How will AI shape the education sector?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to address some of the greatest current challenges in education, as highlighted by UNESCO. At the same time, it can be used to support an inclusive and equitable quality education while promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all, aligning with the fourth Sustainable Development Goal of the 2030 Agenda. 

Despite its benefits and potential to improve efficiency, AI also poses challenges. These include new practices in curriculum development, teaching, and assessment, that should be designed to avoid the detrimental effects of AI on learning and teaching. Additionally, integrating AI to teaching practices and learning raises new ethical questions about how to meet the needs of all students, learners, and teachers. 

It is important to bear in mind that effective implementation of AI requires collaboration, planning, training and open dialogue among the different stakeholders in the education sector. In this way, addressing challenges and maximizing the benefits offered by these tools becomes easier. 

Hannu Toivonen, Professor of Computer Science at the University of Helsinki, has been working in the field of AI since 1990.  

– AI has not always been in fashion as now and has gone by different names over the years, Toivonen says. 

His research focuses on AI, mainly in the areas of data mining and data science, until about 15 years ago, when he began working on creativity and AI.

Benefits vs. responsibilities of using AI in studies 

Regarding the benefits AI can bring, Toivonen believes there are many good applications in the educational field.  

– We need educators who are enthusiastic about AI and want to try out all kinds of things to know what works and what doesn’t, he mentions.  

These are the ones who will help us identify promising applications. At the same time, we need educators who are more cautious and critical in its use. They are the ones who help us see the downsides, risks and side effects of these applications and reject unsuitable ones. 

In addition, for all this to be possible, both groups, educators and learners, need support from their educational organisations. This can consist of technical assistance, guidelines on what can and cannot be done, and ensuring that educational institutions have access to the latest tools available. In this way, efforts can be directed towards conducting practical experimentation and research on the use of AI and learning about its impact on learning and teaching practices at all levels.  

Meanwhile, the most concrete constraints are those related to data security, privacy, and similar concerns.  

– You shouldn’t input any private or copyrighted data into AI services unless you have an explicit clearance from your organisation to do so, he adds. This is one of the areas where organisational support is needed: figuring out what is safe use and arranging for safe ways to experiment. 

Practical tips for using AI 

The best advice for using these tools is to stay open-minded. We must be willing to try things out, even if we don’t yet know their possible applications. We need to feel free to experiment, even if things don’t turn out as expected. This way, we can collect information and experiences and share them with those around us to improve practice, whether among students or with teachers. 

For educators, AI is useful for planning classes by offering new ways to analyse information and guiding how to teach.  

In everyday learning experiences, artificial intelligence can help us in many positive ways. For example, students can ask it to explain something they did not understand. This is a good use case where these tools help students to study more efficiently.

– It is very easy to slip into misuse of AI, however, in a way that hinders learning, Toivonen highlights.

– As educators, we need to use and, where necessary, create teaching methods that are effective for learning even when students are surrounded by AI tools. 

Do we really need to receive training to learn how to use AI? 

Yes, it is necessary to provide training for both learners and teachers on how to use these tools effectively, responsibly, and safely. This increases the likelihood of successful adoption within organizations. 

– Think about teachers: they did not choose teaching because they were interested in AI, and AI is not anywhere near the core of their job. We need to give teachers and pupils time to learn and integrate AI into their work where pedagogically beneficial, not for the sake of AI itself, Toivonen mentions. 

If you want to learn more about the impact of AI on companies, you can access the report published by EK here (Only available in Finnish). 

Image: Veikko Somerpuro. 

Main image: Unsplash, Steve Johnson