AI: The End of Civilisation?

When I was scribing for a student doing his GCSEs in the summer I pondered on the instrument that I was using. A ball-point pen – or biro as we used to call it.

When I was at school we had to use fountain pens for all writing. The use of a biro was forbidden and even the slightest hint of using one would get detention. For the school the notion of not using a fountain pen was seen as tantamount to the end of civilisation. It was that serious. And certainly for public exams right up to A levels fountain pens were required at all times.

The teachers claimed that biros meant that handwriting would be poor and would lead pupils into sloppiness in their general demeanour. The whole use of the correct English was threatened.

This reaction to change in education continues to occur. It takes the system a long time to accept change in society and spurious demons are wheeled out to deter change. Right now AI is one example of this. Instead of seeing the potential for positive change the test-driven focus of education sees only the potential for cheating and for fake information.

The College is currently working with serious academics such as our President, Dr Rose Luckin, to explore how AI can be used to respond to individual learning needs. We are part of a consortium that she is planning to undertake serious research to move beyond a mechanistic approach to AI to explore a more learner-centred model. Our Director, Dr Carmel Kent, is an expert in AI in education and she will lead the College’s role in the consortium.

AI exists (like biros) and we can’t put the genie back in the bottle. We owe it to young people to take seriously how to respond positively to this important social change.

 

Ian Cunningham