Empowering Learning through the Integration of AI with Education
Artificial intelligence is not a recent phenomenon; it dates back to about seventy-five years ago, when the “Turing test” was applied by Alan Turing at the University of Manchester. By Turing’s account, in his deliberation of whether machines could imitate the behavior of human beings, a very consequential question arises: could machines think like humans? One of the firsts, John McCarthy, and Marvin Minsky organized the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence in 1956, whereupon the term artificial intelligence was christened. Since then, till today, this technology visited much fortune, broadly due to the massive amounts of available data, machine learning, and computer power, reaching out to almost all facets of human endeavor.
In its recently published report, the World Economic Forum further opines that, in case appropriately handled, AI would accordingly assist teaching and learning approaches through providing a set of abilities, skills, attitudes, and values fit for the future. The integration of emerging technologies will therefore reverse teaching methods, personalize learning experiences, and streamline administrative functions. AI enables the provision of differentiated content while relieving teachers of repetitive administrative duties, thus adding value to the role of the teacher rather than detracting from it.
India’s education sector, among several issues, is considerably affected by the shortage of trained teachers, poor accessibility to educational resources, and varying degrees of quality of education. The very presence of a large youth population that can be seen as a significant human resource potential magnifies the demand for a well-organized education system in India. During the pandemic of COVID-19, technology contributed massively to minimizing learning losses. NEP 2020 furthers the initiative of integrating AI in higher education by providing frameworks to adopt technology to deliver quality education and build a sustainable digital education system. The EdTech market in India is predicted to see massive growth with increased adoption of AI and digital learning platforms. The launch of Iris, India’s first AI-generated school teacher robot in Kerala, was a watershed moment in the application of generative AI in education. AI can assist in bridging the educational divide by providing access to education in remote localities and underserved areas.
AI can be a panacea for the greatest challenges faced by education today, ushering in novel pedagogical approaches, metamorphosing learning practices, and hastening the formation of sustainable educational systems. Nevertheless, ethical concerns and strategic implementation in marrying AI with the education system demand extensive governance reforms by means of policy frameworks directed toward infrastructure development, teacher training improvement, and ethical guidelines formulation.
