Patana News Volume 26 Issue 12

PATANA NEWS

Friday 17th November 2023 Volume 26 Issue 12

Embracing AI in Education Part 2- Dispelling myths

By Brian Taylor

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Also in this issue...

Heat Index at Bangkok Patana Page 5 Page 6 Eco-Edutainment Page 8 Update from the Tennis Academy Senior Drama Production- The Crucible Page 11 Page 12 International Day Update Page 14 Tuk Tuk’s First International Day

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Embracing AI in Education Part 2 – Dispelling the Myths Brian Taylor, Cross Campus Assistant Principal, Technology for Learning

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hank you in advance for allowing me to occupy a moment of your precious time whilst you read the second part of our Embracing AI in Education series - part 1 on Identifying Bias in AI can be found here. It goes without saying that this topic is likely to be the most important development in my/our lifetime, in terms of the impact it is having, and will have, on education, if not humanity itself.

Arron Hamilton, Dylan Wiliam and John Hattie, authors of the working paper titled The Future of AI in Education: 13 things we can do to minimize the damage, express their thoughts as “we need to catalyse the debate and reduce the probability that we sleepwalk to a destination that we don’t want and can’t reverse or back out of”.

88% of Humans of the LSAT, and has a verbal IQ well within the top 0.02% of the human population.

BUT AREN’T WE HUMANS MUCH MORE THAN MERE MACHINES? Often when people are confronted with the fact that our brains can be modelled as just computational devices, there is a strong desire to push back—to say that we are more than mere machines. Some of the most common objections are to say that ‘we have consciousness’, ‘we

Let’s explore some of the common objections or ‘myths’ when people are confronted with the fact that our brains can be modelled as just computational devices, and that large language models digitally mimic some of these functions. The excerpt below is from the working paper by Hamilton, Wiliam and Hattie and is a summarised adaptation; all references can be found in the bibliography of the original paper.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT CAPABILITY OF THESE AI SYSTEMS? Image created by Microsoft Bing Image Creator powered by Current systems have already advanced at a phenomDALL.E 3 using the prompt “create a futuristic and realistic image of a student being supported in their learning by an AI robot” enal rate during the past six months. This table compares human performance in a range of standardised academhave emotions’, ‘we have goals’, ‘we are creative’, ‘we ic tests with GPT-3.5 and GTP-4, both released in 2023.

To put this into context, GPT-4 already scores higher than have empathy’ and ‘they don’t think like us’. Basically, that 90% of humans on the Uniform Bar Exam and the SAT, we are smart, and they are toasters. Here are contrasting perspectives on these claims: ‘We have Consciousness’ Whilst this seems intuitively reasonable to us all, many philosophers and neuroscientists struggle to operationalise the concept at a subjective level (Dennett, 1991; 2005; Metzinger, 2009; Churchland, 2013). Some suggest that consciousness is ‘user illusion’ – a kind of dashboard or user-interface that simplifies the 2

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complex computational outputs of the brain into a series of simpler heuristics to enable us to make quick decisions (Nørretranders, 1991). You could think of this as a kind of graphical user interface. Yet others think consciousness is just what it subjectively “feels like” to process information and that even atoms, thermostats, and computer chips experience consciousness (Chalmers, 2010; 2022; S. Harris, 2020; A. Harris, 2019).

‘We have emotions’ One jarring interpretation is that our emotions are just electrical signals that operate as part of a computational decision-making process (Minsky, 2006; Prinz, 2004; 2017; Damasio, 2006; Barrett, 2017); that our brains process vast amounts of data – much of it subconsciously; and that many brain regions struggle to directly talk to neighbouring regions in the same ‘programming language’. Instead, they send a jolt to our stomach, increase our heart rates, or make us quiver with anxiety as a quick mechanism for those other brain regions to notice and respond to. These, in turn, whirr into action and seek to interpret what that ‘gut feeling’ or ‘shiver down the spine’ might mean.

‘We have goals’ We humans do indeed have agency. We pause, think, make long-term plans, reflect on those plans, make choices, and recalibrate our responses. But developing and evaluating goals is inherently algorithmic. We search through options, weigh the pros and cons, and develop a plan of action. We see no reason why future AI systems could not be trained to have these recursive feedback loops and then to operate autonomously; to be agents, like us. (See Bostrom, 2014; and Russell & Norvig, 2016).

