Education's big shake-up: How AI is reimagining your child’s classroom

The internet and ‘multimedia’ had just arrived. I was tasked with championing the cause of personal technology—although we called it “home computing". I spoke to the influencers of that time, visited schools and spoke to teachers about how just one internet-connected computer could be a game changer. I was mostly sent packing and told things like, “Madam, we have a syllabus to finish. We have no time to play with computers". One teacher even scornfully asked me what would happen to “the child’s handwriting".

From a time when the idea of a small calculator in the classroom was shocking to today, when AI is poised to change the very architecture of education, is quite a journey.

The future of learning

AI is changing every industry and sphere of life—that much is clear. It was bound to turn education on its head. And maybe that’s a good thing. For far too long, learning has been about rote memorizing, preparing frantically for exams, wracking ourselves with tension over whether we’ll miss the next mark by half a percentage point. Everyone in class is taught the same way, and teachers have no time to notice what’s happening to an individual student in a class of some fifty.

One private school network in Texas, called Alpha School, has decided to take an extreme approach and create an AI-first school. It has gone on to become a whole network of schools in the US, with affluent, forward-thinking parents willing to take the risk of enrolling their children in Alpha Schools, which is, at best, unproven.

In an Alpha School, children only learn straight subjects for two hours each morning. All the instruction and interaction is with AI software, not with teachers. For their part, some teachers have transitioned to “guides", and their role is to help students navigate the tech system. In the afternoon, the children are coached in various life skills.

From reports, it seems like there is no independent verification of whether this format benefits students. There are claims that students perform so brilliantly that they end up in the top 1% of performers.

However, there is no end to caveats and conflicts of interest. There’s a selection bias to begin with, due to the background of those who opt to attend these schools. The founders of the schools are also makers of the AI software that’s used to teach. And there are murmurs that, despite being surveilled via eye tracking and other methods to evaluate students’ level of interest or stress, there isn’t as much of a human touch as is needed. The Alpha Schools are somewhat of an unknown quantity and, frankly, sound quite alarming.

India, China models

Elsewhere in the world, there is a growing recognition that AI will need to be integrated into education at the school level. China wants to ensure it maintains the lead it has in AI and has a ready pool of innovators for the future. So, at a national level, AI is to be taught much the same as reading and writing. The goal shifts depending on what school level students are at.

India’s plan is just as ambitious and shares many elements with China’s, based on the strategic importance of AI literacy, but scaling up as students get older to involve real-world applications. India’s approach is more focused on social and inclusive growth, and developing a future workforce that addresses issues uniquely Indian.

It’s an impressive plan and part of a broader IndiaAI Mission. However, one significant concern is whether a massive digital divide will emerge. Unlike the Alpha School concept, both the Indian and Chinese models retain teachers and have a train-the-trainer programme to scale up. It’s interesting that Intel had a similar programme to seed computing skills for teachers back in 1996.

AI in schools is a double-edged sword, like much of technology. It’s inescapable, but issues of equity, data privacy, and the actual impact on child development call for very careful implementation. One of the most serious problems is the over-reliance on AI and its potential impact on natural thinking skills. Fortunately, the Indian plan seems to have been made with responsible use in mind.

Of course, I still don’t have an answer to what will happen to the child’s handwriting.

The New Normal: The world is at an inflexion point. Artificial intelligence (AI) is set to be as massive a revolution as the Internet has been. The option to just stay away from AI will not be available to most people, as all the tech we use takes the AI route. This column series introduces AI to the non-techie in an easy and relatable way, aiming to demystify and help a user to actually put the technology to good use in everyday life.

Mala Bhargava is most often described as a ‘veteran’ writer who has contributed to several publications in India since 1995. Her domain is personal tech, and she writes to simplify and demystify technology for a non-techie audience.