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Generative AI and education futures
Video highlights from Professor Mike Sharples' keynote address at the 2023 乱伦秀 Education Conference, which explored opportunities to prosper with AI as a part of education.
7 August 2023
Professor Mike Sharples is the听Emeritus Professor of Educational Technology at The Open University.听His keynote has been edited into short videos. You can also听.听
Contents:
Introduction
Opportunities for educators听
- Examples of interactions with AI: Possibility Engine;听Collaboration Coach; Socratic Opponent;听Guide on the Side
- Can AI play a role in giving students feedback?
- For assessing disciplines like Maths
Accessibility听and biases
- How accessible is AI?
- How can we tackle the听cultural biases of AI tools?
- Could AI widen social inequalities?
- For translanguaging and sign language
Responsibility and creativity
- How safe is it to use AI like GPT-4?
- The need for AI literacy and policies
- Is AI likely to replace educators?
- As a creative tool
Further resources
Introduction
Professor Sharples gave an overview of what听generative AI is and how it should be treated critically.听
It would be difficult and unwise to ban or evade the use of AI, he suggested, but emphasised that embracing AI in education will be a long-term process of building trust.听
What is GPT-4?听
Is GPT-4 reliable?
How can we respond to AI?
Opportunities for educators
Professor Sharples suggests that prompting the AI to act as a听'Socratic opponent' could be a particuarly useful tool for students.听An argumentative,听polite听dialogue with AI can provide a听helpful challenge to a student's thinking, encourage them to ciritically engage with the technology, and could be used to inform an argumentative essay.
With the right prompts, AI could be an effective听tutor or 'Guide on the side' on almost any topic, giving students dynamic feedback.听
Example interaction with AI: 鈥楶ossibility Engine鈥�
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Example interaction with AI: 鈥楥ollaboration Coach鈥�
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Example interaction with AI: 鈥楽ocratic Opponent鈥櫶�
Example interaction with AI: 鈥楪uide on the Side鈥�
Can AI play a role in giving students feedback?
Using AI in a discipline like Maths
Accessibility听and biases
Professor Sharples encouraged students and educators to try out open access generative AI tools. However he听emphasised听universities need to provide reassurance, policy and guidelines to address the divide between those students who are confident using the technology, and those who are afraid to engage.
He also raised concerns about the cultural bias in听datasets that AI tools draw from.听
How accessible is AI?
How can we tackle the听cultural biases of AI tools?
Could AI widen social inequalities?
The importance of AI tools for translanguaging and sign language
Responsibility and creativity
Professor Sharples offered some reassurance on the safety of AI tools and that the caring professions will be the last to be replaced by AI.
He spoke of the need to develop听policies around AI in partnership with students and argued that rather than homogenising thought, AI can be a genuinely creative tool.听
How safe is it to use AI like GPT-4?
The need for AI literacy and policies
Is AI likely to replace educators?
As a creative tool
Further resources
- Watch the
- AI in teaching and learning at 乱伦秀
- Designing assessment for an AI-enabled world
- A round-up of the 2023 乱伦秀 Education Conference, with links to recordings of other talks
- Information of the 乱伦秀 Education Conference
- MicroCPD: AI and assessment