John Baker is the President and CEO of D2L, a global leader in EdTech.
The impacts of generative AI’s introduction into the mainstream were felt more immediately in the education sector than in any other. Halfway through the academic year, this technology changed classrooms, prompting educators and students alike to reorient themselves to a new paradigm.
As we near the one-year anniversary of the public launch of ChatGPT, we can already see the impact this hype has had, and equally how quickly that paradigm shift has happened. But believe it or not, the hype around generative AI will one day die down, even as the technology itself remains part of our lives. How, then, do we ensure that its continued presence in our learning environments is a positive one? How do we make generative AI a sustainable learning tool?
Generative AI Is Here To Stay
Educators, ever curious, have experimented with generative AI, and by and large, they’ve realized the innovative potential in this disruptive technology.
• In K-12 environments, teachers are using generative AI to help brainstorm lesson plans and suggest supplemental learning materials. They’ve started using generative AI to help them tackle administrative tasks, too, like writing emails, leaving them more energy to devote to students.
• In higher ed, generative AI is already being incorporated into writing activities, creation of assessments, lesson plans and much more, both as a tool to use and as a subject to study. While generative AI tools like ChatGPT raised issues early on around academic integrity, institutions are already taking steps to ensure that assessments reflect this new reality, pivoting to assessments that incorporate more authentic and human experiences.
• Meanwhile, in corporate learning environments, where skills development programs aren’t typically personalized for an employee’s unique needs, generative AI has the potential to be transformative, changing the way corporate learning is tailored for specific roles to embrace new AI skills to gain productivity across most parts of the business.
Make It Sustainable, Make It Human
As successfully as they’ve adapted to generative AI, many educators still naturally harbor more existential concerns about generative AI’s potential to fundamentally alter education and disrupt the human connections that are so essential to its success. This is a valid concern. But ultimately, generative AI’s long-term impact on learning won’t be decided by the technology—it will be up to us—and saving time with AI will enable us to build a more human education experience.
By following a handful of key principles, educators and learning leaders have the power to build and integrate sustainable forms of generative AI while preserving the essence of the educational experience.
1. Privacy: Prioritizing privacy rights in both the development and use of AI systems is important, and ensuring that learners have control over their personal data is also essential.
2. Non-Discrimination And Bias Reduction: AI systems should be designed, developed and used in a manner that ensures they are unbiased and fair. This extends to issues of accessibility—AI systems should account for the needs of a vast variety of learners, and as our understanding of accessibility evolves, so should these AI tools.
3. Security: AI systems should be developed and used with a strict adherence to security. They should be tested to minimize the risk of harm and to provide reliability and security throughout the system’s lifecycle.
4. Transparency And Accountability: AI systems should provide clear, explainable outputs. And everyone, including learners, must be made aware of where and how AI systems are being used in the learning journey. Educators, organizations and AI developers should also be fully accountable for the AI systems they use.
A Human Approach To Our AI-Driven Future
Keeping a human-centric perspective is important when it comes to implementing any technology, and that’s especially true with learning. AI will be another tool that will help us be more productive in the tasks we are performing. And remember, we shape our tools and then they shape us—which is why it is so important for us to play an active role in continually shaping AI and our engagement with it—after all, technology is a human construct.
The speed at which generative AI has impacted us all has been surprising. For many, the arrival of generative AI felt more like an ambush than an evolution—something more unsettling than innovative. But with the right principles in place, we can help ensure that as we evolve our use of AI, we use it in a way that strengthens the human connection between educators and learners, learners and other learners and with the subjects they are pursuing—ultimately helping us inspire and engage the next generation to achieve more than they dreamed possible.
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