Industry Insights: How Will AI Impact the Modern-Day Education System?
By Rajive Keshup
Edited by Jaclyn Hartnett
VC-Parents weigh in on the potential & limitations of AI in educating the next generations
“If you could re-build the modern-day education system from the ground up — re-imagined and infused with AI — what would it look like and what would that mean for our children?”
As investors (and parents) this is the question we asked ourselves as Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s latest release of ChatGPT has taken the professional world by storm. And with ChatGPT’s easy-to-use interface, many educators are speculating on the future of learning.
With the GPT3 (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) at its core and a neural network that mines data sources on the internet to generate responses, the new ChatGPT platform takes OpenAI technology to new heights with remarkable responsiveness. Unlike search engines like Google or Safari, it uses existing data to generate new insights and accurate responses. And unlike first-generation chat bots at online help desks, ChatGPT can remember previous conversations, allowing it to provide a more natural, interactive, and helpful experience. This is a huge step forward for AI and for professionals looking to revolutionize the way we learn and interact with technology.
Here’s the kicker: with the next-gen GPT4 models already out, this platform will become even more advanced. In other words, things are about to get really interesting.
Education has long been ripe for disruption. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, it’s among the top sectors that have become increasingly more expensive (rising ~180% since 2000). Compared to other areas where prices are already stable or coming down, the impact of technology on the costs of education could be dramatic. AI’s big potential in education revolves around highly personalized learning, allowing educators to design effective and equitable systems that meet the unique needs of students from all backgrounds.
With AI-powered learning systems that prioritize both efficiency and equity — educators can ultimately help countless students find success. However, we’d be remiss in not recognizing the perils of leaning too heavily on AI in a relatively untested environment (e.g., reliability issues or the authenticity and ownership debate). Below, we share where we think innovation will occur within the modern-day education system along with important limitations to consider.
The Great Promise
Personal Learning Pathways: Personalized learning is essential for long-term student success. ChatGPT is revolutionizing this field with its ability to quickly suggest next steps to any learning challenge and support students of various levels in real-time. For instance, if a student is struggling with Calculus derivatives, ChatGPT can provide relevant results to “Explain derivatives using everyday terms” or “Provide step-by-step processes for solving derivative calculations.” By analyzing interactions with the system, it can continuously adapt to the learner’s needs and pace — providing personalized engagement that addresses learning differences by adjusting explanations and chunking information based on student input.
As technology advances, personalized AI tutors can be designed in multiple modalities and media formats to meet the needs of learners. With the surge in demand and evidence in support of 1:1 tutoring to combat Covid-related learning gaps, the potential of personalized AI tutors is immense while professionals have the opportunity to create more effective and efficient learning environments.
Critical Access: It’s a sad reality that hundreds of millions of learners across the globe lack access to quality education. However, there is hope in the form of sophisticated AI tutors that can be integrated into simple and affordable platforms, providing on-demand support via mobile devices. This will help to minimize and, with any luck, eliminate lost learning opportunities. While largely dependent on internet penetration and access to coding and AI becoming more mainstream, professionals will eventually be able to use technology to break down barriers to quality education and truly ensure that no student is left behind.
Efficient Learning: Picture this — educators can now free up their time to build deeper relationships with students and create more engaging learning experiences, thanks to ChatGPT’s formative assessment. The platform efficiently uploads writing assignments, generates recommendations for revisions, and provides guidance to students throughout the editing process. Plus, it can develop rubrics when prompted, refining them with each subsequent query. With ChatGPT, professionals can enable more efficient and effective assessment, unlocking endless possibilities.
Counseling & Coaching: Most schools are not equipped to provide quality counseling and the level of social-emotional support kids need to best navigate the education journey in a way tailored to their goals. ChatGPT combined with AR/VR technology can serve as a front-line counselor, providing immediate access to resources for career and college planning, advice, and mentorship. This would alleviate current student-to-counselor ratios and machine learning capabilities enable continuous improvements to personalized guidance.
