Learnest

We are happy to share that the video recordings for the Learnest Colloquium featuring our fellows and their capstone project presentations are now available. Hakeoung Hannah Lee, Jiayi (Joyce) Zhang, Darren B., Conrad Borchers If you have missed the live sessions, or wish to revisit their talks on how they incorporate ethical designs and processes into AIED research, watch here! ?? https://lnkd.in/ejCxEkbr #aieducation #aiethics #edtech

Excited to announce our new conference paper: "Ethical AIED and AIED Ethics: Toward Synergy Between AIED Research and Ethical Frameworks" ?? Written by Learnest fellows and team Conrad Borchers, Xinman Liu, Hakeoung Hannah Lee, and Jiayi (Joyce) Zhang, it’s now published in the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education (AIED 2024) proceedings as part of the book series Communications in Computer and Information Science. This work addresses the current gaps between fundamental ethical critiques of AIED research goals and AIED research practices promoting ethical outcomes. We discuss paths to inform AIED research through its critiques, including: 1?? Improving researcher reflexivity in AIED tool development 2?? Advancing research methods with diverse stakeholder collaborations 3?? Merging quantitative measurement of ethical soundness with co-design in evaluations We recently presented the paper at the AIED 2024 Conference in Recife, Brazil, which drew a diverse audience including non-academic professionals and local community members. There is currently a strong need in the AIED research community to prioritize marginalized voices and critically examine definitions of representation and fairness in data-driven algorithms. ???Learnest is continuing to work to drive changes in this space. Paper: https://lnkd.in/eNQYfx5F #AIED2024 #AIEthics #EdTech #AIED

Our inaugural Learnest Colloquium was a success! This week, we marked the end of the first cohort of the Learnest Ethical AI in Education (AIEd) Fellowship with our in-person Colloquium at Stanford, celebrating the hard work and dedication of our Learnest fellows: Conrad Borchers, Jiayi (Joyce) Zhang, Darren B., and Hakeoung Hannah Lee. ?? It was a heartfelt gathering, filled with inspiring presentations and conversations as our fellows showcased their rigorous capstone projects on meaningfully engaging with ethical considerations in AIEd research and development. We also presented a jointly written paper on synergizing AIED research and ethical frameworks, to be featured at the upcoming international AIED 2024 conference, along with an impactful session delivered by our executive director Michael Hardy on why ethical AIEd matters. With over 100 sign-ups for the Colloquium, we want to extend our gratitude to everyone who joined us both in person and virtually. Your participation has been truly encouraging and special to us! We would also like to thank our board of directors, Zachary Pardos, Mitchell Stevens, and Minli Virdone, for their unwavering support and guidance throughout this journey. To do the hard work, we need to do the hard work. As the world’s first fellowship dedicated to promoting responsible and ethical AI in education, Learnest has been working devotedly over the past year to develop practical recommendations for high-quality interdisciplinary research, strengthen industry-academia partnerships, and build capacity for researchers, technologists, and educators alike. A big kudos to our team Chen-Ming Tang, Michael Hardy, Hansol Lee, Anvit Garg, and Xinman Liu for all the dedication and efforts put into this. This has been a fruitful year, and it was a proud moment for all of us to witness these accomplishments. We will continue to roll out new initiatives, and we hope you can join us in building this movement to inspire responsible and ethical AI in education! ?? #Learnest #EthicalAIEd #Education

?? We're proud to highlight the innovative capstone projects of our first cohort of Learnest fellows at our upcoming Colloquium at Stanford: Conrad Borchers - Enhancing caregiver involvement in middle school mathematics. Jiayi (Joyce) Zhang - Assessing the robustness of large language models in diverse educational settings. Darren B. - Expanding educational outreach through interactive radio for 'last-mile learners'. Hakeoung Hannah Lee - Promoting equity in learning analytics by studying group dynamics. Additionally, we will present a peer-reviewed paper on the synergies between AIED research and ethical frameworks, which has been recently accepted by the AIED 2024 Conference. These projects will be presented in-depth at the colloquium. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to engage with these emerging leaders in AI in education! ?? Date: May 31, 9:45 AM - 12:15 PM PT? ??Location: Stanford, Room 305, Lane History Corner? ?? Virtual participation is available More details and RSVP: https://lnkd.in/gGmwNHhn #AIEducation #AIEthics #EdTech #ethicalAI

