Artificial intelligence is changing the world.
The world’s attention is now focused on the unfolding impact of generative AI tools on the economy of knowledge and creators. Schools, indeed, serve as centers of knowledge and creative work, and may be the first places where the wider public sees tangible change taking shape.
Leaders and visionaries around the world are actively pursuing the application of this rapidly developing technology. The pace of progress is getting faster and faster, measured in days and weeks instead of months and years. The increasing speed of AI capabilities and applications means that its potential impact, for better or worse, is growing rapidly.
We can already see the far-reaching impact that generative AI systems will have on how schools function, how teachers work, and how students develop personally and professionally for tomorrow’s world of work. I see
As is often the case, young people are driving the adoption and advancement of these new technologies. The term “digital native” already seems outdated as of Gen Z, and those who follow Gen Z will always become experts in these new technologies earlier than many adults. Treating young people as professionals with true understanding and knowledge has the potential to open up new and exciting use cases and applications for new technologies such as generative AI.
Applying the power of AI to some of the biggest challenges in school and systems design presents equally incredible opportunities. It already helps teachers design courses and analyze student performance data to design learning interventions and new lesson plans. But it’s clear that more can be done. It could help us get a better idea of what school life and all the learning experiences it contains should be like, given the rapidly evolving global economy. It can help states and localities develop new career pathways and structures for lifelong learning that keep people connected to profitable employment for decades.
For many, there is a sense that these technologies are pushing us towards new horizons, opening us up to new and powerful futures. That group includes people pushing the cutting edge, like Sal Khan, CEO and founder of Khan Academy.
“We are on the cusp of harnessing AI for perhaps the biggest positive transformation the education world has ever seen,” he said in a recent TED talk. “And the way we do that is by giving every student on the planet a great personal tutor with artificial intelligence. I will provide you with a great teaching assistant.”
It would be a big change in education simply because such individual learning and teaching support is currently very expensive. The federal government has spent about $190 billion on its own to address learning losses due to the pandemic, with many states and local governments adding to the total. But if we look to the future like the Sal Khans of the world, we don’t need a massive infusion of money to provide a customized and personalized learning experience for every learner. maybe. Intelligent agents can already play the role of tutors, and could become even more effective as technology advances.
Khan said this ambitious and optimistic view must be balanced by an all-out effort to thwart the negative and dangerous potential of advanced AI. We have to fight desperately for it,” he said.
Broader AI concerns include everything from potential job losses to lethal loss of control over military capabilities. Public concern has grown to the point that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently testified before the U.S. Congress and was summoned to meet with lawmakers about the technology’s rapid growth. Altman himself pushed for a new legal framework to keep pace with new technology.
Concerns about the negative impact of AI, especially on education, are also widespread. New York City public schools have effectively banned the use of the most common form of technology, ChatGPT, due to concerns about student misconduct. New York is not alone. Many K-12 school systems and higher education institutions take a defensive stance.
Experts in the field say a strategy to ban or block the technology could itself have unintended consequences. The majority of successful companies and organizations are leveraging AI in their work and are looking for applicants who know how to leverage its capabilities to increase productivity. Therefore, banning AI in schools could reinforce digital inequalities, digital divides, and ultimately opportunity gaps.
Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi recently told CNN, “Many school systems have decided to ban it.” “In New York City, where the public school system bans AI prompt engineering, private schools teach AI prompt engineering. need to find.”
Given the incredible potential that generative machine learning offers for educators, teachers, and students, it is reasonable and appropriate to seek a reasonable middle ground. We will not only consider how technology can help improve what teachers and learners are doing today, but also ensure that new ways of teaching and learning will flourish alongside the application of AI. you have to think about what that means.
“Technology offers the potential for universal access to augment radically new teaching methods,” said Daniel Schwartz, Dean of the Graduate School of Education, at a recent AI and Education conference.
In fact, teachers are already early adopters of technology. According to Code.org’s Hadi Partovi, about 30% of teachers are now using AI to create lesson plans. Pandora’s box seems to be open, but that doesn’t mean we lack agency or ability to shape the impact of that fact.And that doesn’t mean we’re headed for a future where AI will replace professionals. human educator. In fact, this could mean that highly trained and competent teachers are even more important as facilitators of learning in AI-enabled academic environments. But we must act now.
Teachers need professional development, especially around AI and its productive applications. Stanford University researcher and her PhD student Daniella Ganelin told Education Week that her teachers will need “a knowledge of AI-specific educational content.” To fully grasp its potential and applications in the classroom, we need to understand the technology.
As UK Secretary of Education Gillian Keegan recently pointed out, with the right development and support, routine and time-consuming tasks in the classroom can be outsourced to intelligent agents, and human teachers will be able to achieve higher levels of education. so you can focus on your most relevant work. An essential evidence-based tool in any effective educator’s toolbox, formative assessment uses responsive teaching plans and learning sequences that instantly adapt to the specific conditions of a student’s learning process. , and can be done in real time.
Students also need to learn and understand technology. With the help of talented and knowledgeable educators, they will likely leverage these tools in ways we cannot even imagine at this time. With the right footing as a young learner with powerful technology, he can grow with and within the rise of his intelligent machine. And importantly, we must provide that opportunity. all Otherwise, it will only perpetuate inequality and widen inequality in unprecedented ways.
Our North Star must always be the democratization of learning opportunities, as we bring the fruits of technological innovation beyond the classroom. There will certainly be challenges, but the power of human ingenuity to mitigate those challenges is just as real and just as powerful.
But in this new age of learning, arguably, that’s exactly what we’re entering. But we need an approach to the adoption of AI in education that centers on true human flourishing.
Doing so not only enhances student learning, but also ensures that future generations thrive in a more humane and humane way. That is the tomorrow where all our children and the planet can thrive.
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