Exploring the Role of AI in Education: Enhancing Learning or Replacing Educators?

"Artificial Intelligence is not a substitute for human intelligence; it is a tool to amplify human creativity and ingenuity." Dr. Fei-Fei Li, Professor, Stanford University and Co-Director, Stanford Human-Centered AI Institute.

What comes to mind when you think of artificial intelligence?

A supercomputer? A machine so smart it can do everything that you can, only better??

In this recurring series, we will explore a range of topics related to artificial intelligence, beginning with the fundamental question of the relationship between AI and education.

We begin this series with a quick discussion on: What is AI, and will it impact education? What does AI in education look like? And, can AI replace teachers?

Key insights

• AI is already used in our daily lives and has the potential to revolutionise education.
• Its integration in education can be in the form of AI-directed learning, AI-supported learning, and AI-empowered learning.
• AI can provide personalised feedback, assist with curriculum development, and enable teachers to work with larger groups.
• AI should not replace human teachers, as their role in nurturing creativity, critical thinking, and compassion is irreplaceable in education.

What is AI? Will it impact education?

AI is all around us. While some describe AI as a human-like machine, its abilities are limited by inputs and design framework. Ultimately, all technology (including? AI), aims to simplify our work.?

If you have used Google Maps, unlocked your phone using face ID, said “hey Alexa”, or clicked on the red underline in Microsoft Word document, then you have used some form of AI.?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines artificial intelligence as: “the capacity of computers or other machines to exhibit or stimulate intelligent behaviour”.?

The aim of technology has always been to make our lives easier and the same is expected of AI. Teaching (or learning) is not easy. But AI may be able to provide us with a tool that makes the process easier without compromising on the level of pedagogy.

What does AI in education look like?

Professor Kumar proposes three ways to integrate AI in education: AI-directed learning, AI-supported learning, and AI-empowered learning.

Professor M. Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman of University Grants Commission and faculty member at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, provides a simple framework to understand how AI can be integrated education: AI directed learning, AI supported learning, and AI empowered learning.*?

In AI-directed learning, he’s referring to an AI tool which? brings the same expertise (if not more) to that of a teacher. The machine, just like the teacher, guides the student through a curriculum to help her achieve her desired learning goal. The student is simply a recipient of the teaching, while the machine imitates a teacher. Prof Kumar says that this kind of AI would be best suited for after class self-study.?

In AI-supported learning, there is collaboration between the student and machine. The student learns, the machine simultaneously collects data. Using this incremental feedback, it estimates the progress to adjust the learning process and guide the student. The focus is on the students, but the machine does more than simply teach. For example, in an English class the machine could adjust the difficulty level of the readings according to the student.?

Finally, there’s AI empowered learning. According to Prof Kumar, this is the most exciting since there are multiple players here - the student, the teacher and the machine. And all the players collaborate with each other to solve complex problems. AI can assist the teachers in providing personalised but practical feedback to each student, and students also learn to effectively communicate with AI tools. This is the optimal AI assisted teaching-learning environment.?

Can AI replace teachers?

Teaching is more than just replicating information. Education's true purpose is to nurture creativity, critical thinking, and compassion for students' success in life.

The act of teaching is much more than mere data collection and repetition of information. In this regard, it is impossible for AI to sustainably replace a human. A machine may best function as a teaching assistant, but should never replace faculty.?

Perhaps it's easier for an AI machine to know more about the subject than the teacher. Perhaps it is more efficient in grading, and providing personalised feedback. But teachers are and will remain important for their soft and transferable skills. Their ability to teach and encourage teamwork, communication, creativity and problem solving is irreplaceable. AI can however enable the teacher to work with larger groups, and help with pedagogical research and curriculum development.?

Without a doubt, AI is here to stay, and will become an essential component of education in the future (just like computers did). But in the enthusiasm for AI educators must not forget the true purpose of education - to enhance human agency. The purpose is to build creativity, rationality, the ability to think critically, to reflect and analyse, and most importantly to be compassionate, ultimately enabling students to navigate life.?

Conclusion?

In conclusion, while AI is revolutionising the field of education, it is important to remember that AI should never replace the role of a human teacher. AI can provide personalised feedback, assist with curriculum development, and enable teachers to work with larger groups. However, the true purpose of education is to empower students with creativity, critical thinking skills, and compassion, and these qualities are best nurtured by human educators.

In the upcoming editions of this series, we discuss topics such as ethics in AI, current applications of AI in education, and how teachers can use tools like ChatGPT in teaching methods.

* Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar (2023) Artificial Intelligence in Education: Are we ready?, IETE Technical Review, 40:2, 153-154, DOI: 10.1080/02564602.2023.2207916