EDUCATIONAL EVOLUTION: THE FUTURE WITH AI

BY ALEKSANDRA CHOJNACKI

ChatGPT was released by OpenAI in November of 2022, which immediately threatened the academic integrity of student work and kicked off a relatively limited conversation. However, it’s certainly not the only piece of AI that is revolutionising almost every aspect of our lives, to which education is no exception.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a brand of computer science that studies the development and implementation of algorithms and software, allowing machines to think and act like humans. It can take on many forms, is fit for many different purposes, and is rapidly evolving. As a result, there are numerous and complex challenges and benefits that it presents for our society, and its role in the future of education.

The potential of AI in education is enormous. It has the power to enhance teaching and learning by providing personalised teaching experiences. It can transform research and administration. It can provide access to custom content and feedback for students and teachers that are currently limited by monetar, location, and time constraints. It can also make high-quality education universally accessible – all of which is what our Australian education system desperately needs.

In the Productivity Commission Report released in January 2023, it found that despite a 21% increase in higher education funding in the past decade there has been no noticeable improvements in student learning outcomes. It further identified that the single most influential factor to improve results is teacher effectiveness. However, teaching time is increasingly encroached by low-value administrative tasks which lead to longer working weeks, low morale and poor mental health. Most teachers are now working 45 hours per week, but only 55% of this time is spent actually teaching or preparing for lessons. 1

Another particularly concerning finding from 2022’s NAPLAN results showed that “13.5% of year nine boys did not reach the national minimum standard for reading, while a staggering 20.8% did not meet it for writing” 2 This means one in every five boys could be described as functionally illiterate – just three years before they head into university or the workforce.

Correspondingly, there has been a big push towards scientifically proven ways of teaching, rather than treating

¹ Ronald Mizen, ‘Gonski billions had ‘little impact’ on literacy, numeracy’, Australian Financial Review, 20th Jan 2023 <https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/gonski-2-0-moneyshould-be-linked-to-clearer-goals-for-students-pc-20230119-p5ce3a>

² Julie Hare, ‘’A lot of pseudo-science’: The problem with schools’, Australian Financial Review, 3rd February 2023 <https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/a-lot-of-pseudoscience-the-problem-with-australia-s-schools-20230201-p5ch6y>

³ Julie Hare, ‘The cold call that delivered this uni teaching program a $2.5m boost’, it as an artform (see the $2.5 million donated by serial philanthropist Neville Bertalli to La Trobe University for their work retraining teachers within their Science of Language and Reading Lab). 3 These approaches have been supported by studies for the past three decades but have always been too difficult to operationalise at scale. Just take a look at Benjamin Bloom’s research in 1984, where he compared student learning in three different conditions: conventional, mastery learning, and tutoring. Overwhelmingly, students in the one-to-one tutoring groups considerably outperformed those in the other groups by multiple standard deviations.4

The implementation of such customised high-impact evidence-based programs however requires teachers to undergo additional training, to spend more time with their students individually, and for students to have access to

Australian Financial Review, 30th April 2023 <https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/ education/philanthropist-gifts-2-5m-to-la-trobe-reading-program-20230425-p5d36e> custom content for their specific learning requirements. This kind of learning experience is one that only the wealthiest families could afford for their children – so they get the best marks, get into the best courses in the best universities, and have access to the best opportunities in life.

4 Benjamin Bloom, ‘The 2 sigma Problem: The Search for Methods of Group Instruction as Effective as One-to-One Tutoring’, Educational Researcher, Vol 12, No 6 (Jun - Jul 1984) pp 4-16.

With the current state of the education system, to offer this level of personal attention is an impossible task … That is unless, and until, we leverage the power and potential of AI driven tools appropriately and sensibly.

For example, by leveraging AI tools schools and universities could:

1. Make administrative tasks simpler, freeing up time for teachers and those in administrative roles within an educational institution;

2. Provide personalised learning experiences with AI-driven tutoring with course material catered to individual student abilities, and strengths and weaknesses;

3. Empower teachers to meet the needs of their individual students more efficiently;

4. Create more universal and accessible learning opportunities for students who have different needs, backgrounds, and are in regional locations;

5. Prepare students for a workforce that expects skills in using AI.

As Darwin's theory suggests, it's not the strongest or the most intelligent that survives, but the ones that are most adaptable to change. By thoughtfully adopting AI, schools and universities can leverage powerful technology to stay competitive and create greater opportunities for all members of society. So it needs to be clear that generative AI like ChatGPT is only the most recent inflection point for education. Just consider the internet; how it changed the way in which we study, the value we place on critically analysing authorship and bias, and the speed at which we can create. This modern inflection point has an enormous potential to alleviate the pains in this under-resourced sector.

While there are reasonable concerns about the potential impact of AI on inequality, testing and training, it is equally important to remember that technological advancements have historically led to increased productivity and economic growth. Consequently, AI is increasingly embedded into the fabric of our society, which shifts the set of skills expected in the workforce.

According to a study conducted by the International Data Corporation, 92% of institutions are already using AI technology regularly.5 And so, as businesses embrace AI it also presents an opportunity to create new, different jobs and provide more valuable products and services.

Naturally, due to the rapid advancements in generative AI – largely due to the rise of ChatGPT – there has been significant progress in the regulation of AI by governments around the world. While AI is difficult to regulate due to its broad range of uses across a diverse range of industries, the European Commission has made the most progress in the space so far, having been drafting an AI Act since 2020, which if passed will see AI tools ranked according to their perceived risk level (minimal, limited, high, and unacceptable).6 Likewise in Australia, it’s recommended that individual regulators are empowered, and dedicated AI agencies are employed to monitor the progression of AI and advise governmental bodies on the appropriate courses of action – just as we have for other fields.

Notably, educational institutions can already take reasonable steps to prevent plagiarism by implementing tools such as Turnitin, who successfully developed an AI writing detector that has identified 97% of ChatGPT and GPT3 authored writing.7 european-union-s-ai-act-explained/>

So, when we discuss the future of AI in higher education and the impact it could and is likely to have, we must consider all of its varied forms.Policymakers, educators, developers, and students all have a significant role to play in ensuring that the benefits of AI are shared fairly, that it is used appropriately, and that measures are in place to address any negative impacts. However, we must also be mindful that the, no doubt necessary, incoming regulations and legislation do not stifle innovation, particularly for sectors who stand to see enormous benefits. This is a balancing act that we will all have a responsibility to monitor, manage, maintain, and develop as AI continues to evolve.

6 Spencer Feingold, ‘The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act, explained’ World Economic Forum, 28th March 2023 <https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/03/the-

7 ‘Turnitin announces AI writing detector and AI writing resource center for educators’, 13th February 2023 <https://www.turnitin.com/press/turnitin-announces-ai-writingdetector-and-ai-writing-resource-center-for-educators>