ai is already changing education in unimaginable ways, perpetuating the urgent need for school districts to establish ai policies and for teachers and students to understand its benefits and limitations.
But as ai continues to evolve, questions of educational justice and ethics arise. Consider:
- In what appropriate ways can ai be used to boost student learning and not replace it?
- What can be done to eliminate the bias encoded in ai programs?
- And will students of color and those from low-income households have equitable access?
The data paints a sobering picture. Research shows that gaps in access to computers and broadband are narrowing along racial and economic lines. ai algorithms also exhibit racial, cultural, and economic biases..
A recent Pew research study It made headlines with evidence that cheating had NOT increased since the advent of large ai language models. However, a set of underlying and silently mentioned facts that were incorporated reinforced existing concerns:
– 72% of white teens had heard of ChatGPT compared to 56% of black teens.
– In households earning $75,000 or more per year, 75% of teens knew about ChatGPT, while only 41% of teens in households earning less than $30,000 knew about it.
One could argue that the harsh reality of substantial evidence of inequity is not grabbing the headlines and instead the lack of evidence of cheating reinforces such inequities.
The development of protocols can help reduce and mitigate risks. School communities should therefore consider organizing around a foundation of principles that ensure:
- All students have access to the tools necessary to be successful in their learning opportunities.
- Students are taught artificial intelligence technologies that represent diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
Students and communities of color, and the schools that serve them, must have a comprehensive understanding of the impact of ai, both positive and negative, so they are not left behind. This knowledge will enable educators, students, and their families to actively participate in shaping the future of education and advocate for their needs, including access to the development of artificial intelligence technologies.
Measures must be carefully planned, communicated, and executed to ensure academic tools, content that reflects the broad cultural diversity and neurodiversity of student populations, and ways to prevent the emergence of a new and even wider digital divide.
The impact of limited access to ai in education on student performance can be significant and multifaceted. Consider the ways this may impact students:
Limited learning opportunities
Students with little access to ai tools may miss out on valuable learning opportunities. ai has the potential to enhance the educational experience by offering personalized learning resources, adaptive assessments, and intelligent tutoring systems. Without access to these tools, students may be at a disadvantage compared to their peers.
Widening achievement gap
Inequality in access to ai tools can contribute to widening the achievement gap. Students who cannot afford to access ai tools may be left behind in acquiring skills and knowledge enhanced by the efficiency and effectiveness of ai. This is likely to cause disparities in academic performance.
Disparities in skill development
ai tools can help students develop essential skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and digital literacy. Students with limited access may struggle to acquire these skills, putting them at a disadvantage in the evolving world of ai.
Financial barriers
The cost associated with ai tools can create financial barriers for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who may find access to these resources limited, further reducing their ability to leverage the benefits of ai in their learning experience.
Data poverty and connectivity issues
Inadequate and unreliable access to data, especially among disadvantaged families, presents a significant challenge as it interferes with full access to the technology that most families and students need and rely on. This makes it difficult to access critical learning and information gathering resources. This issue is prevalent in socially disadvantaged regions, including parts of urban areas, rural groups, and the Deep South, where data poverty is a significant barrier for these communities. The limitations of ai will exacerbate this problem as those with access move further away.
Concerns about fair access
Fair access and use of ai tools indicate a growing awareness of potential disparities.
Impact on inclusion and diversity
If ai tools are not accessible to all students, this comes at the cost of impacting inclusion and diversity among educational experiences. Certain groups, such as those from marginalized communities or low-income backgrounds, may face additional barriers, perpetuating existing disparities in education.
<h2 id="supporting-responsible-ai-use-xa0″>Support the responsible use of ai
To address these challenges, school community stakeholders must work collaboratively to ensure equitable education and access to ai tools and prevent the widening of the digital divide in education.
The large language models (LLMs) from which ai retrieves information may appear to mimic human intelligence, but they are actually combing the massive network and gathering responses to your command (search) prompts to interpret its application. LLMs use statistical models to analyze large amounts of data, learning the patterns and connections between words and phrases.
It is necessary to disseminate and teach the solutions.
Providing awareness and instructions on how to ensure that people implement such processes maximizes equitable access because communities with greater barriers and the individuals within them are less likely to face the divisions that exist within the Internet orbit that permeates our everyday experience. .
Below are some additional strategic steps that school leaders and their communities can put in place to reduce the gap, and even eliminate it, to ensure that access to ai resources and information is offered in a proportionate and balanced way.
Responsible use of ai:
- Highlight potential risks, including implicit biases and hallucinations.. A hallucination occurs when an ai generates incorrect information as if it were real. ai hallucinations are often caused by limitations in data and training algorithms, which produce incorrect or even harmful content. An excellent tutorial on Understanding hallucinations can be found here..
- Encourage critical thinking and fact-checking when using ai-generated content.. Using resources like ai/” target=”_blank” data-url=”https://www.perplexity.ai/”>perplexity.ai and consensus.app are examples of ai resources that aim to tell you objective information. Teaching about these and the fact-checking process is critical to the process. Look at this list of free and reliable ai resources which I update monthly.
- Education and awareness. Commit to providing regular ai education to students and staff. Communicate the school's appropriate use of ai, emphasizing fairness and safety.
Establishing a clear and equitable ai policy for schools is a proactive approach to accessing the benefits of ai while addressing potential risks, especially ethics risks. By establishing clear guidelines, encouraging responsible use, and promoting learning experiences, schools can teach students to navigate the evolving digital landscape with ethical integrity and academic success, as well as strike a balance in harnessing the power of ai. and minimize the risk of deepening digital technology. split.
By prioritizing equitable access to these resources and addressing potential biases, schools can take advantage The Remarkably Imperfect Productivity of aiso that all students, regardless of their background, have the opportunity to benefit from the advantages of ai-powered learning resources.
