AI continues to raise concern in the academic field
The following contribution belongs to Javier Espinoza who is the EU correspondent for the Financial Times covering competition and digital policy from Brussels. Before that, he was the newspaper’s private equity correspondent in London. He was part of the original group of reporters who formed the FT’s Due Diligence newsletter in 2017.
Academics express confidence that they and AI can work together. An effect of the new technology “does not have to be the expulsion” of teachers from the classrooms
Artificial intelligence may not be about to replace teachers and university professors entirely, but it is increasing the way the education sector engages with learning.
Robert Seamans, a professor of management and organizations at New York University’s Stern School of Business, hopes that AI tools like ChatGPT will help him and his peers get better at what they already do, rather than having their roles become assume
They will undoubtedly be “faster, and I hope that means they will be better,” explains Seamans.
And he is well placed to judge, as he co-authored research on the professions most vulnerable to the rapid growth of AI.
This research found that eight of the top 10 occupations exposed to AI are in the education sector: primarily teachers of various subjects, including sociology and political science.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be replaced, Seamans stresses, just that the way they do their jobs will be affected in a variety of ways.
NYU Stern School of Business, where students already use intelligent chatbots to facilitate learning © Alamy
Study recognizes potential for job losses and government’s role in managing disruption
But it also points out the potential of the technology. An AI-trained workforce will help both companies and workers themselves “take advantage of new tools,” the research concluded.
In education, the implications include a change in the way academics deliver content and interact with their students, with greater access through tools such as ChatGPT and automated administrative tasks.
Use cases: learning chatbots and writing prompts
David Veredas is a professor at the Vlerick Business School in Brussels. He sees AI as an “enabler” for educators and their students in the same way that other tools like Google and Wikipedia have done so far.
“First we had the whiteboard, then the slides and now we have artificial intelligence,” says Veredas. «We can do a lot more, like use virtual reality to enhance the learning experience.»
Others see the potential of AI as an enhancer in the classroom. Greg Benson, a computer science professor at the University of San Francisco, recently launched GenAI café, an informal forum where students share views on the potential of generative AI. “Right now I feel like a kid in a candy store,” he says. «There are a lot of changes.»
Benson says intelligent chatbots have emerged as part of his university’s initial thinking about artificial intelligence tools that can aid learning. «They won’t give you the answer, but they will help you think through the problems you’re working on,» he says.
However, he is concerned about plagiarism as a consequence of the use of linguistic models.
«Cheating is not a new problem, but we have made it explicit that AI-generated work cannot be delivered,» he explains.
ChatGPT can be used to speed up the process of writing academic papers.
Seamans has started using ChatGPT to speed up his writing process. He says writing «is a little faster because I put some initial ideas into ChatGPT and start to have a structure or framework.» And he adds: “I never use most of what he offers me because it is not in my words. [But] it triggers this creative process . . . It gives me something to react to.”
In this way, AI is likely to make some tasks easier to perform, rather than making roles redundant
In addition to helping draft initial research ideas, it can help structure academic papers or provide a platform for brainstorming. This would speed up the academic workflow but would not replace the creative or intellectual input of professors. «It doesn’t have to be the elimination of a teacher in front of the class,» stresses Seamans.
Boosted Jobs: Teachers and Classroom Teachers
Benson points to experimental tools developed by big tech companies that will act as virtual assistants, not necessarily replacing one, but creating a new AI function.
Noteworthy is Google’s NotebookLM, which helps find trends from uploaded documents. “You can ask him to summarize. You can ask it to produce things.
That’s an example where you could imagine a teacher putting up his notes to make available to his students now. Is this a new position or is it an increase to my current position?
It also helps with the students’ thinking process.
“If you’re taking an ancient Chinese history class and you get all your class notes and you can put them in [NotebookLM]. This app would automatically generate a list of questions and answers from those notes and then create flashcards for them. Then you could study from that material.”
Veredas is optimistic about his profession surviving and thriving despite the arrival of AI. He highlights the irreplaceable core of learning that involves interaction, discussion and critical thinking, which AI cannot easily replicate.
She says: “AI can revolutionize the classroom. We can let students learn the basics at home with AI and then we can delve deeper into the class discussion. But it remains to be seen. “We need to be open to new technologies and adopt them whenever they are useful for learning.”
What the Financial Times is proposing
The Higher Education for Good Foundation, in partnership with a wide range of organisations, hosted Youth AI Talks from 8 April to 6 May, to explore views on the functions and effects of artificial intelligence on learning. , as well as well-being and climate.
Supported by a network of volunteer youth ambassadors and leading experts, young people were given the opportunity to express their views online, and AI helped them translate their ideas from multiple languages and summarize their opinions.
It was a time to share what you thought about how AI could enhance and disrupt teaching and learning, how you are already using it, what you think the limits should be, and how to prepare for a future in which it will play a role. increasingly important role.
The Financial Times will summarize the most important trends and insights in its upcoming report on AI for schools, which will be published at the end of May.
A recent survey of young people’s views on what should be taught in schools to create the future they seek highlighted almost none of the traditional skills such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics, social sciences and humanities.
Instead, respondents focused on the importance of learning how to allow them to live together in harmony, citing qualities such as respect, kindness, solidarity, general moral values, tolerance, open-mindedness, empathy, acceptance , responsibility, friendship and love.
Closing the trust gap in AI will help us realize its full potential
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has great potential in all sectors and industries; To ensure we leverage it effectively, it is critical to close the trust gap in AI.
This is what Harold Pradal, who is the commercial director of the BSI Group, and responsible for shaping and realizing BSI’s vision, commercial strategy and key initiatives to support business growth across all streams, argues in this contribution. of businesses, sectors and geographies.
