As our sources of knowledge, education, and learning continue to evolve every day, society has begun to determine how it feels about learning about ourselves and our world from computers and through other forms of artificial intelligence. Do we trust the form of learning, is it easy to cheat or put in less effort with the same amount of return? How does this affect our long-term abilities to learn and retain information? Acknowledging the difference is the first step in learning if and how it can affect the way we learn more about our history and the world around us.
Of course, there are different ways in which we incorporate artificial intelligence into our education and learning programs. For example, AI can be utilized to assist the instructor or the teacher or a course, or through remote, professional training, and advancement. This poses the question if AI learning is becoming more accepted and utilized more often – is there a limit to how much responsibility we provide to AI instructors?
Currently, there are ways in which artificial intelligence is used in the classroom. Teachers can use it to help manage administrative tasks such as grading and marking papers, smart content in the form of digital study guides and practices tests are used to assist students in assessing their knowledge, and AI can be used to offer personalized learning solutions that match the abilities of each individual student.
Students and teachers alike can benefit from the addition of artificial intelligence to the classroom. Teachers are able to manage their time in a way that allows them to pay more attention to their students as AI grades assignments and takes care of organizational tasks. Students can receive learning materials better suited to their needs and capabilities. Parents are also able to further progress their children’s learning through additional AI support outside of the classroom.
The downside, of course, is knowing how to manipulate or cheat the AI instructor. It is not unheard of for students to know that their assignments and tests are being graded with the assistance of an algorithm. For those clever enough to crack the code, receiving a high grade is simply a matter of winning a game against artificial intelligence, rather than learning and understanding specific material. From this perspective, artificial intelligence is negatively impacting the knowledge and education being provided to the student.
Ultimately, the way we approach artificial intelligence for education and training purposes should be exactly like how we approach it for any other reason – cautiously and analytically. It will be years before fully automated artificial intelligence processes are accepted on a wide scale. The reason is that we have to learn how it fits within our society and whether or not it is having a positive or negative impact. Through careful consideration and further development, we can create artificial intelligence processes that improve the quality of our lives.
