Introducing Artificial Intelligence in the Educational Settings By Prof. Asoka Karunananda, Senior Professor, University of Moratuwa

Introduction

The education system of any country plays a pivotal role in fostering responsible citizens and enhancing the overall quality of life. Throughout history, diverse subject areas have been incorporated into global education frameworks, including Natural Sciences, Medicine, Mathematics, Computing, Engineering, Social Sciences, Philosohpy, and recently, Artificial Intelligence (AI). Each of these disciplines encourages distinct modes of thinking; for example,  scientific thinking emphasizes experiment-based reasoning, while mathematics promotes abstract thinking through calculations, measurements, and patterns. With the growing significance of Artificial Intelligence, this article delves into concerns regarding the integration of AI within Sri Lanka’s educational framework.

Artificial Intelligence

We are presently in the Age of Intelligent Machines, characterized by the formal establishment of Artificial Intelligence as a distinct field in 1956. AI endeavors to comprehend natural intelligence and equip machines with intelligent capabilities. AI has made substantial strides in emulating human and animal intelligence, enabling advancements in problem-solving, autonomous navigation, and tasks such as text, image, and video recognition and construction, along with a range of other innovative applications. AI surpasses the biological limitations of humans by excelling in managing vast and unstructured datasets/knowledge, adapting swiftly to changing parameters, reacting with high accuracy, and efficiently solving real-world problems across domains.

However, unlike conventional technologies, AI consolidates power and control, presenting both opportunities and challenges. While AI promises autonomous solutions, concerns persist regarding its potential to lead to a technological singularity, posing existential risks to humanity. Despite its myriad benefits, AI raises significant social, legal, and ethical dilemmas requiring widespread awareness and careful regulation. Certification processes for AI professionals should ensure accountability, responsibility, equality, social justice, and ethical usage of AI products and services.

It is imperative to view AI not just as another aspect of information technology, but as a powerful technology akin to nuclear energy, requiring responsible oversight. Similar to seeking medical advice from doctors, AI products and services should be launched cautiously and with the expertise of certified AI professionals. To meet the high demand for medical doctors, a country cannot solely rely on mass-producing doctors and encouraging individuals to do surgeries and treatments, as certain fields require specific aptitudes. However, a country can develop a substantial cohort of high-quality doctors and educate citizens about healthcare and disease prevention more broadly. This principle also extends to AI. Implementing universal AI education for all would be impractical, costly, and inefficient. Instead, the focus should be on providing the necessary level of AI education tailored to the relevant social groups, which is also applicable when introducing any new subject.

AI Education

Education about AI is essential across different levels – from secondary education to tertiary education and within society at large – to increase general awareness of AI. In secondary education, the focus should be on fostering interest and understanding in AI, improving learning capabilities through AI tools, and developing skills in algorithmic thinking and coding to create basic AI applications. 

Ensuring a precise comprehension of AI is crucial for citizens, parents, and children to nurture the growth of a sustainable AI ecosystem within a nation. The reluctance towards mathematics at the GCE(O/L) level serves as a clear example of how misconceptions about a subject can spread among parents, citizens, and students. Similar negative impacts could arise from misunderstanding AI, potentially leading to more serious consequences than those seen with mathematics.

At the tertiary education level, institutions should integrate AI education and research, collaborating with industry partners to tackle real-world challenges and strengthen the country’s AI research and development landscape. This can be achieved by incorporating AI modules or specializations into existing degree programs, establishing dedicated AI degree programs, introducing master’s programs in AI, cultivating a pool of doctoral-level AI experts, and fostering AI startups to expand the Sri Lankan software industry. In all these cases, a sound knowledge of higher mathematics is imperative for AI professionals and researchers to advance beyond the basic level of AI capabilities.

By cultivating AI expertise within tertiary education and fostering AI startups in the Sri Lankan software industry, the country can seize the export market for AI solutions, beginning regionally and eventually expanding globally. Recent advancements such as ChatGPT have already transformed the landscape of Software Engineering practices. However, it is important to recognize that the quality of responses generated by ChatGPT depends on the intelligence level of the questioner posing the queries. Therefore, humanity retains control over intelligent machines. It is fascinating to observe that Alan Turing acknowledged this aspect in what is known as “The Turing Test” in his groundbreaking paper “ComThputing Machinery and Intelligence,” even before the inception of AI in 1956. 

Over-reliance on AI for cognitive tasks could hinder the development of essential human cognitive abilities, potentially leading to machines surpassing humans. The current trajectory of AI advancement may reduce the necessity for individuals to hone skills like critical thinking, memory, understanding, imagination, problem-solving, efficiency, accuracy, creativity, reading/listening comprehension, and writing. The enduring repercussions of this trend are particularly pronounced in education compared to other sectors.

Just as exercise machines complement sedentary lifestyles, AI should enhance human cognitive capacities while advancing machine intelligence. Neglecting this balance may exacerbate societal inequalities, consolidating technological dominance in the hands of a few nations. Vigilance and proactive measures are crucial to ensure that AI serves as a tool for human advancement rather than a threat to the millennia-evolved cognitive capacity of humanity. 

Undoubtedly, addressing the singularity challenge and advancing intelligent machines requires enhancing humans as cyborgs with extended physical and mental capabilities. AI can contribute to this endeavor by developing cognitive skill enhancement AI applications based on theories from fields such as education, neuroscience, psychology, and cognitive science.  This area currently receives insufficient attention from the AI community. However, I strongly believe that certain individuals may have already identified this requirement and are quietly developing cognitive AI software to enter a burgeoning and inevitable emerging market of human intelligence. This is quite frustrating because people are already delving into the realm of Biological Programming to program biological cells in plants and animals, surpassing the traditional focus on programming machines in AI.

In summary, the integration of AI into Sri Lanka’s education system demands a comprehensive approach that fosters awareness, education, and research, ultimately producing AI Expertise and developing Responsible AI products and services tailored for the export market to strengthen the country’s economy.