Image source: Economic potential of generative AI | McKinsey

2008). Arthur Koestler (1964) defined creativity as the bringing together of many seemingly unrelated ideas.

There is no reason why AI could not do the same thing.

Indeed, several COVID-19 vaccines were co-‘invented’ by a protein folding AI that went through a version of this creative process and proposed an optimal design quickly (see for example Sharma et al, 2022). New types of antibiotics are also being “creatively” invented in this way (Lluka & Stokes, 2023).

‘We have empathy’

Yes, again, many of us do. One interpretation of this is that we are (computationally) simulating how another “meat computer” will process and respond to similar inputs and adjusting our approach in light of this understanding. Given that Artificial Intelligence systems do not mirror the design features of the human brain, it would likely be difficult for them to simulate, at a subjective level, human thoughts, and feelings or to see things through our ‘We are creative’ eyes. But this might not matter. These systems can already use personality profiling tools and biometrics to predict Indeed, many of us are. But, (again) there are strong our behaviour (see for example, Hoppe et al, 2018, on arguments that creativity can be modelled as an algohow AI can predict personality through human eye moverithmic process where we: (1) select a problem/goal ment). If their goal is to influence us, all they need to do space; (2) map current approaches; (3) identify alteris to draw on these insights, try ‘talking to us’ in a specific natives; (4) pick one or more alternative to try; (5) test way, reflect on whether this resulted in the desired changwhether it is better than what we are currently doing; (6) continued on Page 4 decide where to next (see Boden, 2006; and Colton, 10/11/2023

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Embracing AI in Education- contd. es in our behaviour; and repeat until they find the right influencing strategy – for us. This can be thought of as the illusion of empathy but one that is possibly indistinguishable from actual empathy—arguably very similar to that employed by human sociopaths, that also seem to lack empathy circuitry.

‘They don’t think like us’ AI systems almost certainly don’t. They are currently most analogous to our pre-frontal cortex. But they don’t use neurotransmitters like dopamine or serotonin, have no physical bodies that give out electrical jolts that can be interpreted as emotions, and have no hormone emitting glands. However, we do not think that means they are incapable of thought. Instead, many researchers in the AI field suggest that a good metaphor is to think of these systems as a form of ‘Alien Intelligence’ (see for example Rees & Livio, 2023) – that these machines think and process information, just in a different way to us.

Those differences might give us advantages at certain tasks (we are a lot more energy efficient), but it might equally confer similar advantages to them in other areas – like analysing large datasets, writing high-quality prose, and developing complex strategies in seconds.

The perspectives highlighted above are not definitive.

We have raised them because we all need to be shaken out of our human-centric view on intelligence and thought and to consider the possibility that other forms of highly intelligent life are possible. Max Tegmark (2017), the MIT Physicist, uses the term ‘Carbon Chauvinism’ to

illustrate this. His point is that complex computation can be undertaken in a variety of substrates/materials.

Our human substrate is carbon – the base element for the protein from which our ‘meat computers’ are built. But Tegmark’s suggestion is that other substrates like silicon could think and process information in exactly the same way. If the silicon neurons and their load weightings perform similar to ours, we could even create digital copies of ourselves.

At risk of going down a rabbit hole, Roger Penrose (1989) – the acclaimed the mathematical physicist – even has a thought experiment where he asks us to imagine that the biological neurons in our brain are gradually replaced with identical silicone ones. They question is at what point do we stop being ‘us’? There is the distinct possibility that we might not even notice the difference.

In a Nutshell: Our brains might be entirely computational, although, embracing our computational nature does not diminish our uniqueness. Instead, it highlights the power and sophistication of the computational processes within us!

The 3rd of our highly popular PTG Tech talks on Embracing AI in Education will take place on the 14th December from 8.00 to 9.00am – reserve your place here.

Patana Participates!

Achievements from Our Community

Congratulations to Alya Fang (5D) for her casting in the upcoming musical- Fan Chan (My Girl ) running at the Rachadalai Theatre here in Bangkok from November 9th – November 26th, 2023.

