How AI Could Save (Not Destroy) Education

Sal Khan | TED

TED (May 1, 2023). How AI Could Save (Not Destroy) Education | Sal Khan | TED [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJP5GqnTrNo

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has shown great potential in various fields, including education. The ability to provide a personalized tutor for each student and a teaching assistant for each teacher can be a great help in improving students' academic performance and optimizing the educational process in general. In this post, we will explore the conclusions of a news article on how AI can drive positive transformation in education.

According to the article, the use of AI in education can have a great impact on students' performance. A personalized tutor for each student can improve their performance by two standard deviations, meaning that even an average student can become exceptional and a below-average student can reach above average. Additionally, Khan Academy has developed an AI system called Khanmigo, which is designed to be a super tutor that can help students with exercises and coding concepts.

Khanmigo is moderated and does not provide direct answers, but rather helps students think through the problem by asking guiding questions and understanding common misconceptions. Furthermore, Khan Academy has created a language model that teachers can use to explain answers and prepare lesson plans.

Although large language models like GPT-4 are very powerful, they require a lot of behind-the-scenes work to make them function optimally. However, by allowing AI to think before speaking, it can significantly improve its ability in math and tutoring. Additionally, the use of AI in education has the potential to address the 2 sigma problem and dramatically accelerate education.

In conclusion, AI has the potential to positively transform education by providing a personalized tutor for each student and a teaching assistant for each teacher. Although there are debates for and against the use of AI in education, it is important to realize that we are active participants in this decision. We must fight for reasonable protection measures and regulations to ensure that the use of AI in education is beneficial for everyone involved.

Over time, we can expect to see greater integration of AI in education and increased use of this technology to improve the educational process and students' academic performance.