We invite you to join our Learnest Ethical Al in Education Colloquium! Culminating the completion of our first cohort of the Learnest Ethical AIED Fellowship, we will be hosting an in-person Colloquium at Stanford, honoring their completion of the fellowship as Learnest Scholars! Conrad Borchers, Jiayi (Joyce) Zhang, Darren B., Hakeoung Hannah Lee ???? The Colloquium will present our four fellows’ capstone projects as well as their peer-reviewed paper to be presented at the 25th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education. Learnest will also present a session to outline the opportunities and challenges for improving the use of AI in education with concrete recommendations for the global community of advocates and practitioners to promote AIED high-quality interdisciplinary research, informed industry-academia partnerships, and capacity building for both researchers, technologists, and educators alike. All AIED researchers and practitioners are welcome. ?? Virtual participation will be available as well! ? Date and Time: Friday May 31st, 9:45 AM - 12:15 PM PT ??Location: Room 305, Lane History Corner/Building 200 (next to Stanford Oval, Main Quad), Stanford, CA 94305 More info and RSVP HERE! ?? https://lnkd.in/gGmwNHhn #Learnest #AIEducation #AIEthics #EdTech Shoutout to the Learnest Team Chen-Ming Tang, Michael Hardy, Hansol Lee, Anvit Garg, Xinman Liu

?? What should an ethics of AI in education look like? Watch our new expert colloquium, led by Professor Geoff Cox at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, to explore the various ethical dimensions of algorithmic autonomy and the challenges it poses to traditional ethical frameworks. Geoff's thought-provoking talk provides a comprehensive insight into the implications of these challenges for educational practices and technologies. ?? Here are some key insights from the discussion: 1 - ?While there are various ethical frameworks, applying these traditional ethical principles to AI technologies is challenging, where structural injustices and inequities can often defy simple categorization and prediction. 2 - Unlike other more tightly regulated fields, AI’s commercial accessibility complicates accountability frameworks, making it difficult to pinpoint where ethical responsibility lies within distributed systems. 3 - Education is a form of caregiving that presumes a set of values that cannot be duplicated by machines. If technology starts to interfere with education's responsibility to provide care, we risk hollowing out the authenticity of education. ???? ?? For anyone interested in the ethical dimensions of AI, particularly as they apply to education and technology, Geoff’s talk provides valuable insights and raises crucial questions for further exploration. Watch the full session here ?? https://lnkd.in/ef4gU_hV #Learnest #aieducation #aiethics #ethicalAI

We are thrilled to share that Dr. Zachary Pardos's talk on AI for Tutoring and Transfer in the context of higher ed is now available for everyone! If you missed the live session or wish to revisit the insightful discussion, you can now access the full recording. ?? In this colloquium, Dr. Zach Pardos led an in-depth discussion on the evolution, implications, and ethical considerations of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) and the integration of Generative AI (GenAI) in education, drawing upon his work with the Open Adaptive Tutor (OATutor) and initiatives to enhance transfer student outcomes through strategic course recommendations. ?? Here are some key topics covered: 1 - The concept of "open" in education explored through different frameworks: MOOCs for open access, OER for licensing, and open data for research use or adaptive systems. 2 - The extent to which Bayesian systems are effective in assessing dynamic knowledge mastery and the new implications of GenAI for creating educational content in the context of ITS. 3 - Ethical considerations regarding the potential displacement of educators by technology, FERPA compliance and the alignment of technology with institutional regulations, the balance between individualized learning and social cohesion (the “cohort model”), and the equitable distribution of educational resources. ?? Whether you’re an educator, developer, policymaker, or researcher with a keen interest in AI’s expanding role in education, this talk is a must-watch! ?? https://lnkd.in/eHBmWf3b We are immensely grateful for the insights that Dr. Zach Pardos has brought to our community! #aitutor #edtech #aiethics #aieducation #HigherEd

