Public values are key to efficient education and research

For those of us who have been working on AI in Education it is a bit of a strange time. On the one hand it is not difficult any longer to interest policy makers, managers or teachers and trainers in AI. But on the other hand, at the moment AI seems to be conflated with the hype around Chat GPT. As one senior policy person said to me yesterday: "I hadn't even heard of Generative AI models until two weeks ago."

And of course there's a loge more things happening or about to happen on not just the AI side but in general developments and innovation with technology that is likely to impact on education. So much in fact that it is hard to keep up. But I think it is important to keep up and not just leave the developing technology to the tech researchers. And that is why I am ultra impressed with the new publication from the Netherlands SURF network - 'Tech Trends 2023'.

In the introduction they say

This trend report aims to help us understand the technological developments that are
going on around us, to make sense of our observations, and to inspire. We have chosen
the technology perspective to provide an overview of signals and trends, and to show
some examples of how the technology is evolving.

Surf scanned multiple trend reports and market intelligence services to identify the big technology themes. They continue:

We identified some major themes: Extended Realities, Quantum, Artificial intelligence,
Edge, Network, and advanced computing. We believe these themes cover the major technological developments that are relevant to research and education in the coming years.

But what I particularly like is for each trend the link to to public values and the readiness level as well. The values are taken from the diagram above. As SURF say "public values are key to efficient education
and research."

#AIinEd – Pontydysgu EU 2021-09-20 16:58:58

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

Empowering Learners for the Age of AI is a free, international online conference, organised by part of a national team from Australia representing leading researchers in the role of data, analytics and AI in learning, to empower both learners and teachers. They are seeking a public conversation to engage productively with societal infrastructure powered by data, analytics and AI. The questions for the conference include:

  • What’s actually happening with AI and how is it changing classrooms, teaching, and learning?
  • How can data, analytics and AI be used not to disempower or automate work, but to empower learners and professionals?
  • How must modern knowledge systems (such as schools, universities, corporate training and development, government agencies) change to prepare people for an AI society?
  • How to track and assess the qualities that equip people for this future?
  • What will the learning ecosystem look like by 2030 and what might humans and AI collaborate in solving complex problems?

They say:

The conference will be of interest to individuals with all levels of AI expertise, from beginner to advanced. World-leading researchers and experts will deliver keynotes addresses while discussion panels will explore implications in a range of sectors.

If your interests involve how data, analytics and AI will shape the future of learning, this open and free conference is for you!

The conference is on the 7 and 8 December, 2021 and you can register for free from the Empowering Learners AI website.