Back to school: the risks and opportunities of AI
As the new school year begins, Europe's media discuss how artificial intelligence will be used in education: as a cheating tool, or as a vital instrument for preparing the young for the professions of the future?
Chart the right course now
Hürriyet sees schools approaching a historic turning point:
“The new school year can be considered a novelty in the history of our technological civilisation: the first academic year in which artificial intelligence will enter the education system through all channels via ChatGPT. .... ChatGPT could become a copying tool the likes of which no previous generation has had at its disposal, but it also offers the opportunity to enrich the educational process with machine learning technology. Used correctly, it is a real preparatory tool for the artificial intelligence-supported professional world of the future.”
Acquire key competences
In our approach towards AI we should focus not on the question of whether, but on how, recommends bioethicist Ana Paula Nunes in Público:
“We need to develop digital empathy. Digital empathy will enable better communication between humans and machines and is essential for optimising AI capabilities. ... AI technology should be used to complement, not replace humans. Humans will not be overtaken by AI, but by humans who know how to use AI.”
Good sparring partners in language acquisition
Chatbots can play a supportive role in foreign language learning, notes Fanny Meunier, a professor of language acquisition, in La Libre Belgique:
“They can help students improve their learning of questions and answers, to understand the meaning of words and expressions that come up in dialogue, or to correct a sentence that hasn't been clearly expressed. These tools can therefore be used as a learning aid. This form of practising is often perceived by students as less stressful because the fear of being judged by classmates or the teacher decreases. They can focus their cognitive skills on the language and then feel a little more comfortable engaging in real conversations with their peers.”