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Heat Index at Bangkok Patana Patcharin Jingkaojai, Head of Government Liaison and Health and Safety

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he Heat Index, often referred to as the “feels-like • The Bangkok Patana Response has been moditemperature,” is a measurement that helps us unfied to ensure the safety of students and staff. derstand how hot it actually feels outside. It takes into The one-hour average reading is taken by averaging account not only the air temperature but also the level of humidity, which affects our body’s ability to cool down the readings from three stations: through sweat evaporation. When humidity is high, the 1.

Sports Complex Station using Air Gradient Heat Index can make it feel much hotter than the actual Equipment (school equipment) temperature, and this is important for assessing heat-re2.

Front Field Station using Air Gradient Equipment lated risks. (school equipment) At Bangkok Patana School, we have developed a Heat Index Policy to ensure the safety of our students and staff in hot weather conditions. This policy has recently been reviewed and updated in accordance with guidelines from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Thai Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health. NOAA is a reputable and authoritative scientific organisation in the United States that specialises in weather and climate-related research and information, providing accurate and up-to-date data.

Our revised policy can be accessed here. Changes from the previous policy include:

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Back Field Station using Air Gradient Equipment (school equipment) • Colours and Heat Index range for each level have changed to match NOAA standards; The Heat Index will be checked by the Sports and Activities team throughout the day. If the Heat Index reach• Names of each level have been changed from ‘Normal, 1, 2, 3’ to ‘Normal, Very Warm, Hot, es ‘Very Hot’ or above, an automatic email will be sent Very Hot, and Extremely Hot’ to match NOAA to Principals, the Sports and Activities team supervisors.

They will then alert their teams to follow the guidelines. standards; Parents can access the one-hour heat index average reading at any time during the school day by logging into the Parents’ Gateway.

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Eco-Edutainment: Family Films with a Green Message Ana Bolakoso, SEC KS3 Rep

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atching movies and series is a great way to ed- tal protection and the impact of global warming on the ucate yourself about sustainability. Here are the Arctic.

SEC’s top 10 picks for family-friendly films with a green “The Lorax” (2012): Based on Dr. Seuss’s classic book, message: this animated movie tells the story of a world devoid of “WALL-E” (2008): This antrees and the importance of protecting the environment. imated film from Pixar is set in “Down to Earth with Zac Efron” (2020): In this travel a future where Earth has been docu-series, actor Zac Efron journeys around the world overwhelmed by trash. It’s a with wellness expert Darin Olien to find sustainable ways heartwarming story that highto live. The series covers various sustainability topics, inlights the importance of environcluding renewable energy and responsible agriculture. mental awareness and the dangers of non materialistic culture.

“Tiny House Nation” (2019): This series showcases the tiny house movement, where people live in small, in“Happy Feet” (2006): This credibly efficient homes. It’s a great exploration of minianimated musical film, while primarily about penguins and their adventures, touches on malistic and sustainable living. important themes like overfishing and environmental disruption.

“Absurd Planet” (2020): A nature documentary series that focuses on the world’s most unusual animals. It’s educational with a humorous twist, making it suitable for a younger audience.

“My Octopus Teacher” (2020): A unique documenta- BONUS PICK! ry that follows a filmmaker who You can’t go past our hero Sir David Attenborough. He forms a remarkable friendship has a huge body of work but here are some of his latest with an octopus living in a South documentaries: African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries “Climate Change: The Facts” (2023): Hosted by Sir of its world.

David Attenborough, this series delves into the science of climate change and its impacts, offering insights into what “Secrets of the Whales” (2021): This National Geocan be done to combat this global challenge. graphic series, narrated by Sigourney Weaver, plunges viewers deep within the epi-centre of whale culture to “The Green Planet” (2023): experience the extraordinary communication skills and Another series narrated by Sir intricate social structures of five David Attenborough, focusing different whale species. on the secret life of plants and their importance to Earth’s eco“Greta Thunberg: A Year to systems, highlighting the need Change the World” (2021): for plant conservation.

