For
some, the term “artificial intelligence” conjures up somewhat sinister
technology, like the androids in Blade
Runner.
However,
a lot of companies worldwide are banking on artificial intelligence (AI) tools
becoming the next generation of educational materials, according to an EdSurge interview with a panel of technologists. Rather than creating robots to serve
as teachers, though, artificial intelligence has greater value as a means to
gauge students’ responses to their learning environment and their instructors.
The data gathered on students through AI not only provides possibilities for
individual learning, but also helps instructors work with classes as a group.
“This
is about finding patterns in learning experiences,” said one panelist. “We can
take note of, say, if one person’s stronger in math, how can the system
identify the challenge, and then open it up to teachers so they can be better
tutors for their students?”
One of
the challenges for developing AI tools is that companies apply the term to very
different technologies. “The problem ties back to discoverability and
explainability,” commented another panelist. “If you’re going to slap on the AI
label, then I want to know more.”
Some
schools are also deploying forms of AI in other ways, such as in admissions to
select the next freshman class. AI allows a school to use predictive modeling to
assess which students are more likely to succeed.
