Will AI Change Education as We Know It?

New technologies are usually developed for the military sector, then find their way into healthcare, finance, retail, and, finally, education. AI will most likely follow the same trace, although it is still in its infancy in most domains. 

In education, we can expect AI to play a significant role when it comes to better management of administrative tasks, grading, and personalized learning. The way students learn will definitely change, and it is about time, as the current educational system is stuck in the twentieth century while the demands of the real world are much more advanced.

Some people might fear this development, but we are already reaping the benefits of AI when we watch Netflix or use routing apps like Waze. We don’t have to be scared of robot teachers and dehumanization of teaching. Instead, there are a few practical ways AI can be integrated into the teaching process to enhance it.

Better Test Grading

Automatic grading of multiple-choice tests has been around for decades, and there can be little improvement from AI. However, the real revolution AI can bring is related to evaluating free-form writing and even mathematical calculations.

Imagine that a teacher needs to grade over 100 essays in an unbiased way each week. While some of this work refers to ideas, coherence, and style, the rest of it is just about looking at grammar and punctuation. The latter can be fully automated so that teachers can focus more on the ideas.

All this freed-up time can be beneficial for the teacher. They can use it to find a better work-life balance, spend more quality time with their students, or improve their skills.

We don’t have a fully functional essay grading tool just yet, but the advancements of natural language processing, computer vision, and optical character recognition can make this aspiration a reality in the upcoming years.

Personalized Learning

It is not a new idea that each student learns at a different pace, and that curriculum should be adapted to individual interests and capabilities. However, the last two centuries of education have focused on delivering average content for average learners in a centralized and mass-adapted way.

The AI revolution can change all this by providing each student with a tailor-made version of the core curriculum, with exciting knowledge based on their strengths and weaknesses. Imagine a learning pathway like a customized YouTube playlist. The information you get next is based on what you have already read and your feedback about how interesting it was to you.

Next, during the settling phase when students need to ask many questions to get things right, AI can become a 24/7 companion. This is an excellent solution for those who have a slower learning pace or are too shy to ask the teacher. Most students feel judged by peers or are afraid to ask questions, and this leads to worse results during tests, and less retained knowledge overall. Just imagine if you could ask Siri about your math homework as many times as you want until it all becomes clear.

One of the best ways for students to learn is by trial and error, which can also be intimidating in a typical classroom environment. AI developers can offer students a sandbox where they can try as many times as they want before they get it right, without being afraid or embarrassed. This can be beneficial when it comes to practicing a foreign language or a musical instrument. You can say a word or phrase or see the recording, and have the AI show you what you are doing wrong and offer suggestions, much like a teacher with infinite patience would do.

Universal Access and More Visibility

We are not suggesting to replace human teachers with smartphones, but to use AI as an assistant where there is no other option. For example, this will give children from remote areas the opportunity to learn about subjects which are not available in their local schools or universities.

Such universal access can help discover amazing talents which would otherwise stay unrecognized.

The advancement of AI-based translation tools can also grant the chance to materials written or spoken in foreign languages, thus removing the language barrier, which can be a significant drawback.

Having a world of learning at your fingertips means less discrimination for disabled students, who are no longer confined by their physical abilities. At the same time, learning at home will no longer feel like isolation but a choice, available to everyone regardless of their physical or mental abilities.

Better Administration

Last but not least, AI can have a serious impact on the educational process from an administrative perspective. It can help sort, classify, and index students’ applications. Every year, this is a huge task that is distributed between the admin staff and teachers and that can be automated with machines to some extent.

A step further, we can even imagine that AI can take on some of the career counseling tasks. If smart software analyzes a student’s performance, it could suggest additional courses or even an entire specialization that fits this student’s interests and capabilities.

AI Instead of a Dean?

As we can expect, AI will not replace teachers any time soon, but we can expect a different landscape in education in the following years. AI applications, including those built off OCR, computer vision, and AR/VR, will transform the way students learn, memorize, and experiment with information. It will be more about personal experience than mass learning.  Also, the improvements it will bring to disabled students and those living in remote areas can’t be overestimated.

We can also expect a change in the way teachers spend their working time. Although it sounds like a paradox, more technology will mean more time for human interaction and less time spent on administrative tasks.