For at least the last few years, there has been constant talk about robots and other machines taking jobs away from people. While it may not be as bad as it was once thought to be, there will certainly be jobs lost to technology. While there will likely be jobs created in their place, however, there is no denying that technologies like artificial intelligence will have their place in our lives. They are already very much in it, in fact, with services like Siri and Amazon’s Alexa. As time goes on, there’s no way of telling just how much artificial intelligence will impact the futures of today’s students. They may wind up using it every day, not at all, or may end up relying on it completely for their careers. Knowing more about robotics and AI in education is the first step in welcoming AI into our lives.
What AI Means for the Future of Teaching
Artificial intelligence is certainly on the horizon and it’s not passing the education sector by. Since we generally believe AI to be one of the biggest reasons for people losing jobs to technology, it’s natural to think that the biggest role it will play in education is taking jobs away from teachers. It’s a hot topic in the technology world, but it is hard to predict what kinds of effects it will have and which industries it will take over first. As far as education goes, AI could wind up being used in the same way it’s used in people’s personal lives. One of the most popular examples is of someone walking down the street and their AI assistant recommending restaurants to them as they go since it knows it’s just about dinner time. AI in education could work the same way. It could wind up helping teachers read cues from students and help them cater their teaching to more effectively help them learn.
Applying this logic to education, it’s important for educators to use the tools they have to prepare their students for the future that they’re most likely going to be experiencing. Before the technological revolution, jobs were rote and routine. During the Information Revolution, jobs were commonly reassigned to computers. Now, in the AI revolution, those people who are most likely to lose their jobs are those who show people the way: hosts, museum guides, tour guides, and more. Since teachers show students the way, that’s why there is some question as to whether or not they will always be needed. Technology is at its highest value when it does what it does best while humans do what they do best. That’s the premise that is leading people to think that it will have a place in education as a supplemental piece rather than something that completely takes over.
Some of the most important things teachers do are build relationships with students, notice their strengths and weaknesses, help them learn to collaborate, and catalyze their creativity. Teachers who are able to do this and do it well are considered irreplaceable even in this day and age and will most likely keep their jobs based on what we currently know. Those educators who rely on the same worksheets, textbooks, and videos year after year, however, and don’t give students the chance to develop their creativity are likely in a lot more danger. Their redundant and uninspiring routines will result in them being rendered replaceable by more engaging and more exciting virtual teachers. We’re not saying that this is guaranteed to happen or even probable, but if the way that the workforce is trending is any indication, then it certainly is within the realm of possibilities.
How AI is Shaping the Future of Education
Like many other forms of emerging technology, artificial intelligence is going to have an impact on education. To be honest, it already has, but that impact is pretty minimal compared to what it could become over the next few years or decades. Almost every industry in the modern economy is using AI in one way or another and it’s been a part of our lives—sometimes subtly—for at least the last few years. The education world is actually one of the places in which the most promising strides have been made. Though there aren’t robots taking the place of teachers, AI is making its presence known in other ways, helping teachers and students rather than completely revamping the way a classroom is run. Whether it’s enabling greater levels of personalized learning or finding ways to close learning gaps, artificial intelligence is making strides in education.
In terms of offering a more personalized educational experience for students, AI is able to help teachers adapt their instructional styles by finding certain holes in what students are or are not understanding. It’s able to help teachers identify things they might have missed and cues students might be presenting that show where they need a bit more focus. For teachers, AI is also something that can help save them time, particularly when it comes to grading. AI may not yet be smart enough to grade essays based on clear thinking or creative articulation, but it can help teachers with multiple choice grading, for example. This kind of approach can also favor students. If an AI discovered that an overwhelming amount of kids were getting the same questions wrong, it could alert educators to perhaps focus more on that particular topic or question so that they’re certain all students are able to learn what they need to know.
These are just a few of the basic examples of AI’s role in education. We’ve talked about some of this before, but it bears repeating, especially as technology continues to progress. Artificial intelligence, especially when it comes to education, is still very much in its infancy. We’ve barely scratched the surface with what it’s going to be able to do. It’s something that can offer students an advantage—when used correctly—and something that can result in a better future for them. We’re not saying there should be some kind of AI presence in every classroom all day long, but using it in certain situations and in the right way could provide both students and teachers with a better experience. If and when AI does make a full-scale appearance in education, we’re confident that it will exclusively be used for good.
Businesses Could Soon be Very Much Driven by AI
Stepping out of the education world for a moment, we’re going to take a look at the overall impact artificial intelligence could have in a general sense. As you may have heard by now, AI is playing a large role in many of today’s industries and seems poised to only increase that role over time. Those who already use AI in businesses would definitely be considered early adopters, but those adopters are already benefiting from the opportunities artificial intelligence provides them. There have even been reports of a direct link between an organization’s revenue growth and the maturity of its artificial intelligence technology. Though not in all cases, it is true that revenue growth can sometimes be linked directly to the use of AI tools. More importantly, many CEO’s are coming to grips with the fact that artificial intelligence is going to play a much more direct role in their future growth and success.
