In 2016, Jill Watson became the world's most famous teaching assistant. This status was not due to her professionalism and patience, but because she was actually an artificial intelligence (AI). Her level was so advanced that even the students had believed that she was a person.
Jill Watson is an example of how artificial intelligence has been flirting with teaching for years. However, it has been now when the alarms have gone off due to the irruption of Chat GPT and the AI that generate images or audio, among other applications.
"We are facing a technology with enormous potential in the education sector," explains Pablo Haya, director of Social Business Analytics at the Knowledge Engineering Institute (IIC). “There is no single way to teach. AI is a tool at the teacher's disposal, not an imposition”.
It is not the first time that this sector, in perpetual innovation, is startled by the arrival of a change. "In the academic world, methodologies are constantly being adjusted and adapted, each time in shorter cycles," says Javier Sánchez Soriano, doctor in artificial intelligence and professor at the Francisco de Vitoria University.
"In its day it already happened with Wikipedia, Google or Encarta," recalls Nerea Luis, doctor and head of artificial intelligence projects at Singular. "I think the key is to understand that AI is just another complement or tool when setting up a class or sending homework."
Far from this vision, entities such as the New York City Department of Education have already prohibited the use of Chat GPT on the devices and networks of their public schools. Its spokesperson, Jenna Lyle, made the reasons clear in a statement: "While the tool can provide quick and easy answers, it does not develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills essential for academic and lifelong success."
Faced with this possible risk, experts claim the human factor. “The development of critical thinking, rigor, as well as many other skills, can be affected if we only entrust ourselves to these tools without trying to be part of them and lead the interaction”, explains Sánchez Soriano.
The truth is that leaving studies in the hands of an AI does not seem, at the moment, a panacea. "The student can rely too much on the data and the argument, but they may not be entirely correct," warns Nerea Luis. "The sources are not cited for now, although this aspect is being worked on from Microsoft."
What the experts are clear about is that these advances are not a passing fad. "AI is going to be a fundamental part of the fifth industrial revolution," says Javier Sánchez Soriano. And its applications will go beyond the most technological careers. “In many undergraduate and postgraduate studies outside the STEM field, introductions are already made to how AI can help their respective fields of knowledge”, confirms this specialist.
"The possibilities that AI brings to the classroom are innumerable, but they do not exhaust educational innovation," says Pablo Haya. “Teachers have at their disposal a very varied menu of methodologies. Innovation goes beyond the application of technology”. And, in the end, the students have more support. "AI is like a kind of private teacher," says Nerea Luis.
