Celebrating Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day: Embracing AI in Education with Balance and Insight

On July 16th, we celebrate Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day , a day dedicated to recognizing the profound impact AI has on our world and particularly in the educational landscape. This observance, initiated by A.I. Heart LLC in 2021, provides an opportunity to reflect on AI's achievements in schools while emphasizing the need for ethical considerations in its development and use.

The Good: Enhancing Education with AI

AI is not new and it has already changed education in numerous ways over the past 20 years. Here are some specific examples:

1. Information Access: For the past two decades, AI-powered search engines formerly known as "Google" (now known as Google Web) have revolutionized how we access information. If we do not know something, we all know that we can "Go Google it". AI recommenders help us find what we need quickly, making vast amounts of information readily available to students and educators.
2. Communication: AI-driven platforms, such as simple chatbots and automated email responders, have streamlined communication between parents, teachers, and students, ensuring email free weekends, and timely and accurate information exchange.
3. Learning Management Systems (LMS): Systems like Moodle Canvas LMS , Blackboard , and ManageBac have transformed how educators deliver content, track progress, and manage student interactions. These platforms have been pivotal in enhancing the learning experience by providing a structured and interactive environment.
4. School Management Systems: Platforms such as PowerSchool hool, SchoolSoft , and Infinite Campus have made administrative tasks more efficient, from attendance tracking to scheduling and resource allocation. These systems have greatly improved the operational efficiency of educational institutions.
5. Data Analysis: AI enhances data analysis in tools like Microsoft Education Excel, helping schools make informed decisions on scheduling, classroom assignments, and resource management. This capability allows for better planning and resource allocation.
6. Predictive Analytics: AI can predict student outcomes and identify those at risk of falling behind, allowing for timely interventions and support. This proactive approach helps educators address potential issues before they become significant problems.
7. Adaptive Learning Platforms: Systems like CENTURY Tech tailor educational content to the individual needs of students, providing a customized learning experience. These platforms adjust the difficulty and type of content based on the student's performance, ensuring a more personalized learning journey. They provide data to help inform educators and guide their teaching.
8. Virtual Tutors: AI-powered tutors like Kahnmigo offer personalized assistance, adapting to each student’s learning pace and style. These virtual tutors provide additional support outside of the classroom, helping students grasp complex concepts.
9. Learning Software: Top EdTech tools from CenturyTech and Kognity provide digital learning content, peer support, personalized learning experiences, track student progress, and offer insights into academic performance. These software solutions adapt to individual student needs, offering tailored content and feedback to enhance learning outcomes.

The Promises: Generative AI and the Future of Education

Generative AI (such as ChatGPT Microsoft Education with Copilot, 谷歌 Gemini, o1.ai Yi-34B, and more, brings the promise of significant changes in schools. Here are three examples of what we can expect om the coming two years:

1. Personalized Learning Plans: AI Agents will help teachers create customized learning plans that adapt in real-time to the strengths and challenges of each student, enhancing their educational journey.
2. AI-Generated Content: Teachers will have access to AI-generated lesson plans, quizzes, and assignments, allowing them time to focus more on student interaction and relationships and less on administrative tasks.
3. Enhanced Virtual Classrooms: AI and spatial computing will power with more immersive and interactive virtual classrooms, making remote learning more engaging and effective.

The Bad and the Ugly: Leaning into AI’s Full Spectrum

I’m a big fan of technology, but it’s crucial to recognize the dual nature of innovation. The great philosopher Dr. Cornel West has spoken profoundly about the complexities of love and life, emphasizing that true appreciation comes from embracing both the good and the bad. He once said, “Love is a form of death. And you have to learn how to die in order to learn how to love.” It seems to me that this wisdom applies to our understanding of AI as well.

In our society, we often avoid confronting the full spectrum of experiences, especially the unpleasant ones. Similarly, to truly appreciate new innovations in AI, we must critically examine its limitations and flaws. This examination involves loving AI for all it is - its capabilities and its shortcomings, its value and its dangers. AI makes mistakes, sometimes significant ones, and recognizing this is crucial for responsible, safe, and ethical use.

As Dr. West reminds us, “It takes tremendous courage to think for yourself, to examine yourself.” This applies to our approach to AI as well. The journey toward understanding AI involves acknowledging our finitude and fallibility. There's a great push for innovation and a lot of excitement about new functionalities, but we must be open to revising our approaches and maintaining a humble quest for truth.

If you would like to read more on Dr. West, you can find his list of publications here . Good luck keeping up with West’s thought processing and speech pattern - I am fairly certain his brain processes ideas and creates content faster than ChatGPT. But, his wisdom resonates with me and seems clear: embracing AI means embracing its full spectrum. We need the critics, the lovers, and the haters, the early adopters and the refusers, to build a humane AI that is used for the good of humankind to the greatest extent possible.

Rejecting AI because it can only do xyz, hallucinates, or has bias is not a solution. We have to understand what we are working with, even if it is unpleasant to talk about. Let’s lean into AI’s potential and its pitfalls with equal measure.

Balancing Innovation with Ethics

Embracing AI’s potential requires us to engage with ethical considerations and oversight as much as we lean into innovation and excitement. This is particularly important in education, where children are exposed to the technology. Understanding AI’s limitations and risks is crucial for developing regulations, laws, and protections that guide its responsible use and safeguard our fundamental human rights.

Tech giants like 谷歌 , OpenAI , and 微软 are already trying to decipher the impact of upcoming AI regulations across the globe, and determine where in the design process they can intervene earlier to build better, more ethical AI. While we are far from reaching the ideal balance, I welcome any and all initiatives that advance the conversation and empower ethics and compliance departments to make meaningful decisions. We need to ensure that AI not only enhances our educational experiences but also aligns with our ethical values.

Embracing AI: A Full Appreciation

On this Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day, I encourage you to engage AI. Appreciate all it can do, recognize what it cannot, and understand its ethical implications. Rather than dismissing AI as just a phase or a fad, use your time and energy to understand what this technology means for you and our society. What can it do for you? What problems can it solve? What new problems does it create? Determine how AI fits into your life and education, and join the conversation about its future. You do not need a technical background to understand its benefits or to engage in discussions about its ethical use; being human is the credential you need. Let’s ensure AI enhances our educational experiences while upholding the values that matter most.

Happy Artificial Intelligence Appreciation Day!

#futureofeducation #ethicalai #aiforeducation #aiforgood

UNESCO Center for Humane Technology Center for AI and Digital Policy Center for AI Safety 联合国儿童基金会

Resources to get you started:

• Weekly Newsletter by Al Kingsley "Al′s AI Edu Recommends" Subscribe here: https://www.dhirubhai.net/newsletters/7081942119963078656/?displayConfirmation=true
• Grow with 谷歌 in collboration with 美国麻省理工学院 , a free 2 hour course for educators: https://grow.google/ai-for-educators/
• IBM AI Foundations for Educators: https://www.ibm.com/training/badge/ibm-ai-foundations-for-educators
• 微软 AI for Education skills program: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/educator-center/topics/ai-for-education