Continuing the focus on artificial intelligence (AI), this weekend looks at it in education. In general, there are many fanciful AI in Ed possibilities proposed to help people teach and learn, some of which are genuinely exciting and others that just look much like today.
One encouraging consensus from the readings below is that, while there is concern that AI and robots will ultimately take over certain human jobs, teachers are safe. The role relies too much on the skills that AI is not good at, such as creativity and emotional intelligence.
An Argument for AI in Education
A 2016 report (two-page summary) from Pearson and University College London’s Knowledge Lab offers a very readable and coherent argument for AI in education. It describes what is possible today, for example one-on-one digital tutoring to every student, and what is potentially possible in the future, such as lifelong learning companions powered by AI that can accompany and support individual learners throughout their studies – in and beyond school. Or, one day, there could be new forms of assessment that measure learning while it is taking place, shaping the learning experience in real time. It also proposes three actions to help us get from here to there.
AI and People, Not AI Instead of People
There is an argument that rather than focusing solely on building more intelligent AI to take humans out of the loop, we should focus just as much on intelligence amplification/augmentation. This is the use of technology – including AI – to provide people with information that helps them make better decisions and learn more effectively. So, for instance, rather than automating the grading of student essays, some researchers are focusing on how they can provide intelligent feedback to students that helps them better assess their own writing.
The “Human Touch” as Value Proposition
At Online Educa Berlin last month, I heard Dr. Tarek R. Besold, lecturer in Data Science at City, University of London, talk about AI in Ed (my rough notes are here). He built on the idea that we need to think more carefully about what AI does well and what humans do well.
For example, AI can provide intelligent tutoring, but only on well-defined, narrow domains for which we have lots of data. Learning analytics can analyse learner behaviour and teacher activities … so as to identify individual needs and preferences to inform human intervention. Humans, while inefficient at searching, sorting and mining data, for example, are good at understanding, empathy and relationships.
In fact, of all the sectors McKinsey & Company examined in a report on where machines could replace humans, the technical feasibility of automation is lowest in education, at least for now. Why? Because the essence of teaching is deep expertise and complex interactions with other people, things that AI are not yet good at. Besold proposed the “human touch” as our value proposition.
Figuring out how humans and AI can bring out the best in each other to improve education, now that is an exciting proposal. Actually creating this teacher-machine symbiosis in the classroom will be a major challenge, though, given the perception of job loss from technology.
The Future of AI Will Be Female
Emotional intelligence is increasingly in demand in the workplace, and will only be more so in the future when AI will have replaced predicable, repetitive jobs. This means that cultivating emotional intelligence and social skills should be critical components of education today. But there’s a fascinating angle here: in general, women score much higher than men in emotional intelligence. Thus, Quartz claims, women are far better prepared for an AI future.
Image: © CC-BY-NC-ND by Ericsson
Steven Vosloo 