Why The Education Industry is Excited About Generative AI?

Generative AI In Education

The Generative AI frenzy has hit the education sector especially hard, with new product demos and features in learning AI being released weekly. Analysts have claimed that the global market for Generative AI products and services within the education sector are expected to grow to $200 billion in value by 2025.

The benefits are easy to imagine. From students getting more personalized feedback on assignments to helping teachers create content for their classes, Generative AI in education is going to continue to grow. Understanding Generative AI’s capabilities is crucial for educators, parents, and policymakers to support students as much as possible.

Who Are The Key Players?

Companies like Coursera, Duolingo, EdX, and Khan Academy are already putting their full weight behind building Generative AI products for their platforms. They hope that big investments now will translate into higher engagement for current users and help attract new users who are on the fence, as they create content with AI..

By leading the adoption of Generative AI, these companies are positioning themselves as the educators of tomorrow. Khan Academy’s Khanmigo virtual assistant is the perfect example of this. This tool is currently being tested by 65 thousand students and is set to roll out to up to one million students by the fall of 2024 . With such a staggering number of students who will be exposed to this in the coming months, we are bound to see the impacts very soon.

Source: Business Today

How Can Education Be Enhanced With Generative AI?

The possibilities for the types of innovative educational tools and experiences we can build using Generative AI are vast. This is why Linkt is focused on building cutting edge tools for education companies and startups focused on changing the way humans learn.

The integration of Generative AI into education will not only change how educational content is delivered but also enriches the learning experience. The goal is to create a more interactive, personalized, and accessible learning experience through natural language processing AI.

There are two paths in which Generative AI can be used to build tools for education. These paths are to build tools that harness Natural Language Processing or Adaptive Learning Algorithms. Below are just some of the potential tools that can be built using these technologies.

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Content Personalization: NLP can analyze students’ written responses or interactions to provide personalized feedback, enabling tailored support that addresses individual learning needs.

Automated Grading: It allows for the automated grading of open-ended responses and essays, significantly reducing teachers’ workload and providing instant feedback to students.

Language Learning: NLP is instrumental in language learning applications, where it aids in pronunciation correction, grammar suggestions, and conversational practice with AI-driven bots.

Accessibility: It can transform text into speech or vice versa, assisting students with disabilities by making content more accessible.

Adaptive Learning Algorithms

Personalized Learning Paths: Adaptive algorithms create customized learning paths for students, ensuring that learners are neither bored with too-easy material nor overwhelmed by content that’s too challenging.

Feedback and Recommendations: They provide immediate feedback and recommendations, helping students understand their mistakes and learn at a pace suited to their needs.

Engagement and Motivation: By keeping the content challenging yet achievable, adaptive learning helps maintain student engagement and motivation.

Data-Driven Insights: These algorithms generate valuable data on student learning patterns, which educators can use to improve instruction and support.

Source: McKinsey

Ethics of Using Generative AI In Education

The largest hurdle that Generative AI is going to face in education is gaining the trust of parents, teachers, and students. Therefore, transparency and accountability are going to be paramount. It is crucial that everyone is on the same page and understands the rationale behind the decisions that Generative AI makes.

This touches on the notion that parents and students must be able to give informed consent when engaging with educational tools built using Generative AI. Additionally, addressing bias and fairness is necessary. Efforts must be made to mitigate algorithmic bias by using diverse datasets.

Other concerns include data privacy. Presumably, education platforms that use Generative AI are going to need to collect information on students to provide the best service possible. However, this means leaving students vulnerable if their information is lost or stolen. Thus, legal frameworks will need to adapt swiftly to ensure that sensitive student information is protected.

Before these tools can be deployed on a wide scale, we will need to investigate their impacts on learning and development. Understanding any potential unintended consequences of these tools will lead to better outcomes for students in the long run. These risk factors are non trivial and must be taken into consideration when developing new tools.

While these tools may help to boost students’ grades, maintaining human interaction to foster soft skills and personal development is also essential. It’s crucial to balance the drive for efficiency with the preservation of human elements that contribute to critical thinking, creativity, and the development of new ideas.

Source: The Insight

What Next?

Generative AI has the potential to significantly transform the educational landscape by improving the learning experience for students. As Generative AI continues to become more powerful, new tools are going to help educators focus on students and provide more personalized teaching.

The future of education with Generative AI promises to alleviate some of the high demands on teachers that have led to historically high burnout rates in recent years. To maintain the irreplaceable value of a physical classroom, we need to shift our perception of how a classroom should operate to accommodate Generative AI.