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In this article, I will share some thoughts on why I think AI is good news, why it is bad news, and look at the recent developments in the legislative and policy-making areas. Then I will focus on its use in education and non-formal education in particular. I will share a few creative ways I am using it, having a lot of fun with my groups of learners - and I admit, by myself. And I will include an essential list of recommended apps that I use - all with one big caveat, things change so fast in this field, that it’s hard to stay up to date. 

And before we start, one essential disclaimer: we did not receive an endorsement or sponsorship by any of the apps and companies mentioned in the article nor the authors of the illustrations. We are aware of the controversial nature of this tech and of digital tools, in general: ethical, political, social, and environmental. We don’t recommend reckless and unbridled use of it. Rather the opposite: our intention is to inform, raise awareness, and sparkle a conversation around its controversies.

The IBM homepage states that “Artificial Intelligence is technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human learning, comprehension, problem-solving, decision making, creativity and autonomy”. Emphasis on “simulate” (not “create”), that’s why we can ask a ChatBot to write a Shakespearian sonnet, but we are still far from a self-driving car.

The discussion on intelligence is a very complicated one. For now, I will embrace a very empiric approach and go with the Dutch computer scientist Edsger W. Dijkstra, who said: The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting than the question of whether a submarine can swim. It gets the job done, and I will focus on that for now. 

Currently, The most popular ones are GPT by OpenAI, Gemini by Google and Llama by Meta. There are more, and the number is growing every week. The programs are growing in power and functionalities in an exponential way. GPT released its revolutionary version 4 in March 2024, which can elaborate and produce text, sounds, images, search websites, read and create documents, and more - and the 4o version (which stands for “omnia” because it’s better at… everything) in May 2024. It is hard to stay up to date with the cutting edge because things change all the time. And in fact, the newest o1 version is already in its preview phase. If the estimates are correct, it will be a bit slower than the predecessors, but definitely better at solving advanced science and coding problems.

Salman Khan

Students and teachers will soon have access to a personal assistant in their pocket, that can give valuable - and personalized - feedback and assist with tasks and goals tailored to their needs. And while AI tools are going to help with grading papers, writing reports, and designing classes - all this can help free precious time for teachers to use their creativity, and develop human connections with students. (Watch also Sal Khan’s How could AI Save (Not Destroy) Education TED talk). The benefits when designing classes or activities will be huge. Also in areas such as inclusion and learners with special needs. Ask an advanced AI tool to rewrite a text for a person on the autism spectrum, or for a person with an immigrant background who is not fluent in the language, or for a 6/10/15 years old. It’s not always perfect, but the results will amaze you!

AI in itself is not “creative” (not yet, at least). It can recombine existing knowledge and information in patterns that look original, but it’s not inventing anything. But powered by this super assistant, human creativity can flourish. And so can yours.  Are you looking for an idea for a team-building activity? Ask your chatbot to generate three and choose your favourite - so you can focus on preparation and delivery. Are you scratching your head to get five provocative questions for a “where do you stand” debate? Use your AI assistant, and your only problem will be choosing the best ones, and fine-tuning the direction you want the discussion to go. Need to find a fresh role-play scenario to experience a situation outside your group’s everyday life? Ask the AI, and you will be surprised, the scenario and dialogue lines generated in the blink of an eye.

But nothing will take the place of the human, real-life interaction between you and the group (or the teacher and their students). AI will set education back 2500 years… and that’s a good thing, says Robert Clapperton from Ryerson University. Meaning that we will leave behind the standardized input-output processes typical of the Industrial Revolution era, and go back to personalized, process-based education. Every school will have the potential to become a classical Academy.  

AI tools raise issues about bias - they can only reproduce the knowledge they were trained on, and that’s often flawed; geographical, economical, technological accessibility and equitability; and huge concerns about privacy and data use. It can also make mistakes, and literally make up information and citations (these are called “hallucinations” and nobody knows why it happens). 

They raise concerns about their ethical use. At the moment, all the major commercial models have been tightly trained to recognize and avoid racist or abusive language, and don’t encourage any interaction that could be harmful, toxic or dangerous. But some people and organizations disagree with this and release unfiltered AI tools for profit, to further an agenda, or simply because they can (and if this sounds a bit much like Elon Musk; we will get to him later). Again, a discussion on intent is necessary.

Finally, if overused, AI tools can stifle critical thinking. We already see it in previous iterations, with so many people taking social media and search engines as their main news source without questioning the sources. What will happen when this content is delivered with the friendly, well-known voice of our best digital friend?

Education in particular will feel the impact like an earthquake. Rote, clerical assignments (“write an essay on…”, or “research five facts about…”) can now be solved with one single click of the mouse, as well as basically every standard language, math or science test. The latest version of Google Lens has a “solve homework” button. Teachers and curriculum specialists everywhere are worried this will be the apocalypse. But is it really that bad?

