At last education and business have found a common cause — or at last a common conundrum — what to do about and with AI?
Broadly speaking, AI or artificial intelligence refers to the ability of computers to replicate human intelligence in the ability to identify patterns and make predictions and decisions.
According to research from LXT, the largest AI research company, one third of large organizations spend $51 million to $100 million on AI — with 70% of business splurging $1 million of their internal budgets solely on robotics.
From a human-resources perspective, the tough part is knowing when and what to automate. How do leaders decide when to replace a human with a robot or a new technology?
Writing in Forbes, the American business publication, Brady Brim DeForest — a Forbes Council member and CEO of TheoremOne & Managing Partner at Halmos Venture — makes the point that large companies across a variety of industries are exploring ways to leverage AI to enhance their operations, increase productivity and gain a competitive edge.
In other words business, especially Big Business, is rapidly gearing up to meet the challenge of AI rather than sitting back to see what happens next.
AI, says Brim-DeForest, requires specialized tools and infrastructure to deliver value. A great use, for example, is human-centred, AI-powered customer service.
Progress in the business world means understanding that time must be taken to work with developing new understandings, especially on the part of leadership teams at every level, to ensure an organization is ready to leverage AI technology.
Which brings us back to the conundrum facing public education — the who, what, how and why of AI applications, both administratively and with classroom teaching and learning.
What aspects of AI will be applicable to the organization and delivery of education?
Speaking at the University of Cambridge Summit of Education, Prof. Rose Luckin in her keynote address asked whether education is ready for AI, and suggested how educators can help future learners “outwit the robots.”
Luckin made the point that “when it comes to artificial and human intelligence, the things we take for granted as humans are fundamental to our human intelligence. In an AI-enhanced world, those are the kinds of intelligence which are much harder to automate.”
In other words, AI may assist but never replace human teachers. It may, however, direct them to new ways of teaching.
Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Lasse Rouhiainen, a bestselling author and international speaker on applications of artificial intelligence, argues that today’s colleges and universities already face a wide range of challenges, including disengaged students, high dropout rates and the ineffectiveness of a traditional “one-size-fits- all” approach to education at all levels.
Rouhiainen contends that were AI to be used correctly in teaching and learning, personalized learning experiences could be created, which may, in turn, help to resolve some of these challenges.
“With a personalized learning experience, every student would enjoy a completely unique educational approach that’s fully tailored to his or her individual abilities and needs,” says Rouhiainen.
All that academic analysis is valuable in terms of stimulating the imaginations of education leaders, but, beyond that, some reorganization of the public system to accommodate and realize the possibilities of AI will need to start, from the restructuring of provincial ministries of education all the way across the system to school districts and classrooms.
Provincial governments across Canada have taken note of the increasing prevalence of AI, and say they’re looking at curriculum changes at the high-school level.
The Ontario Ministry of Education said recently that revised curriculum will make learning about AI mandatory for Grade 9 science students, and announced last week that a Grade 10 computer-sciences course that investigates AI, cybersecurity and emerging digital technologies will launch in the next academic year.
Alberta Ministry of Education spokesperson Emily Peckham said that while students have the option to learn about AI in some high school courses, the government may consider adding more learning into its curriculum in the future.
Meanwhile, the B.C. Ministry of Education said in a statement that AI is not a specific curriculum topic, but teachers can make the decision to teach about it.
Some schools and school leaders are way ahead of that. Brock University’s vice-provost of teaching and learning, Rajiv Jhangiani, said his school is already switching from an emphasis on closed-book exams to other forms of assessment that assume students will have access to any knowledge on the internet.
Some of these future assignments, Jhangiani says, could include writing op-eds that could be published in a local newspaper (now there’s an idea).
Geoff Johnson is a former superintendent of schools.
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