An ASU+GSV Odyssey: Pioneering the Frontier of AI in Education

Step into the electrifying world of education reimagined, where innovation knows no bounds and the future is now! Recently, I embarked on a journey to the ASU+GSV Conference in the vibrant city of San Diego, California. Surrounded by visionaries and trailblazers, I delved deep into the transformative power of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in reshaping education from K-12 and beyond.

Overall, while AI presents exciting opportunities to transform K-12 education, stakeholders must address these concerns to ensure that technology integration is done thoughtfully, equitably, and in a way that prioritizes the well-being and success of all students and educators.

Here's a glimpse into my Top 5 Opportunities and Concerns, gleaned from captivating sessions and discussions with luminaries in the field:

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Unveiling Boundless Opportunities:

1. Revolutionizing Efficiency and Empowering Educators: AI can streamline administrative tasks and provide teachers with valuable data-driven insights to inform their instructional strategies, ultimately enhancing teacher effectiveness and job satisfaction. One example was a tool which could do preliminary grading of ten pages essays in a click of a button vs. the many hours it would take a teacher to read and grade.
2. Democratizing Education Access: By leveraging AI, K-12 education can become more accessible and inclusive, bridging the gap for students from underserved communities and ensuring equitable access to quality learning resources. There is an inherent scalability opportunity where knowledge, lessons and tools can be distributed to all schools in a fraction of the cost vs. the physical assets and training of teachers.
3. Tailoring Education to Every Student: AI-driven adaptive learning platforms offer the potential to personalize learning experiences for each student, catering to their individual needs, preferences, and learning styles. Our system to date has most often been fairly static in its ability to be agile to meet each student’s needs and progress. In theory, there is an opportunity where education plans can evolve near real-time with a student’s educational progress.
4. Crafting Tomorrow's Workforce: Integrating AI education early on prepares students for the future workforce, equipping them with the necessary skills to thrive in an increasingly digital and automated world. Classes and lesson plans can integrate more real-world examples from industries the students find interesting for future employment. Additionally, the actual usage of these technologies will ensure they are ready to embrace them in the rapidly evolving employment opportunities.
5. Empowering Parents as Partners: Picture a world where parents are empowered allies in their child's educational journey. Through AI-driven insights and personalized recommendations, parents become active participants, fostering a supportive environment where every child can flourish. Imagine an environment where a parent could answer a few questions to let “the tool” know how they think, what they know, and how they believe they can best help their children. Then, “the tool” creating a parent lesson plan and offering tips along the way as a child completes homework or studies.

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Navigating Risks with Open-Eyes:

1. Job Displacement and Union Concerns: There is a risk of job displacement for teachers due to the automation of certain tasks by AI, raising concerns among teachers' unions about layoffs and the erosion of job security. This is the largest topic which often goes unsaid, yet we know the largest area of opportunities and investments in other industries is coming via automation to reduce labor expenses. While it is a great opportunity to reduce administrative tasks for teachers, are we being true to ourselves in thinking it will just happen and districts and schools will not capture those as cost savings? We need to have honest discussions on this topic and ensure we progress open-eyed, so it does not come to battles that ultimately compromises the goal of educating our children.
2. Privatization of Education: There is a danger that AI solutions in K-12 education could lead to the privatization of education, with private entities monopolizing the market and prioritizing profit over the well-being of students and educators. As AI and technology further embeds itself into public education and automates some teacher tasks, it seems obvious this will lead to further privatization of our public education funds to technology companies and Wall Street. This is a choice we need to make in our legislatures and union contract negotiations. I will not pretend I know the answers on how to go about it, but it is definitely on the near-term horizon.
3. Overreliance on Technology: There is a risk of overreliance on AI and technology in education, potentially leading to a loss of human connection, creativity, and critical thinking skills in the learning process. Most would agree that the remote learning during the pandemic caused harm to students in terms of emotional well-being and connectedness with their peers. I believe we could have avoided some of this harm by understanding it and investing into it, and we need to go into this next inflection of technologies impact on students with this in mind. If we let it just play out and “wait and see”, we will be addressing many of the same issues but in a way that might be hard to put the lid back on it.
4. Accessibility and Equity: Without careful planning, AI adoption in education could exacerbate existing inequalities, widening the gap between students who have access to technology and those who do not, further marginalizing underserved communities. All the products and services on the market cost a lot of money and while they might create efficiencies and opportunities to scale, we could see a place where inequality further divides society in terms of opportunities. I attended a couple sessions which highlighted this from both a socio-economic and race standpoint. We must deal with the systemic racism in our existing education systems to avoid AI from just building upon and enhancing them.
5. Distraction and Socialization: There is a concern that AI technologies in education could lead to increased distraction for students and a reduction in opportunities for socialization and interpersonal relationships, which are essential for holistic development. This is like #3 however I see it more as the distraction that technology is creating across our societies. We know that phone/screen time is creating heightened cases of ADHD and other learning barriers, so how do we get ahead of this curve and avoid doubling down on what we know is harming our children?

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I am learning as much as I can on how to best leverage these new tools and the world seems to be in the same position. I welcome any and all comments and always appreciate direct messages to discuss these matters further. Feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn.

I would like to give one direct shoutout to Jeff Livingston and his colleagues who hosted the most inspiring session of the event for me. They spoke direct and real in ways that I feel we often miss in our discussions. We need more voices like his in this conversation.

Join me on this exhilarating journey as we harness the transformative power of AI to educate, inspire, and empower the next generation.

Yours in education and exploration,

Ian Terry

ASU+GSV Summit THE AI SHOW @ ASU+GSV