Skip to main content

šŸŽ“ AI and education, a holistic approach

Ā· 9 min read
Raul Jimenez Ortega

Are you reading about Artificial Intelligence again?? Seriously, wasnā€™t the 912,673,140 articles, news reports, podcasts, videos, or reels, and tiktoks out there enough? I love it, that means you're really into this topic šŸ˜œšŸ˜‚.

The root of everything Iā€™m going to share started with a proposal I received at the beginning of the school year from the guidance counselor at my children's school. She suggested that the AMPA collaborate with the school to organize an activity to educate students on AI usage. And since Iā€™m easy to convinceā€¦ here I am, months later and many "brain cycles" later, sharing the progress.

In this article, I will talk about:

  • Traditional AI vs. Generative AI: key differences.
  • Generative AI: what makes it "special".
  • AI in education: the current situation as I see it.
  • My contribution: a new project Iā€™ve embarked on.
  • Protecting ourselves from the hype: my advice to avoid falling for misinformation.

Traditional vs. GenAIā€‹

As we know, AI is not new*. It has been used in search engines, recommendation engines (Netflix, social media, ...), virtual assistants (Google Home, Siri, Alexa, ...), automatic translators, facial recognition, spam filters, text predictors, CAPTCHAs, etc.

šŸ§  Did you know...

However, that doesnā€™t take away from the fact that generative AI has arrived with incredible momentum, and itā€™s now ā€œeverywhere.ā€

The following table summarizes some key differences:

AspectTraditional AIGenerative AI
PurposeAnalyze, predict, and/or classifyCreate and generate "original" content
Work modelBased on specific rulesContextual understanding-based
Training dataStructured and/or labeled data (by humans)Large volumes of diverse data
TasksSolving specific problemsCreative and adaptive tasks
Dependency on past dataHigh, based on previous patternsLower, capable of innovating and creating new things

Generative AIā€‹

But why give it so much importance? What makes generative AI different from other disruptive technologies? Or as Bugs Bunny would say, What's up, doc?.

There have been many other technological advances that have had a radical impact on humanity and transformed us: the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, the Internet...

However, in recent years, weā€™ve seen an increase in the speed at which these changes occur, likely due to globalization and new communication technologies.

The following chart from Harvard Business Review illustrates how the time needed to adopt new technologies has decreased over the years, based on data from the United States:

The Pace of Technology Adoption is Speeding Up, Image Harvard Business Review

Although I have not yet found highly reliable data on the adoption of generative AI tools, weā€™ve heard that ChatGPT (launched in 2022) has already reached an incredible 300 million weekly active users.

To put this number into context, hereā€™s a comparison showing other well-known applications and how long they took to reach 100 million monthly active users:

Source: CNBC TV18, data provided by Similar Web

For me, the importance isnā€™t just in the speed of adoption. What concerns me is that it is being used massively without a solid knowledge base, leading to content being generated and shared that appears to be high quality, but often are not.

Unlike widely used tools like Word or Excel, which require some training and come with an instruction manual, most AI tools do not provide clear guidelines.

Furthermore, they are so intuitive that anyone can enter a request and receive a response. However, what a new user might not realize is that if the request is not well defined, if they are unaware of the types of instructions AI can process, its limitations, biases, and other key characteristics, the chances of getting an inaccurate or misleading answer are significantly high.

And one of the biggest problems is that there are still aspects of generative AI that even its own creators donā€™t fully understand, such as how exactly prompts, meaning input instructions, influence responses.

Ultimately, this puts us in a situation where, as RamĆ³n BesonĆ­as says:

  • Everyone is a novice when it comes to using AI (even its creators), with some of us having a few more months of experience than others.
  • There is still no clear methodology on how to teach AI.

This is why I believe it is especially important for adults to gain a basic understanding, experiment with AI, and do their best to stay up to dateā€”understanding how it can be used and sharing both good and bad experiences with others.

We Live in Exponential Times

The first time I heard the phrase "we live in exponential times" was when I watched the video "Did You Know" (2008). A quote that stuck with me was: "We are preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist," and these jobs will be highly demanded in just a few years.

I couldnā€™t agree more. If this felt accurate to me back then, 17 years ago, itā€™s even clearer now that this exponential growth hasnā€™t slowed down. And maybe itā€™s just me, but at times, itā€™s almost dizzying.

AI in Educationā€‹

There are many debates around AI: intellectual property, ethics, regulation, job displacement... But what I take for granted is that this technology is here to stay, that it is already redefining education and learning, and that those who can use it correctly will have an advantage and stand out.

