#AI: In Education? Stop Fighting It & Let’s Use It!
ChatGPT is here to stay. So is all the other AI that is taking over our workplace and education landscapes like dandelions sprouting in the spring in yards and fields across the globe. So let’s stop trying to detect, incriminate and eliminate AI. Let’s figure out how we can use it to move forward and benefit learning and humans. AI is here to work for us. It is doing what new technologies do so well, changing the way we do almost everything.
With every new technology comes displacement and upheaval. The workplace is transformed and rearranged. AI is certainly no exception and has the potential to be the most disruptive yet. AI is both accessible and powerful. It has the potential to do a tremendous amount of good. It also has the potential to turn our world upside down, displacing millions in the workplace, eliminating jobs and creating incredible inequalities. It also has the potential for doing great good. AI is ready to solve problems, take over redundant and menial tasks and free up humans to live a life based of fulfilling the needs of people not just business. AI meets people where they are. Whether it is a robot on the assembly line or a chatbot on your phone or a website, AI goes to where people need it.
AI requires monitoring because it is moving so quickly. High quality and consistent data is a must with an emphasis on how this technology affects human beings. From HR to the production floor there is a great emphasis on AI to support rapid change. There also needs to be a transparency and auditing as AI evolves because the impact on our workplace will be huge. The workplace and the educational system have to keep pace in a world that is changing and adapting new technologies very quickly. We have entered the world of everyday AI.
New technologies always bring upheaval and displacement. The workplace is transformed and rearranged. AI is certainly no exception to the rule. Business and capitalism is driving and will continue to drive the deployment of AI but humans need to be the voice that contributes to how AI is used.
When business processes change, it requires education and support. Change is not easy for humans. We need to become experts in risk management, flexibility and change. All areas where humans don’t usually excel. AI can also shine a light on areas of neglect within the company. Structures of organizations and internal systems that don’t connect and don’t communicate. Structures that require tedious and meaningless data entry and redundancy. Data is stored in silos: the financial systems, the HR systems, the customer support systems, etc. AI also has risk factors associated with its algorithms, programing and assumptions.
It’s impossible to talk AI without talking about privacy. Very little has been put into place to assure data privacy and restrict public access or use. There is also the issue of bias. One study showed that Google recommended higher paying jobs to men more often than to women. It’s time to consider regulatory and legal measures to assure that AI works for humans. This puts the spotlight on training and education. It’s time to up our game.
