The Wonka-Lantern Framework: Creative & Ethical AI in Higher Education

Hey everyone! Dr. Norma Jones here, and welcome back to The Tinker Lab series for the Innovating Higher Ed podcast. Today, I have something whimsical, thought-provoking, and yes, slightly out there. But trust me, it works. We’re talking about AI in higher education by channeling the energy of two wildly different pop culture icons: Willy Wonka and the Green Lantern.
Now, I get it—this sounds more like the start of a comic book crossover than an academic discussion. But hang in there, because these two characters capture something profound about the future of AI in higher ed. And more importantly, they help us imagine that future with excitement and purpose.

Let’s start with Willy Wonka. His existence is built on imagination. He’s eccentric, yes, but also a genius of invention. His chocolate factory isn’t just a place, it’s a fully immersive world of innovation. Including Waterfalls mixing chocolate, fizzy lifting drinks, three-course-meal chewing gum, it’s absurd, it’s excessive, and it’s brilliant. Now, think of AI as our version of that chocolate factory. It offers us tools and systems that can turn the traditional into the transformational. It’s not just streamlining processes; it’s reimagining what’s possible.
And historically, education has had its Wonka moments. Remember when television became educational? Sesame Street wasn’t just another television show, it was a complete rethinking of how kids could learn through television, music, animation, and story. Reading Rainbow, with LeVar Burton at the helm, helped generations of kids fall in love with reading. Its mix of imagination, curiosity, and representation still holds up and still matters. Schoolhouse Rock made learning fun, songs like “Conjunction Junction” and “I’m Just a Bill” taught grammar, civics, and math in ways that stuck. It’s a great example of how creativity and repetition can turn hard concepts into lifelong knowledge.
These were not just programming. They gave students the keys to a creative kingdom. Every time a new technology has entered the classroom, there’s been a sense of wonder, an opportunity to do things differently, to question the molds we’ve been using. That’s the Wonka mindset.
But as anyone who’s watched or read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory knows, not everyone who walks into the chocolate factory makes it out unscathed. Wonka’s world has rules and pitfalls. And that’s where the Green Lantern comes in.
Now, if you’re not a comic book fan, let me fill you in. The Green Lanterns wield a ring that gives them the power to create anything they can imagine, constructs of pure willpower. But there’s a catch: it only works if their intentions are clear and their will is strong. If they waver? The ring fails. And, if their values are corrupt? The ring reflects that, too.

AI is like that ring. It amplifies our goals our values, and our biases. It has , the potential to empower us in amazing ways, but it can also go very wrong if we’re not intentional. That’s why imagination isn’t enough. We need willpower. We need ethics. We need the kind of moral clarity the the Green Lantern’s live by.
So let’s bring these two together. Imagine teaching a speech course where instead of assigning a generic persuasive topic, you and your students use AI to generate dozens of prompts based on speeches from civil rights leaders, scenes from Shakespeare, or themes from Toni Morrison. Then, together, you examine those prompts, interrogate them. Are they culturally inclusive? Are they reinforcing old stereotypes? Are they useful?

This isn’t about using AI to take over our thinking and doing. This is about teaching students how to think about technology, how to interact with it critically, how to engage their imaginations while grounding their decisions in values. And when they revise or reject the AI’s output? That’s when they step into their own power, creatively and ethically.
It’s the same on the administrative side. Schools are using AI to predict student enrollment trends, to help with class scheduling, even to support students through chatbots like Georgia State’s “Pounce.” That bot alone helped reduce summer melt by 22%. That’s real impact. That’s a ring used with purpose.

But we also need to be vigilant. AI can reinforce existing inequities if we’re not careful. If the data sets it learns from are biased, the results will be, too. If we use AI to grade essays but don’t check for nuance or understanding, we’re letting the ring, make decisions that it has no business making.

Wonka teaches us to dream big. The Green Lantern teaches us to take responsibility for what we create. Together, they show us how to approach AI not just as a tool, but as a kind of moral test.

Let’s pause here and challenge ourselves: How do we create spaces where faculty, staff, and students can experiment with AI while still holding each other accountable? How do we encourage wild ideas—like pairing AI with VR for immersive multilingual classrooms, without losing sight of equity and purpose?

Maybe we hold innovation sprints, maybe we create campus AI sandboxes, maybe we build cross-disciplinary AI councils that include everyone from IT and instructional designers to students and librarians. We need teams. We need feedback loops. We need the kind of trust and collaboration that make real innovation possible.

And what about students? Are we giving them the tools to be co-creators in this process, or are we just handing them software and hoping for the best? We need to teach them not just how to use AI, but how to question it, improve it, and when necessary, say no to it. We need to help each other become ethical innovators, not just savvy users.

Remember, Wonka handed his factory to Charlie, not because Charlie was the smartest, but because he had integrity. Green Lanterns are chosen not for their power, but for their character. We need to prepare our students, and ourselves, to be worthy of the tools we’ve been given.
So, here’s my pitch: Let’s teach with a Wonka-level of creativity and a Green Lantern-level of responsibility. Let’s build AI classrooms that feel more like candy labs and less like factory lines. Let’s make sure every tool we use leads back to connection, curiosity, and equity.
Because the future of higher education isn’t just about adapting to AI. It’s about shaping it.

Thanks for going on this journey with me, through chocolate rivers, glowing green rings, and the future of academia
Do you have a game-changing idea that’s shifting the higher-ed landscape? I’d love to hear how you’re creating your own blend of magic and mission. Share your innovation and headline your own episode of The Tinker Lab. 

I’m Doctor Norma Jones, and this has been part of The Tinker Lab series for the Innovating Higher Ed podc.