Did you know that according to a survey by Statista, the education sector could be the second most impacted by this technology? Below is an infographic with the results:

But itā€™s not just educators using itā€”students are also leveraging AI to do their work for them (surprise!! šŸ˜œ).

But you know what? I donā€™t blame them. One of AIā€™s promises is that it helps us with tasks we donā€™t like or find less important. And I think that, deep down, even if we donā€™t admit it, many adults started using AI for the same reason.

The biggest issue Iā€™ve encountered, however, is that even if you try to find it, there is no good content* to guide how AI should be used for studyingā€”meaning content that is accessible, comprehensive, structured, high-quality, and free.

note

Or at least I havenā€™t found it. Iā€™m looking for resources that explain how to use AI correctly for studying, developing new skills, improving cognitive development, strengthening critical thinking, boosting creativity, increasing productivity... If you know of any, please leave them in the comments šŸ™šŸ˜Š.

Itā€™s becoming increasingly clear that we will need to develop new skills.

Just as the advent of computing, the Internet, and search engines required us to develop new skillsā€”such as knowing how to search onlineā€”now, it will be more important than ever to enhance other competencies, such as language skills and critical thinking, to make good use of generative AI.

For example, we will need to understand the differences between various AI tools and models at a high level or learn how to craft effective prompts to get useful results.

And while I hope this wonā€™t happen, if we donā€™t develop these skills, I fear society could face a dystopian future where new generations are less prepared and surrounded by misinformation that is difficult to identify.

Thatā€™s why we must use this technology as just another tool to assist us in our work and skill developmentā€”not misuse it in a way that hinders our growth and intelligence.

Repeatedly, itā€™s clear that AI, like anything else, can do great things if used well, but it can also create problems if misused.

Evaluate Your AI Usage

How do you use AI? Hereā€™s an article and a self-evaluation sheet šŸ˜‰. I agree with RamĆ³n BesonĆ­as that ideally, most of the times you should score between 70% and 90%.

My Contributionā€‹

You might be wondering, after all this discussion, what am I doing to address this issue?

Beyond doing my best to educate my children at home and support their school, Iā€™ve embarked on a new documentation project in the section "My Digital Brain > Artificial Intelligence."

Since Iā€™m neither a teacher nor an AI expert, Iā€™ve reached out for help through interviews with teachers in Spain, AI specialists, and experts in related fields to gather information on this topic: ideas, experiences, resources, insights, etc.

note

If you know someone who I should definitely interview, please ask her/him to reach out to me through any of my channels.

The goal is to create educational material that fills the gap I found. Content on how to use AI (for students) with a holistic approach that is accessible, structured, comprehensive, high-quality, and free. I hope this resource will not only support the activities we are organizing at our Parents' Association but also be useful for other educational communities.

For now, just can find the working doc in Spanish: Using AI in Education, but I encourage you to check the following resource:

Protect Yourself from the "Hype"ā€‹

We can't deny that although AI has great potential, the "hype" surrounding it is overwhelming.

Every technological innovation brings this effect, as shown in the following graph, which you can find in all "Gartner Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies" reports:

Hype cycle
Hype cycle, Image by Jeremykemp, Wikipedia

But letā€™s not forget why this happens. Itā€™s a mix of:

  • The optimism and passion of some innovators.
  • The eagerness of many people to believe in it.
  • The vast media attention and publicity.
  • The "hidden" (economic) interests of the companies behind these innovations, competing non-stop to lead these revolutions.

This often leads to inflated expectations, sometimes at the cost of spreading misleading information.

To protect yourself from manipulation and misinformation, not just about AI, I recommend:

  1. Be wary of emotional language: Anything that sounds too good to be true, exaggerated promises, or alarmist headlines. These are usually signs of manipulation. By the way, this applies to everything.
  2. Be critical: Evaluate the source of the information and check for economic interests.
  3. Do your research: Look for expert opinions and reliable sources.
  4. Diversify your sources: Consult multiple perspectives for a more complete view.
Who Has Economic Interests?

Companies. The biggest stakeholders are the companies providing the technology driving this innovation, such as OpenAI, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon (AWS), Meta, etc. These publicly traded companies need to maintain and increase their stock value, and many do so by making announcements that fuel the "hype."

Content creators who make money through ads or affiliate links, like news media, YouTubers, Instagram influencers, TikTokers, etc.

Well, what do you think? What do you disagree with? What am I missing? Or did you find it interesting?

Commentsā€‹