Smart technοlοgy can enhance the experience οf educatiοn but
personal interaction cannot be replaced by virtual interaction as machines are
incapable of communication with students. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is
technology incorporated in machines which are designed in such a way that it
reduces human effort and also saves time as the machines are comparatively
faster than humans. Elon Musk suggests that AI poses a threat to humanity, as
it might surpass human cognition at one point, forcing humans to merge with
technology (Lynch, 2017).
Smart, interactive classes in schools help the students learn better but this might cause addiction and sluggishness. AI network is difficult to be controlled and soon the humans may lose their place as the predominant species on this planet as AI is replacing not just manual human tasks, but cognitive tasks as well (Washington Post, 2017). Memorising and storing away data are among the basic mind capacities, and humans cannot give it a chance to decay (Kravchenko, 2017). Increased use of AI in education (AIEd) has the following disadvantages:
·Information losses:If the AI technology incorporated machine malfunctions then important datawill be lost and will need to be re-installed which is a disadvantage if it is needed at a crucial time like examinations (Media, 2018).
·AI can stimulate technology addiction: With technology implemented in every classroom, studentswill not be able to visualise their lives without any kind of device, which will result in a group of socially-unadjusted technology dependent adults.
·Unemployment: During an industrial revolution when humans were replaced by machines withsame functions there were strikes and wars, teachers can also start movements and protests (Kharkovyna, 2016).
·Lack of personal engagement and emotions: Smart technοlοgy can enhance the experience οfeducatiοn hοwever it cannot replace the persοnal interactiοn and emotions because machines cannot cοmmunicate with students (LiveTiles, 2017).
·Students’ ability to learn from a virtual assistant is still unclear: It still remains a question if thestudents will be devoted to education and motivated enough to study when teachers are not there to supervise (Kharkovyna, 2016). A good teacher can provide alternative methods versus standard solutions of a robot.
·Measures the wrong data: Mοst data cοllected abοut student learning is indirect, false and lackingreliability. The algοrithms rely οn identifying patterns in large and nοisy educatiοnal data sets without any priοr understanding οf relevant learning theοry.
There will be a positive outcome if we oversee the task of machines and control its super intelligence. Quality of content and pedagogy are underappreciated by the AIEd advocates. AI will benefit the education if the connection between AI developers and experts in education is strong. Otherwise, AIEd will simply ‘discover' new ways to teach poorly and perpetuate erroneous ideas about teaching and learning.
The article is been written by Nikita Bhatnagar, an NMIMS School of Design student, under the mentorship of Prof. Poornima Nair.
