The opportunities and challenges brought by the rise of AI in education

Earlier in the year, the Technical Services Team met for their inaugural Summer Conference. One item on the agenda was a discussion on ‘the opportunities and challenges brought by the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education’. The group brainstormed and discussed broadly, concluding that there are many ways in which AI will bring benefits to society, including a reduction in administrative burdens, as such tools mature.

Opportunities

There are also notable opportunities to support those with SEND, in particular Dyslexia, with the use of generative tools already assisting the conversion of ideas into prose, often to good effect.

Another significant area of opportunity is in automation and monitoring, increasing the speed by which decisions can be taken to intervene, particularly in cyber security areas such as anti-ransomware and protecting against zero-day attacks.

Challenges

The group also considered the challenges brought by the pace of development in AI and the clear need for an international strategy on its ethical governance, which has now had some initial steps taken towards it, at the recent AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park.

The challenges around ownership and accountability for materials generated are clear, not only for competitions and school assignments but also given the rise in deepfake images and audio manipulation and in particular, the impact of these on families and young people.

It is fair to say that there is a lot to consider in this emerging space, much of it well beyond the control of our Trust, but we will continue monitoring the fast-paced movement of this technology, seeking to spot the opportunities it yields and do our utmost to support our staff and pupils in understanding and managing the risks associated with it.

Article by Richard Mayer, Director of ICT for Anglian Learning