TECH NEWS – Artificial intelligence could make a big push into classrooms as part of China’s education reform.

According to Reuters, China will begin introducing artificial intelligence into all levels of schooling to improve teaching and textbooks. It is part of the country’s larger plan to strengthen its education system and find new ways to innovate. China hopes to achieve what it calls a “nation with a strong education system” by 2035.

China’s Ministry of Education believes that using artificial intelligence for these purposes will help cultivate the core skills of teachers and students, as well as develop the core competitiveness of innovative talent. Examples include developing students’ basic skills (e.g., communication, collaboration) as well as more complex problem solving and independent thinking.

Artificial intelligence in schools may sound scary. But if AI is used only as a tool, it can be successful. Even the U.S. is considering the use of AI, although they refer to it as “The One”. As long as AI is used for the tasks it was designed for, the technology can help personalize learning in these cases. AI’s ability to sift through large amounts of data and find patterns that work and ways forward could lead to a more agile education system, ready to adapt to the needs of its students.

However, poor use of AI is often associated with creative tasks or when there is not enough oversight. In most cases, these language models are designed to select the most likely word in a sentence, rather than provide valuable information, and are prone to being confidently wrong. And when people are confident in the result, a lot of confusing information can result.

Educational AI needs to be customized and transparent, developed by educators. If it can be constantly tested and modified, it can be a good addition. But in a dictatorial state, it would work a little differently.

Source: PCGamer, Reuters