Generative AI and education futures
Video highlights from Professor Mike Sharples' keynote address at the °ÄÃÅÀúÊ·¿ª½±¼Ç¼ Education Conference, which explored opportunities to prosper with AI as a part of education.
7 August 2023
Professor Mike Sharples is theÌýEmeritus Professor of Educational Technology at The Open University.ÌýHis keynote has been edited into short videos. You can alsoÌý.Ìý
Contents:
Introduction
Opportunities for educatorsÌý
- Examples of interactions with AI: Possibility Engine;ÌýCollaboration Coach; Socratic Opponent;ÌýGuide on the Side
- Can AI play a role in giving students feedback?
- For assessing disciplines like Maths
AccessibilityÌýand biases
- How accessible is AI?
- How can we tackle theÌýcultural biases of AI tools?
- Could AI widen social inequalities?
- For translanguaging and sign language
Responsibility and creativity
- How safe is it to use AI like GPT-4?
- The need for AI literacy and policies
- Is AI likely to replace educators?
- As a creative tool
Further resources
Introduction
Professor Sharples gave an overview of whatÌýgenerative AI is and how it should be treated critically.Ìý
It would be difficult and unwise to ban or evade the use of AI, he suggested, but emphasised that embracing AI in education will be a long-term process of building trust.Ìý
What is GPT-4?Ìý
Is GPT-4 reliable?
How can we respond to AI?
Opportunities for educators
Professor Sharples suggests that prompting the AI to act as aÌý'Socratic opponent' could be a particuarly useful tool for students.ÌýAn argumentative,ÌýpoliteÌýdialogue with AI can provide aÌýhelpful challenge to a student's thinking, encourage them to ciritically engage with the technology, and could be used to inform an argumentative essay.
With the right prompts, AI could be an effectiveÌýtutor or 'Guide on the side' on almost any topic, giving students dynamic feedback.Ìý
Example interaction with AI: ‘Possibility Engine’
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Example interaction with AI: ‘Collaboration Coach’
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Example interaction with AI: ‘Socratic Opponent’Ìý
Example interaction with AI: ‘Guide on the Side’
Can AI play a role in giving students feedback?
Using AI in a discipline like Maths
AccessibilityÌýand biases
Professor Sharples encouraged students and educators to try out open access generative AI tools. However heÌýemphasisedÌýuniversities need to provide reassurance, policy and guidelines to address the divide between those students who are confident using the technology, and those who are afraid to engage.
He also raised concerns about the cultural bias inÌýdatasets that AI tools draw from.Ìý
How accessible is AI?
How can we tackle theÌýcultural biases of AI tools?
Could AI widen social inequalities?
The importance of AI tools for translanguaging and sign language
Responsibility and creativity
Professor Sharples offered some reassurance on the safety of AI tools and that the caring professions will be the last to be replaced by AI.
He spoke of the need to developÌýpolicies around AI in partnership with students and argued that rather than homogenising thought, AI can be a genuinely creative tool.Ìý
How safe is it to use AI like GPT-4?
The need for AI literacy and policies
Is AI likely to replace educators?
As a creative tool
Further resources
- Watch the
- AI in teaching and learning °ÄÃÅÀúÊ·¿ª½±¼Ç¼
- Designing assessment for an AI-enabled world
- A round-up of the °ÄÃÅÀúÊ·¿ª½±¼Ç¼ Education Conference, with links to recordings of other talks
- Information of the UCL Education Conference
- MicroCPD: AI and assessment