Coupling Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning of computers with human values through the school curriculum.

As machines become more and more closer to pass the “Turing test”, the question remains, what should governments do, to equip societies and populations to be relevant in a world where most of the work is done by machines. 

Since the time human beings moved from the barter system to the monetary form of exchange, labour (both physical and mental)  of human beings became a chief commodity of exchange. People worked for hours and hours in various professions and were paid either for physical effort or for their sound advice. Since 2500BC this is the way the world worked. With the advent of technology, tools and machines became supplements to increase the income of a person though more output in a given time. The world order worked this way successfully for the past thousands of years. 

The challenge emerged in modern times when machines moved from their role of being supplementary to complementary. The challenge when visualized in one of the means of production,i.e., labour makes the whole scenario a scary one. Recent reports that Artificial Intelligence Radio- diagnosis is more accurate and better than a radiologist prediction and this will lead to a drop in radiologists jobs is a freighting one. Though this is a situation for the entire mankind, not so good for the community of radiologists. 

AI affects the jobs of people who are at the lower rung of the economic ecosystem.  the jobs which are more repetitive and involve physical labour will be easily taken up by machines.hence the governments of the day, across the world should realize the effects of AI in the entire ecosystem and plan well in advance about the skills that should be given to people to equip them to live along with the machines. The answer for this conundrum came from Mr Andreas Schleicher Director for Education and Skills, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)  who mentioned that the future is about pairing the artificial intelligence of computers with the cognitive, social and emotional skills, and values of human beings. 

Two important questions that should be asked at this juncture are first, at what level skills should be given to the population whether it's at the student stage in schools and colleges or should the skills be imparted after people complete their schools and colleges? Second,  what type of skills should be given, whether the skills should be technological skills or the skills be cognitive. Being in the Ministry of Human Resource Development for the past 7 months and before that observing the society at close quarters as a civil servant, I feel that the early start is better and imparting cognitive skills is the key to adapt with AI.

To start early, AI should not only be introduced as a separate - isolated subject in the school curriculum but a multidisciplinary integrated approach should be adopted such that it becomes the link to enhance the teaching-learning across subjects and at all levels from class 1 -12 and at the higher education level.  Understanding the dire need to equip students with the skills of the 21st generation and make them ready for the professional world, C.B.S.E. has introduced artificial intelligence as an elective subject for class 9 from the academic session 2019 -20 and have also issued guidelines for integration of AI across the subjects for class 6 - 12  to expose and empower the students to understand and empower the AI competencies. Further, on 27th February 2020, Niti Ayog,  Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has launched an AI-based module for students in collaboration with NASSCOM with a mission to empower 2.5 million students through AI.  The module follows an integrated approach to learning through and of AI. 

          The National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence by NITI Ayog refers to AI being inspired by the power and skills of human beings to think, perceive, problem-solving and decision making and coupled with advances in data collection and aggregation, analytics and computer processing power. In the Age of AI, we must teach our students to think creatively and critically and to analyze the subject leant in totality and apply the concept learnt to real-world situations. We should also teach our students how to collaborate with fellow citizens in a rapidly changing world. While pairing artificial intelligence with human beings and empowering our students for the progressive skillsets for their prospective jobs we must not forget the principles of the Indian education system.  Education should have the power to enhance the creativity and critical thinking, ethics and human and constitutional values and necessary life skills to help students live in a multi-faceted world and develop as active and responsible citizens. Like artificial intelligence, the curriculum from early years should include respect for all persons, empathy, tolerance, human rights, gender equality, non-violence, global citizenship, contribution of culture in sustainable development and sustainable lifestyle, inclusion, and equity as has been reinforced in our National Policy of Education (NPE 1968, 86/92, Draft NEP 2019).  Thus, the future is of pairing the artificial intelligence of computers along with the cognitive domain and simultaneously enhancing the social and emotional skills, and values of human beings through the curriculum.