UNESCO urges government to consider ethics of AI in education as an absolute priority

A report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) launched in Delhi on Tuesday encouraged an overall regulatory framework for use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in education.

The ‘2022 State of the Education Report (SOER) for India: Artificial Intelligence in Education – Here, There and Everywhere’, also says for expanding AI literacy efforts, correcting algorithmic biases and the resulting discrimination, improving public trust in AI, and involvement of students and educationists in developing AI products.

UNESCO has asked the government to consider the ethics of artificial intelligence in education as an utmost priority and create effective public-private partnerships to make sure that all students and teachers have access to the latest technology.

The 10-point recommendation made by the annual flagship report of the UNESCO New Delhi Office asks technology service providers to place ownership of data with the students. An official statement said that the state of education report provides an introduction to AI to demystify a subject that has endured various misconceptions. It is also supplemented by an overview of challenges and opportunities in the Indian education sector that AI can address and locate.

The report analysed that the AI market in India has the potential to touch INR 780 crores by 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.2%.

UNESCO statement reads, “To align India’s curriculum to the 21st century and to prepare the students for the AI economy, India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 lays profound emphasis on the need to impart the necessary technical knowledge at all levels of education. It emphasizes the integration of AI in Education to also promote quality and skill-based education. With this Report, UNESCO offers a glimpse of the varied dimensions and suggestions for future uses of Artificial Intelligence in the school setting.”