Similarly, with tools like Edthena and ChatGPT, every teacher can benefit from personalized AI-powered coaching and virtual support (even in schools with limited resources), effectively acting as a virtual research assistant to quickly find content or draft lesson plans. This would enable educators to spend more time to further develop professional skills.
Learning Design: AI is transforming the way we design innovative learning experiences. With the launch of Nolej in 2023, educators now have access to an AI platform that can quickly generate complete, sophisticated learning modules using text, video, or other media sources. These modules include interactive courseware, tasks, assessments, and even AI-generated assessments for a broad knowledge graph. The Singapore American School (Go Eagles!) is already exploring the use of Large Language Models like ChatGPT in its classrooms, but only time will tell if this potential comes to fruition with many open implementation questions remaining.
The Noteworthy Limitations
Garbage In, Garbage Out: AI’s effectiveness depends on the quality of the data fed into machine learning algorithms. OpenAI relies on data from 2021 and earlier, which is already outdated. To combat bias and increase digital equity, platform builders should use support services like the Education Technology equity certification from Digital Promise. If AI is widely used, it may become self-referential, citing its own work. However, the sheer volume of AI-generated content could affect the reliability of online searches. Even though ChatGPT’s responses appear to be accurate, there will be times when it’s wrong. Therefore, we must have the skills to assess the validity of the information. A great case in point here is Galactica, an AI model from Meta which generated fake research and misinformation, citing real authors from research, which evidently did not exist.
A Tectonic Shift for Knowledge Workers: Imagine a future where AI can write close to perfect essays. With OpenAI, every professional (or student) would have access to a tool that could potentially replace human-produced writing, such as blog posts or reports. We envision a future where the writing revision processes using ChatGPT as a tool, rather than solely for producing the final product, becomes the norm. This would require a shift of focus to mastering the tool itself and the research, critical thinking and prompt writing that produces the output. But the question remains, how quickly and effectively can professionals adapt to this changing landscape? The future of education will depend on the flexibility and open-mindedness of educators in embracing new technology that will drive a tectonic shift among knowledge workers and today’s understanding of content creation.
Authenticity & Ownership: Educators are grappling with questions about ownership and authenticity as AI-generated work becomes more prevalent in the classroom. With AI capable of generating code, essays, and art, it is unclear who owns the work and how to detect plagiarism, especially as the technology becomes more advanced. While some may advocate for returning to traditional methods to ensure authenticity, others argue that we should embrace the benefits that AI brings to the learning process. We’ll likely see new tools emerge to detect human writing vs. AI along with AI-guidelines in curriculum but ultimately, the decision will be up to educators and institutions to determine what works best for their students.
Privacy and Security: Data privacy is of the utmost importance when it comes to any technology, and ChatGPT is no exception. Educators and learners alike may have concerns about how their input data is being used beyond being fed into the data model. Schools, in particular, are expressing apprehension about how third parties are using student data with technologies like this without proper consent. It is crucial that data privacy measures are taken seriously and that individuals’ personal information is protected at all times.
Human Connection: Research suggests that the more we use technology, the more isolated we feel. While ChatGPT can provide tremendous value, it’s important to consider how it may impact users’ social and emotional well-being. Developing relationships and social-emotional skills are critical for success in the workplace, and relying solely on AI “friends” may hinder these essential abilities. So, can ChatGPT really serve as a viable replacement for human connections?
Parting Thoughts
AI is revolutionizing the way education is delivered — from faster and more personalized instruction to improved assessments, evaluation and guidance. With ChatGPT and similar technologies at the forefront, AI-powered tools are ushering in an era of more equitable, accessible, and personal educational experiences.
While there are still many limitations and open questions that need to be addressed, we believe educators can look forward to smarter decision-making and resource allocation, as well as more effective teaching methods. In this fast-paced and interconnected world, AI is opening the door to unprecedented solutions to some of our most pressing learning challenges.
