UNESCO advocates reskilling in the implementation of AI in learning
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has advocated for reskilling in the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in learning, especially in tertiary education.
According to the Chief of Global Partnership and Programme Office UNESCO – ICHEI, Roger Yanwen Jiao, AI or GenAI is reshaping the perspectives and practices of students and teachers.
Yanwen Jiao, who spoke on ‘Upskilling and reskilling the higher education workforce for digital transformation in the AI era,’ at an AI forum, said the changing higher education landscape requires higher education leaders to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills to engage in strategic integration and ethical implementation of AI in higher education.
According to him, more efforts should be canvassed through collaboration in the deployment of AI, especially for higher learning. On his part, Acting Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission Chris J. Maiyaki, who spoke on ‘Policy Direction on Introduction of AI in Teaching, Learning and Research in Nigerian Universities,’ said in Nigeria, the tertiary education system witnessed tremendous growth in terms of producing qualitative manpower to drive growth and development largely due to the efforts of regulatory bodies that set standards to ensure quality and growth of the tertiary education system.
Maiyaki said the information technology revolution ushered in a new age of growth and development in all facets of human endeavour with a particular impact on education as it provided easy access to educational materials and data that has greatly enriched the teaching, learning and research experience.
According to him, the imminent revolution that AI is expected to usher into the tertiary education sector, while suffused with many positive potentials for the education system, is also fraught with many potential downsides if not harnessed properly through regulation and policy management.
He said some of the potential advantages that Artificial Intelligence can bring into the education landscape include enhancing personalised support for teachers at scale; improving learning and assessment quality; changing what is important for learners; and AI serving as a collaborative tool in research, etc.
Conversely, some of the potential pitfalls of AI in education, according to him, include discrimination of disadvantaged groups in terms of information technology penetration; potential displacement of educators; student data safety and protection; models generating biased and harmful content; and evaluating authentic student work, among others.
Maiyaki said given the strident calls by global leaders, for regulating AI, it is pertinent that attention be given to the development of a framework that shall govern its evolution within the tertiary education landscape as there is serious concern that the rate of development of AI systems is far outpacing and outstripping regulation.
“Thankfully, references can be made to proactive bodies such as UNESCO, which has produced documents such as the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, which seeks to place human rights at the centre of regulatory frameworks and legislations on the development of AI systems.
“The document proposes that framework and legislation should cover thematic areas such as safety and security, privacy and data protection, transparency and explain-ability, human oversight and determination, fairness and non-discrimination, multi-stakeholder and adaptive governance and collaboration, sustainability, awareness and literacy,” he stated.
According to him, the framework for AI in higher education should be seen primarily from the lens of AI essentially being a tool for development and facilitating teaching and learning and not taking centre stage in the teaching, learning and research ecosystem.
He revealed that in Africa, only a handful of countries including Egypt, Tunisia, Benin, Rwanda, Ghana, Mauritius and Senegal have drafted a National AI strategy, with none implementing any formal AI regulation. He added that currently, Nigeria has taken some steps towards the establishment of a framework on AI through the setting up of the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR) in 2020.
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