?? We are happy to announce that the recording of our first Learnest Expert Colloquium, featuring Dr. Wayne Holmes' talk on AI and education from a critical studies perspective, is now publicly available! Whether you wish to re-watch the session or share it with friends who couldn't attend, it is now fully accessible. In this colloquium, Dr. Wayne Holmes provided a critical and constructive viewpoint on AI and education. He highlighted concerns regarding the impact of AI on human cognition, privacy, and children's rights, and advocated for the alignment of AI with human values and social justice. ?? Here are some key takeaways: 1 - Education is not just about learning but also socialization and individuation, aspects that AI tools often neglect. While AI tools claim to offer personalized learning pathways, they often guide students toward the same outcomes without supporting them in achieving the broader educational goals of agency and self-actualization. 2 - AI in education is not truly intelligent, despite appearing so. AI systems are not isolated technological entities but rather made up of human intelligence and labour. 3 - When considering accountability and transparency in AI in education, we should shift our focus from policing cheaters to redirecting conversations toward addressing genuine problems faced by educators and learners, involving them in research and development. ?? This is a highly insightful talk that we recommend all educators, policymakers, developers, entrepreneurs, and students who are interested in the role of AI in education to watch. For more critical insights, please visit the recording here ?? https://lnkd.in/eicryX5z #aieducation #aiethics #Learnest #education

What Would an Ethics of AI in Education Look Like? ?? Join us with Dr. Geoffery Cox at our next Learnest Expert Colloquium on March 8th! Geoff Cox is Senior Associate Dean for Administration and Finance in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford, where he also serves as a Lecturer in the Philosophy of Education and Director of the joint MA/MBA program. Prior to this position, he was President of Alliant International University, and earlier in his career he served in senior administrative positions at both Stanford and the University of Chicago. He is a graduate of Knox College and has a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Chicago. He is the author of Theorizing the Resilience of American Higher Education; How Colleges and Universities Adapt to Changing Social and Economic Conditions (Routledge, 2019) and Artificial Intelligence and the Aims of Education: Makers, Managers, or Inforgs? (Studies in Philosophy and Education). In this talk, Dr. Geoff Cox will explore the tensions between educational goals and new information technologies like AI from a philosophical lens, addressing the current gaps between ethical AI principles and practices to point towards areas for improved alignment. ?? ??? Date: Mar 8 (Friday), 11 AM Pacific Time ?? Our event is open to all, with a Q&A session included. Register here! ?? https://lu.ma/2cogea68 #aieducation #philosophy #aiethics #education

?? This Friday, we are welcoming Dr. Zachary Pardos to join us in our Learnest Expert Colloquium! Dr. Pardos is an Associate Professor of Education at UC Berkeley studying adaptive learning and AI. His recent work designing Human-AI collaborations to pave pathways to and within higher education systems has been published in venues such as SIGCHI, NeurIPS, AAAI, and Science. This work has included the development of high-quality tools used by tens of thousands of users, including course recommender systems (AskOski), a Python library for Knowledge Tracing (pyBKT), and an open-source adaptive tutoring system and creative commons content library (OATutor). At Cal, he directs the Computational Approaches to Human Learning (CAHL) research lab, teaches in the data science major, and is an affiliated faculty in cognitive science. Before arriving at UC Berkeley, he studied as a postdoc at MIT and earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. ?? In this colloquium, Dr. Pardos will describe a project aimed at creating more equitable access to adaptive learning technology with the introduction of the first open-source adaptive tutoring system based on Intelligent Tutoring System principles. The system, Open Adaptive Tutor (OATutor), and its adaptive textbook library, have been iteratively developed over three years with field trials in seven college math classrooms, drawing feedback and design implications from students, educators, and researchers. ?? Join us to discuss the real-world scenarios in which the technology is being implemented, including the use of GenAI, and the ethical implications involved. ?? A related project in higher education involving course recommendations for transfer student success will also be covered. This project involves multi-stakeholder engagement with faculty, staff, and students and considerations for approaching AI aversion, biases, and other human factors. ??? Date: Feb 9 (Friday), 11 AM Pacific Time ?? Our event is open to all, with a Q&A session included. Register now! ??https://lu.ma/u8on5w7g #aieducation #highereducation #ethicsinai #algorithmicbias