat tool.

Citing similar mobile device apps that have come under scrutiny, Dr. Natasha Pennington told the school board that she's worried that the Alongside mental health app could misdirect students to information on how to commit suicide or continue eating disorders.

Alongside is a youth-focused mental health app that offers help and tips for managing stress, anxiety, and depression, with continuous AI-assisted support through school partnerships, according to the company’s website.

Still, AI-usage statistics could add context about concerns.

Fewer working-age Ashe County residents use artificial intelligence for daily tasks, work, and education than residents in surrounding mountain counties and Piedmont communities, according to a Microsoft AI Economy Institute report.

While Watauga County leads the state in AI usage at 42.7%, aided by Appalachian State University and a consistent incubator for young working professionals, Ashe County sits near the bottom of the state at 18.5%. Avery County (18.6%) and Mitchell County (16.4%) also ranked near the bottom for AI usage, and Clay County had the lowest in the state at 13.5%, according to the report.

To measure AI adoption, Microsoft analyzed anonymous, aggregated data from its device ecosystem to observe when people engaged with AI services, without tracking the content of those interactions. Researchers then compared that activity with the total population of a given area to estimate the share of people using AI. Starting with a global view, the team narrowed the data to the national, state, and county levels, allowing them to compare adoption rates across communities.