This article is part of the “AI Governance Summit.”
The use and expansion of artificial intelligence is almost inevitable in many industries around the world, and it shows great promise in all of them.
But today many people remain skeptical of AI, an attitude fueled largely by its newness and how opaque the technology can be.
To close this trust gap in AI and realize its full potential, building trust is essential
It’s strange to think that it’s only been 12 months since the launch of ChatGPT, given how much people talk about generative AI these days. In fact, media coverage shows a 286% year-on-year increase in coverage of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
But while last year can be seen as the tipping point in which AI went mainstream, the true story of AI goes much deeper.
For starters, AI is already deeply embedded in our lives.
BSI’s Trust in AI survey found that 38% of people worldwide consciously use AI daily at work
While three-fifths expect to use it by 2030, a figure that increases to 86% in China.
Adopting this technology has the potential to accelerate progress across society, in areas ranging from healthcare and sustainability to food security.
That also means there are critical questions to consider about how to build trust in AI and enforce barriers to ensure it positively shapes our future.
Closing the trust gap in AI
From UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Elon Musk, we have seen frequent warnings about the challenges of AI. Caution is certainly advisable, as with any new technology.
Still, it is also worth focusing on the possibilities that AI can open up, thanks to its ability to process good quality data in innovative ways.
AI offers enormous opportunities in areas ranging from medicine to construction and even the fight against modern slavery.
Take, for example, the United Nations Environment Program’s Global Environment Situation Room, which uses AI to perform near-live analysis and make predictions for the future based on factors such as changes in glacier mass.
Another example of AI as a positive force comes from healthcare.
Three years ago, the world was on the cusp of the first COVID-19 vaccines; a turning point for people around the world.
What people rarely focus on is that Moderna used artificial intelligence and robotic automation to produce about 1,000 mRNAs, a molecule critical to vaccine development, each month.
No wonder, then, that 56% of people surveyed by BSI said they were optimistic about the prospect of AI reducing waiting times in hospitals and that more than half were enthusiastic about its ability to improve diagnostic accuracy.
Nearly 4 in 10 people say they already use AI in their work. That number is destined to grow
Nearly 4 in 10 people say they already use AI in their work. That number is destined to grow.
AI: a net benefit to society, if used correctly
Around the world, people identify the benefits that AI can bring to society: 55% globally believe that AI can help us create a more energy-efficient built environment, while 46% support its use to make the food system more sustainable.
However, despite this, the BSI survey revealed a trust gap, more marked in Europe and the United States than in China or India, but relevant everywhere.
This can be attributed to numerous things, including a lack of trust in technology and a general hesitancy in the face of the unknown. This is reasonable, given that there may be personal data and a lot at stake, especially considering how little we really understand AI.
In fact, many of us unknowingly use AI-enabled tools every day From phones to curated playlists – 57% said they didn’t know customer service chatbots used AI. It’s hard to have confidence in something you don’t fully understand and that’s where you can improve.
While we may doubt it, we expect AI to be common by 2030, in automated lighting (41%), automated vehicles (45%) or biometric identification for travel (40%). A quarter (26%) expect AI to be used regularly in school. It is now a race against time to close the trust gap to enhance the benefits of AI for society.
We can do this in many ways, including through transparency and greater communication about its uses.
This starts with improving proficiency in AI while creating the expectation that human involvement will always be necessary if we are to get the most out of it. It’s not just about AI or humans, but about a partnership to drive progress.
Establish safety barriers
The other component is to establish strong guardrails to protect society and ensure that AI remains a force for good.
Having frameworks in place to regulate their use can help build trust and ultimately increase it. In fact, it is striking that three-fifths of the world want international guidelines on AI.
Ethical and safe use
This indicates the importance of collaboration to ensure the ethical and safe use of AI and build trust. There is no single solution. But alongside legislation such as the EU AI Law, there is an opportunity to leverage agreed best practice standards and principles, such as the upcoming AI management standard, which can evolve alongside the technology.
That there is no misuse of data
This could pave the way to ensure, for example, that data is not misused and that the inputs applied to AI tools are equitable. The key is that now is the time to collaborate globally to balance the incredible power of AI with the reality of using it in a well-executed and well-governed way.
AI is already being used on a large scale, but many people may not necessarily be aware that they are using it.
Harness the potential of AI
Ultimately, AI has the potential to be a transformative technology that we can harness to drive social progress. Fear of the unknown could hinder this, meaning trust is the critical factor.
In the BSI survey, 74% said they needed trust for the use of AI in medical devices and 71% for financial transactions
Developing knowledge about AI and raising awareness about how it is already being used for good can help build this trust, freeing people up to make great use of this technology.
Even as we express concerns, we are aware of the opportunities that AI represents. 29% of people see AI as a tool to protect the planet, while 28% say a top priority is for AI to improve medical diagnosis and 22% choose to make a more just society. The possibilities offered by AI are immense.
Closing the trust gap and creating appropriate checks and balances can allow us to accelerate the adoption of AI and realize its potential as a powerful force for good.
AI will transform the global economy. Let’s make sure it benefits humanity
The following contribution corresponds to Kristalina Georgieva who currently serves as Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, a position for which she was selected on September 25, 2019 and which she has held since October 1, 2019.
Before joining the IMF, Ms. Georgieva was Executive Director of the World Bank from January 2017 to September 2019, during which time she also served as Acting President of the World Bank Group for three months.
AI will affect nearly 40 percent of jobs worldwide, replacing some and complementing others. We need a careful balance
We are on the brink of a technological revolution that could boost productivity, drive global growth and increase incomes around the world. However, it could also replace jobs and deepen inequality.
The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence has captivated the world, sparking excitement and alarm, and raising important questions about its potential impact on the global economy.