This documentary series follows climate activist Greta Thunberg “Breaking Boundaries: as she seeks to raise awareThe Science of Our Planet” ness of accelerating climate (2022): This documentary, narrated by Sir David Attenchange. borough and featuring scientist Johan Rockström, explores the science behind Earth’s biodiversity and the ways in “Arctic Dogs” (2019): This which humanity has pushed the Earth beyond its natural animated adventure film tells the story of an Arctic fox limits. who works in the mailroom of a package delivery service but wants to be doing the deliveries. While it’s more of an adventure story, it does touch on themes of environmen6

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A provisional calendar for the 2024/25 school year is now available on our website.

It is recommended that individuals and families avoid making final travel plans for August 2024 until it is fully approved in December.

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TENNIS ACADEMY Dan Ahl, Head Tennis Coach The Bangkok Patana Varsity Tennis squad travelled across the city to compete in the Harrow Cup which was a celebration of Harrow International School Bangkok’s 25th birthday.

We had two teams of four in both the Boys’ and Girls’ events who competed against SHB, NIST, ISB and the host school, with each team having two singles players and a doubles pair. All matches were three super tiebreaks (first to 10) and the overall result of each match worked out by adding combined points together; each point had extra value.

The Girls’ teams dominated all day with both teams reaching the final. In a good competitive contest, the A team ran out winners.

The Boys’ teams weren’t as successful in terms of matches won but both teams finished on a high, with the Boys A finishing 3rd after a good win against Harrow in the 3rd/4th play off. The Boys B placed 7th beating NIST in their final match.

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To claim your Lost items

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poster by Emily Tooley

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International Day Update

Bharati Lachmandas, PTG International Day Coordinator and Safy Rizk, PTG Chair

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ear Parents,

On Monday 20th November, we will celebrate International Day at Bangkok Patana School.

Our community is really proud of their international heritage and this is a highlight of our calendar. On this special day, students, staff and parents are invited to either wear their country colours or national dress.

DRESS UP! Our community is proud of their international heritage and either wear their country colours or national dress.

They are not bound to wear the colours of their own country – they can join any group.

7.50AM: PARADE Students must go to their classrooms/Tutor bases for registration and then proceed to the Primary Back Field.

Students, staff and participating parents will gather in allocated areas (by country groups) on the back field by 7.50am to commence the parade of nations. The parade will go to the Sports Hall.

Parents from FS1 – Year 2 are welcome to collect their child from class at 7.45am to assemble at the country tents. Parents those who are unable to attend, children will be escorted by their respective teachers. Parents of children in Year 3 and upwards are requested to meet their child at the country tents.

Primary Hall and to help ease with congestion we would appreciate you watching from there. The PTG has arranged for a selection of samples from the Food Hall to be available. Last year parents told us this was a really good option!

FOOD HALL After the assembly, students will return to class. They will visit the Food Hall with their classes throughout the morning, following a set schedule. Parents who are in school may visit the Food Hall only from 1.00pm – 1.30pm.

For further information, please do not hesitate to contact the Country Reps. Here is a link to the contact and names of the PTG country reps.

A big thank you to the many parent volunteers who have been working for many weeks to make this a memorable day for us all!

Hope you have a wonderful International Day! Best regards, Bharati Lachmandas, PTG International Day Coordinator and Safy Rizk, PTG Chair

8.55AM: SPORTS HALL – ASSEMBLY AND CULTURAL SHOW Country groups will enter the Sports Hall and follow the directions of the staff who will allocate a seating area. Parents are requested to move to the balcony upstairs or alternatively watch a live feed of the show from the Primary Hall. We ask that you follow instructions carefully.

After the Cultural Show, students will return to their regularly scheduled classes.

Nursery and Foundation Stage parents may stay with their child (ren) to watch the cultural show in the designated areas. All other parents should go up to the balcony area.

The cultural show will also be live streamed from the

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Tuk Tuk’s First International Day

Kristina Langdon (13R), Siya Italia (13R), Nandini Mehrotra (13K) Featuring: Ana Bolakoso (Author) and Lydia Chan (Illustrator)

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he children’s book “Tuk Tuk’s First International Day” was written, illustrated and published recently by Ana Bolakoso and Lydia Chan. The book utilizes visuals and simple text which describes Tuk Tuk’s first International Day at Bangkok Patana including the activities such as the cultural show, food hall and parade. We were able to get to know a bit more about the book and the ideas behind it from the author and illustrator themselves.

