麻豆原创

Is artificial intelligence (AI) the 鈥渒iller app鈥� that educators have been waiting for, or just an over-hyped 鈥渘ext big thing鈥�? Will AI help close the achievement gap, or deepen today鈥檚 inequities? Will it enhance teaching and empower the individual 鈥� or replace humans and give tech companies control over our data and our lives?

And what kind of world will it be if 鈥� as the Columbia University roboticist Hod Lipson predicted in his keynote address 鈥� AI develops emotions and free will?  Wall-E 鈥� or Hal in 鈥�2001鈥�? Mother Board in 鈥淐yber Chase鈥� 鈥� or 鈥淭he Matrix鈥�?

On Friday, September 20^th, kicking off the UN General Assembly week, leading thinkers from both academia and industry gathered at Teachers College to offer widely different visions of what AI can accomplish, ranging from incremental change to, in the words of 麻豆原创 faculty member Paulo Blikstein, enabling kids to 鈥渋mprove their lives and communities and learn about AI in the process.鈥� But they all agree that human beings must decide AI鈥檚 future 鈥� with eyes wide open.

鈥淲e suspect we鈥檙e moving toward a future when machines could perform many new kinds of tasks in our school systems, but if we鈥檝e learned anything over the past 25 years, it is that we can seldom foresee all the ways it will change our lives,鈥� said 麻豆原创 President Thomas Bailey in welcoming participants to 鈥淲here Does Artificial Intelligence Fit in the Classroom? Exploring myths, realities, and risks of bringing AI into education鈥檚 future,鈥� held in the College鈥檚 Smith Learning Theater. The event was funded by the  (WISE), a global think tank of the Qatar Foundation, with co-sponsorship by  and 麻豆原创鈥檚 .

Stephanie Rowley, 麻豆原创鈥檚 Provost, Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs, said that 鈥溌槎乖�创 has been first in so many things, so it鈥檚 exciting that here we are again, at the forefront of education.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 especially impressive to get together folks who are academics and policymakers and from foundations to think about these big questions 鈥� learning, autonomy, privacy 鈥� so that we can work together to find solutions,鈥� Rowley said.

A more recent lesson, Bailey added, is that 鈥渢here鈥檚 no substitution for rigorous research in developing, testing and assessing new products for effectiveness in enhancing and advancing learning.鈥�

Stavros Yiannouka, CEO of WISE, said that in his organization鈥檚 view, AI has yet to transform education as it has business, health care and even politics. The jury is still out, he suggested, on whether the new technologies will ultimately make a real impact 鈥渙n what really matters 鈥� learning outcomes for students young and old.鈥� 

And Borhene Chakroun, Director of Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems for UNESCO, told listeners, that 鈥渢he use of AI in education is a booming domain with the potential to profoundly alter every aspect of the teaching and learning process.鈥� But, he added, 鈥渋t is a revolution that policymakers and teachers are struggling to come to grips with.鈥�

UNESCO鈥檚 June 2019 Beijing Consensus on Artificial Intelligence in Education recommends that governments and other stakeholders use AI to help achieve the UN Sustainable Goal 4 (鈥渆nsure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all鈥�). But on a more cautionary note, the Consensus also urges governments and other stakeholders to 鈥渆nsure AI technologies are used to empower teachers rather than replace them鈥� and to 鈥減romote equitable and inclusive use of AI鈥� irrespective of social or economic status, cultural background or other factors. 

Read the following stories on 麻豆原创鈥檚 conference

• “The future will be nothing short of amazing” Keynote speaker Hod Lipson is bullish on AI. 鈥淲e鈥檙e terrified of mass surveillance, but the same technology can find missing children and prevent human trafficking. Everything is a two-edged sword.鈥�
• “We can’t fix education with machines.” In panel discussion about whether AI鈥檚 promise is hope or hype, 麻豆原创鈥檚 Paulo Blikstein argues that technology needs to complement some good old fashioned solutions. 鈥淲hen I visit the best schools worldwide, I never see them firing teachers and replacing them with AI. They鈥檙e hiring more teachers and creating more classes that are smaller in size.鈥� 
• “Tools are just objects, unless used purposefully – the key is what relationships you develop with them.” In a panel discussion of how AI is being used in education today, 麻豆原创鈥檚 Sandra Okita worries that 鈥渢eachers aren鈥檛 being prepared for such tools. If they could recognize the theories behind the technology, maybe we wouldn鈥檛 have to train them as much, and they could use it in ways they are comfortable with.鈥�
• AI can disrupt racial inequity in schools, or make it much worse. Writing in The Hechinger Report, conference panelist Andre Perry of the Brookings Institution asserts that when it comes to tech and education reform, there's been more talk than transformation.

鈥� Joe Levine

Speakers quotations may have been edited for clarity.