Not only is artificial intelligence expected to streamline work and make companies more efficient, this increased efficiency is expected to lead directly to higher profits. Yes, AI is expected to result in businesses making more money for themselves in the long run. Perhaps even more encouraging is that many companies who plan on adopting AI solutions also plan on retaining the employees that AI will replace. By redeploying them other roles, they can expand on their efficiency even more. The biggest spike in the use of artificial intelligence is expected to happen over the next three or so years with much of that already underway. As it’s rolled out on more of a regular basis, employers are taking measures to ensure their employees are appropriately trained on how to use it and remain engaged during the day.
By 2020, it’s reported that businesses that have already deployed AI solutions expect to see revenue increase by 39 percent and see costs shrink by 37 percent. Of those employers replacing workers with AI, many of them are putting displaced employees through skills development training so they can be of better use to the company in roles that artificial intelligence would not be successful in. When it comes to the industries impacted, the ones that have seen AI play a larger role include consumer goods, telecoms, and pharmaceuticals. Furthermore, studies have shown that businesses that have already deployed AI in some shape of form believe that they are not near maximizing the potential of this technology. That’s right—it’s like when people say we only use 10 percent of our brains. The possibilities of artificial intelligence are already quite powerful, but nowhere near as incredible as we one day expect them to be.
College Students Now Have Opportunity to Major in AI
As is the case with pretty much everything in this post, the creation of an artificial intelligence collegiate program is still very much in its infancy—even more so than the rest of the things we’ve mentioned. Beginning in the fall, students at Carnegie Mellon University will have the chance to enroll in a program that will give them a degree in artificial intelligence. As far as we know, this is the only program of its kind. After much research surrounding where the field is going, officials at the university decided to create the program, determining that AI is going to be around for a while. Among other things, students who participate in the program will be instructed on the proper social and business uses of this technology.
Students at the university could have already had the opportunity to take classes on artificial intelligence since they previously offered a bunch. Since there were already so many, they decided to make it a major, making use of tons of research they had already done in this area. The program is offering interested students a structured environment in which to learn more about artificial intelligence, something they could not have previously done. With so much of the economy—in many different sectors—coming to rely on artificial intelligence, it seemed like the right time to get the program off the ground. The students who go through the program and graduate are expected to make an immediate and impactful contribution to society with the knowledge they gain.
The students who complete the program will be better prepared in key areas, including computer science, programming, algorithms, and computer systems. They will also learn a lot about machine learning, computer vision, and human-AI interaction among other things. As it stands right now, these skills are in high demand in just about every STEM industry. It will certainly be a unique challenge for the college to prepare students for jobs that have never been filled before and others that have not even yet been created, but the program should help students as they look to enter the workforce. The more we know about AI, the better prepared graduates will be when they’re tasked with using this new technology to make working safer and more efficient. This program seems like a good start to making that happen.
Preparing Students for an AI-driven World
Self-driving cars, AI assistants, and online product suggestion tools are already changing the way things have been in a number of industries. As artificial intelligence continues to develop, it’s expected to also completely transform the way people work. Businesses in almost every industry are making AI tools a routine part of their operations and they need employees who know how to use them effectively. One report states that the number of jobs requiring AI skills has grown 4.5 times in the past five years and will only continue to grow as the technology becomes more widely used. In fact, the use of AI is being compared to the use of computers in the workplace; once thought of as only needed by some, they are now obviously a completely necessary part of so many people’s careers.
Just like it was special to have computer skills a couple of decades ago, those who have AI skills are special now. What happened to computer skills, though? Now, everybody has them. And, there’s a good chance that’s how it’s going to be when it comes to AI. It seems a bit intimidating to think that kids growing up today will be working with artificial technology that’s this powerful, but the truth is it’s actually pretty likely that they will be. Education leaders have begun discussions concerning how to best teach children to prepare them for this future and, so far, there are a lot of questions. At a basic level, schools can start making computer science a routine part of the STEM curriculum since coding will give kids a foundation for working with technology and using tech to creatively solve problems.
Perhaps the best thing they can do for their students is teach them AI literacy, which can be done in one of two primary ways. It can be taught from the top down or from the bottom up. In the top-down approach, schools would develop a K-12 curriculum with grade-appropriate lessons that start simple by giving AI a definition and building from there. Teachers already have more to cover each day than there are hours available to them, so it could be tough fitting this into instruction as its own separate curriculum. In this case, they could try a bottom-up approach, which includes incorporating AI tools into other subjects they are already teaching so kids get at least some exposure to working with it. This would require no changes to the curriculum—just increasing exposure to AI over the long term.
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