CAS Team: What were your roles in the making of this book?

Ana: I was the author of the book.

Lydia: I was the illustrator of this book and in charge of the design of the book CAS Team: What were your ideas behind this book?

Lydia: For the illustrations particularly, I first envisioned what I would’ve liked to read from when I was younger and incorporated that into the design of the book

Ana & Lydia: The idea behind the book was to preCAS Team: Could you tell us a bit more about the pare and show younger students the traditions and activities on special days so they feel more secure and ex- thought process behind the illustrations and their style? cited going in to school. We wanted to make something Lydia: I envisioned creating vibrant illustrations that enthat was easy for kids to read and gain knowledge from gage young learners, using the school’s mascot, Tuk Tuk, this book. as a central character. I executed the concept with clear, CAS Team: bold lines and bright colours to ensure readability for How did children. My focus was on simplicity and visual appeal, your ideas making the learning experience enjoyable and accessifor this book ble. The chosen style aimed to captivate the younger kids d e v e l o p ? while incorporating an educational environment through What was a playful and easily digestible narrative. the thought CAS Team: What were your thoughts and the process process? for the storyline?

Ana: It Ana: I wanted to touch on the memorable and key started first parts of International Day such as the different costumes, with just the cuisines, performances and languages. I wanted TukTuk basic events to also show valuable learning attributes such as being of Internaa risk-taker, inquisitive and compassionate. As a Primary tional Day student, International Day was one of the very few occahowever as sions where the whole school celebrated together and it was edited the joy I felt from being around my school community I made sure and learning about other people’s lives and their tradito really hightions will always be one of my favourite parts. All these light different cultures and show the beautiful diversity of aspects were key when curating the storyline and with the Patana community.

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TukTuk being the perfect guide, the story slowly formed.

CAS Team: What are your thoughts on the continuation of this series and Tuk Tuk’s upcoming books in the series?

Ana: There are for sure more to come and lots more adventures for TukTuk! In the near future, readers will get to explore the different events from all over the school campus.

CAS Team: Who was this book originally intended for when the two of you were first brainstorming ideas for this book?

Ana & Lydia: This book was originally aimed at Foundation Stage- Year 2 students as it is an introduction to events that they might not have ever experienced before. It’s designed to offer them a delightful introduction to the Patana learning experience, incorporating the school’s mascot, Tuk Tuk, to make the journey relatable and engaging. The aim is to provide a glimpse into the unique and enriching educational environment at Patana through a captivating storybook format.

CAS Team: Would you recommend this book to anyone outside your target audience?

Ana & Lydia: Of course! Tuk Tuk’s stories are not only to educate but, are also a celebration of Bangkok Patana, and therefore can be read by anyone. While the primary focus is on students at Patana, the book is crafted to appeal to any kids in the same age range. Its engaging narrative, vibrant illustrations, and educational elements make it suitable for a broader audience, offering an enjoyable learning experience for children beyond the school’s community.

CAS Team: What were your goals for this book and were there any messages you would like to put forward with this book?

Ana & Lydia: Bangkok Patana is such a diverse and unique community that we really strived to express the importance of celebrating our differences and similarities and being proud in our countries and cultures. We want kids to feel empowered, safe, and confident knowing that they are accepted and celebrated for who they are and with this book being centred around a day of celebrating our differences it was the perfect opportunity.

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International Day Country Tents For the upcoming International Day, here are the Tent numbers for the respective countries.

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COMMUNITY

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COMMUNITY The British Community in Thailand Foundation for the Needy (BCTFN) proudly presents

25 November 2023, 10 AM to 9 PM Bangkok Patana School Food and Drinks Meet Father Christmas Live Entertainment!

Children’s Games and Rides Raffles and Shopping

Scan and Save on Early Bird Tickets

Thank you to our Fair Partner

Adults THB 300 | Children under 12 years THB 150 *All proceeds to BCTFN Thai Charities

www.ploenchitfair.org | bctfn1992@gmail.com

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COMMUNITY

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