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News
Dr James O'Sullivan speaks at RIA event on AI and education
Dr James O'Sullivan, Senior Lecturer in Digital Humanities at UCC and Teaching & Learning Policy Advisor for Artificial Intelligence at the Higher Education, spoke at the Royal Irish Academy yesterday as part of a panel on the future of AI and education.
Malcolm Byrne TD, Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence, delivered the opening remarks. Co-sponsored by the Insight Research Ireland Centre for Data Analytics and the Adapt Research Ireland Centre for AI-Driven Digital Content, the interdisciplinary symosium coordinated by a working group from the RIA, considered the future of AI and education through the lens of enhancing literacy and exploring the adoption and integration of AI in teaching, learning, and assessment.
Participants considered AI in the context of second and third-level education and in particular, the shift from the viewpoint that AI should be banned to one of encouraging digital literacy and responsible, critical use. The event brought together a variety of perspectives to explore the integration of AI into education, reflecting on challenges, opportunities, safeguards, policy and regulation.
The event was programmed and organised by a working group comprised of two of the Royal Irish Academy’s multidisciplinary committees: the Engineering and Computer Sciences Committee and the Languages, Literature, Culture and Communications Committee.
Brian Mac Namee, Director at Insight Research Centre and co-chair of the working group, said;
"Educators have legitimate concerns about the potential impact of AI on teaching and learning, but highly restrictive measures around AI are not sustainable – practically or pedagogically. Experts in teaching and learning and AI experts need to work together to devise AI systems and deployment strategies that enhance literacy and learning. Today’s conference will imagine a future for AI in education that supports teachers and empowers learners; informing policy, research and investment."
Dr O'Sullivan participated in a panel alongside Dr Phil Hanna, Dean of Education in the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast; Tara Cullinane, student in the College of Engineering and Architecture, University College Dublin; and Dr Sue Sentance, Director, Raspberry Pi Computing Education Research Centre, University of Cambridge. The panel touched on areas such as the usefulness of AI; responsible use of AI in an educational context; developing student skills in discernment as well as critical literacy; the evolving domain of digital skills, in particular teachers’ skills; student experiences in AI-assisted learning; resourcing, guidance and policy.