LETTER | AI in education can massively enrich learning

LETTER | In classrooms where dreams and knowledge entwine, a new dawn breaks with a digital sign. Where once chalk dust danced in the morning light, now algorithms guide minds to new heights.

But is artificial intelligence (AI) all that magical as it appears to be? If it is, can its spells that appear as code truly awaken mundane minds? By co-existing and collaborating with AI, will we truly lessen the burden of banal tasks and allow people to pursue more creative endeavours?

In a recent news story published by the South China Morning Post, Larry Nelson from Microsoft Asia said, “Humans are hardwired to dream, to create, to innovate… we need to avoid being consumed by the drudgery of work.” I couldn’t agree more.

Elevating the economic and personal value of our intellectual endeavours requires us to do away with repetitive tasks and instead apply our energies to innovation.

A conscious, kinetic shift towards adopting AI across the board may be just the ticket to ultimately vault us into the league of high-income nations.

The government appears to share this view, now welcoming multi-billion investments by tech titans like Nvidia and Google, and last year announcing its plans to introduce the basics of AI in primary schools. Eventually, even preschools.

While there are many who bemoan the treachery of technology in our lives, fraying social connections and shrinking the attention spans of our children, I say to them that none can stop humanity’s greed for progress.

Start them young

Nature and nurture have moulded us thus. This means AI-augmented education must start early to instil fluency in the young and build their comfort level with a technology that will define the future.

For the record, I’ve never been a technophile, but recently revisited my stance after watching a new animated sci-fi show called “Pantheon”. The show’s AI-centric premise made me think about the future of humanity and how having access to this technology in my childhood would’ve made it infinitely less frustrating.

Growing up in a conservative family and attending public schools, the adults always claimed I was far too curious for my own good. They often responded to my questions about the world with crude shushes. I used to think maybe there was something seriously wrong with me.

Imagine having AI at that age, I now muse. I would have had a virtual mentor that could satisfy all my curiosities. I would’ve gained a kind of rare confidence to navigate life in a more sure-footed manner.

As an early years teacher, I recognise the risks of introducing more technology into the classroom. However, I also acknowledge that the windfalls of AI-assisted education may far outweigh its drawbacks.

For starters, AI may help to remedy our falling Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) scores and the growing indifference of SPM graduates towards pursuing higher education.

Unlike traditional technology integration, AI is highly customisable and can be programmed to challenge students, forcing them to think critically about problems, whether in math, reading, or writing.

This technology goes far beyond merely spotting mistakes and spoon-feeding answers, as shown by “Letrus”, an AI education software Brazil implemented in 2017 that has seen positive results according to the World Economic Forum. More recently, Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, in his TED Talk introduced “Khanmigo”, an AI tutor that not only finds mistakes in math equations but also asks for reasoning.

Imagine students who can’t seem to understand a topic, apply a formula the right way, or have inconsistencies in their debate points. An AI tutor, being non-judgmental above all else, could alter topics to the student’s understanding, suggest other formulas to get the right answers, spot errors in debate points, and suggest better delivery by referring them to the best orators in history. If such individualised learning becomes available and widespread, students shouldn’t find any subject too hard to grasp.

Revolutionising the concept of learning

AI-assisted learning could also transform the lives of disadvantaged groups, specifically in our rural areas, belonging to the Orang Asli community, or even refugee children.

An AI tutor will never be bound by geography and take the gift of education anywhere and everywhere, including remote areas that discourage human teachers. It can go into homes miles away from school buildings and civilisation.

This technology may equalise access to quality education in ways that were unimaginable in decades past and remove poverty as a deterrent to learning, which former deputy education minister Lim Hui Ying said is the key driver of students quitting secondary school.

And because AI tutors will neither hold nor project prejudice, they will revolutionise the way we teach our children with special educational needs by stimulating their learning in highly personalised ways.

However, can AI become more troublesome than it is worth? For teachers who are already burning the proverbial candle at both ends, will it leave us with more questions to ask? With each upgrade, must we wade through a sea of code to ensure every child benefits equally?

As for our children with special educational needs, won’t their socio-emotional development be delayed when they spend more and more time in front of computer screens than the human faces who already struggle to understand them?

These are all valid concerns with broad societal implications. To usher in a new era of education, the government must do two things. First, publicise a roadmap of AI integration in schools that plots its stages. Two, initially limit this initiative to a pilot programme that gathers copious data on its social and emotional impact on our young people and teachers.

Only then can we fully capitalise on our investments and prepare the next generation for tomorrow’s dynamic world.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.