AI becoming increasingly central to China’s education reform with plans to bring AI into classes soon

If there’s one thing we should have learned by now, it’s that technology is a tool. It can be used for both good, bad, and every weird state of morality humans can dream up inbetween. The same is true for AI, though often it’s used as an entity in itself, rather than as tools in most cases. Still in the right situations, such as doing complex computations, sorting through lots of data, and precise controls, the right AI can be great. It seems the next logical step in machine learning is to see how it can be used to help human learning, and China is about to put it to the test.

According to Reuters, China is set to start rolling out AI in efforts to improve its teaching and textbooks across all levels of school education. This is a part of a larger plan by the country to help bolster the education system as well as looking for new paths of innovation. China is hoping to reach what it calls a “strong-education nation” by 2035

China’s education ministry believes using AI to these ends will help “cultivate the basic abilities of teachers and students,” as well as help shape the “core competitiveness of innovative talents.” An example is helping to develop basic skills for students starting with things like communication and cooperation to more complex tasks independent thinking and problem solving.

AI in schools might sound horrifying, but if we go back to thinking of AI as a tool it could be pretty great. Even America is considering it, though they keep calling it “A one” for some reason. As long as we use AI for the tasks it was made for, in these instances AI could help make learning more individualised. With AI’s ability to wade through large piles of data and find working patterns and pathways forward, it could lead to a much more limber education system that’s ready to shift to the accommodation of its students.

When AI is used poorly is often tied to creative tasks, or when there’s not enough oversight. With most AI’s in the wild being language models they’re mostly designed to pick the most likely word in a sentence, rather than provide valuable information, and they’re known to be wrong. Confidently wrong. This could also be fine and a useful tool but people trust these results, and that’s where we end up with a lot of confusing garbled information.

So if we are going to use AI in schools it needs to be bespoke and transparent. A purpose built AI trained by educators that is constantly open to scrutiny and adjustment could be a wonderful addition to schools. I just don’t know if I necessarily trust China or the United States of America to deliver such an AI any time soon.