If a task can be solved with one single click, it will and it probably should. Not because students are inherently lazy or evil, but because they don’t like wasting time. And who can blame them? I still meet educators in my work who insist on the familiar mantra: “But we need to teach young people that life is sometimes boring, and so is school”. Well, try telling that to your average teenager! And maybe it’s about time we challenge that status quo. Life can be boring at times, but learning doesn’t have to be. 

I am not saying “old ways are bad”. Old ways are actually awesome (remember the Academy one paragraph ago?), but we need to preserve their spirit and purpose, while accepting the technological changes. If some homework had as its only purpose that of keeping students busy, then frankly we are all better off without it. 

This is something non-formal educators and youth workers know very well. As I wrote in the previous chapter, I personally believe the field of NFE has much to benefit from a healthy application of AI tools. Methods that are aimed at developing creativity, problem-solving, communication and critical thinking skills can receive a powerful boost through AI tools and are not at risk simply because their powerful dynamics happen live, are centred on participants, and require active participation.

As I write this article, 6-year-old kids are starting primary school in Prague, where I live. They are excited and nervous as every kid ever was on their first school day. They know they will meet new friends, learn new things, begin a new chapter of their life. What they don’t know is that they will enter the “labour market” in about 2042. Do we have any idea how the job market (if there will be one) will look like in the forties? Or the geopolitical landscape? Or even life on Earth? If do you, please reach out, because I don’t have a clue.

We have no idea what skills and knowledge these kids will need in their future lives. But we do know they are going to need creativity, communication skills, curiosity, optimism, media and digital literacy, resource management, conflict resolution, and a huge dose of critical thinking. And education at large needs to change to equip learners with those skills. AI can effectively help with that, or put the final nail on the coffin. Once again, it’s a tool in our hands.

The European Union is showing initiative in regulating AI and its “AI Act” represents the first comprehensive piece of legislation on the matter. California is also working on its own version, currently in the preparation. The EU AI Act was published in July 2024 and it will enter full force in 2 years time (with some emergency features starting within 6 months). 

The law basically defines four levels of risk for AI systems, from “Unacceptable” to “Low or minimal” and introduces different requirements and red tape for developers. The Act also sets transparency requirements and is fully integrated with the code on GDPR, so data protection and privacy will also be guaranteed.

This is a very welcomed step, while on the other hand it is chilling to think that AI programs that pose an “Unacceptable risk” are legal right now, and will only become forbidden at the end of 2024 - and then again only in the EU. But the hope is that after the European Union takes the lead, other countries will follow suit.

On the front of educational policy, the Council of Europe has started a consultation process and you can find the conference recordings and the report online. It’s a starting point as it focuses on the ethical side, inclusion and the importance of digital literacy.

But there is more and I don’t see it addressed (yet). Companies are using AI tools to cut costs and increase productivity. This usually comes at the expense of human labour. Many professions will be transformed by the AI revolution, and many will lose their jobs. It’s only a matter of time before governments too will start thinking how to cut costs by using AI tools. But this could be a critical mistake. By allowing algorithms to take over our bureaucracies, we delegate our collective well-being to mindless strings of code. That could be an existential danger. And in the field of education we must thread even more carefully. Yes it’s true, every student can have a personalized, always available learning assistant and tutor in the pocket. But should it replace actual, human teachers and educators? This could be potentially disastrous, and it’s a political decision. 

I also switch to Gemini sometimes and compare the results. At least for now I don’t feel the need for another premium account. Gemini seems to have better control of tones (it’s more friendly and conversational), recently became able also to create images, and of course its ability to search the web is unparalleled, being powered by Google, but ChatGPT was released first and the consensus seems to be that it still has a competitive edge. 

To create music, Suno is a little gem. You can input a few keywords, choose the genre, and voilà, it will write, compose and execute a 2-4 minutes song for you, complete with lyrics (unless you choose to make it instrumental). It’s phenomenal, and fun to use (and a nightmare for copyright). 

Are you curious how to detect AI text? Maybe your students presented an essay that feels a bit… artificial? Quillbot has a good AI content detector, or I use Copyleaks as an alternative, but be aware that none of these tools is 100% accurate, and LLMs are constantly evolving to appear more “natural”. I promise, this article was completely written by me without any AI tools. And if you don’t believe me, test it!

The HOP online learning platform is based on Moodle and its newest version (4.5), published on 5th October 2024, is also having an AI integration, allowing course creators to generate text or images or the learners to automatically summarise the contents. HOP is moving to the Moodle 4.5 when it gets more stabile, not sooner than 2025.