We’ve all seen the headlines about students using ChatGPT to write their essays and reports. But in education, AI isn’t just changing homework—it’s completely reshaping how we teach and learn.
Take Udemy, for example (full disclosure: I sell some of my courses there). During their November 2023 earnings call, Greg Brown, the CEO, mentioned: “We’ll keep investing in innovation that uses generative AI to create more personalized learning experiences, help businesses achieve their goals, and give instructors the tools to make better content.”
To me, Brown’s statement highlights a major way AI will transform education, especially online learning: by making it more personalized. I believe the students of the future will have a lot more control over how they learn. And personalized learning is just one of the many ways AI is changing education.
Opportunities AI Can Unlock in Education
Starting with personalized learning paths, teachers can use AI to create customized curriculums for each student, tailoring the content to what works best for them. This way, students can engage more deeply with the material, which can lead to better academic results.
AI could even provide personalized recommendations for further learning for professionals, helping them stay ahead in a fast-changing job market.
Another big advantage is access. For many people around the world, getting a formal education is expensive and limited by where they live. But with AI-powered platforms, anyone with an internet connection can access high-quality, personalized learning—no longer just the lucky few who can afford traditional education.
For example, a working professional might not have the money for an MBA, but using tools like ChatGPT, they can create a custom curriculum to gain the skills they need to move up in their career.
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For All The Opportunities AI Can Unlock, It Also Poses Risks In Education
AI will definitely open up new opportunities for students all over the world, but educators and others involved in education need to tread carefully as we begin this journey. Here are three things to keep in mind.
If you’ve tried out AI systems, you know they can be impressive at answering tough questions quickly and confidently. However, you may have also noticed that sometimes they make things up, which is called “hallucinations.” Since the answers can sound so convincing, it’s easy to think the information is accurate, but that’s not always the case. So, it’s always a good idea to double-check the answers you get from AI.
Even when the information isn’t made up, that doesn’t mean it’s true. Just like professors require students to cite sources in research papers, educators need to know where an AI tool is pulling its information from to make sure it’s reliable.
This is especially important when it comes to plagiarism and intellectual property. One big issue with AI is that copyright rules aren’t very clear yet. For example, if you ask an AI to write an essay, someone else might actually own that content. This can also apply to images or logos made by AI tools like DALL-E 3, which is integrated with ChatGPT.
Finally, remember that not all AI platforms perform the same way. Just like you’d consult multiple books or databases in a traditional library, it’s smart to ask the same question to different AI systems. That way, you can cross-check information and figure out what’s accurate and what might be off.
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Keeping The Risks In Mind, Stakeholders Should Be Open To Experimenting With AI In Education
AI isn’t quite ready to replace traditional education just yet. But even with its flaws, employees, employers, students, and teachers can still make the most of AI if they use it carefully. There are already plenty of ways AI can improve education, like helping with grammar, transcribing lectures, summarizing text, and even creating smart study guides.
Looking ahead, I think we’ll see fully customizable curriculums developed by schools or companies with the help of AI tools. Will AI get accurate enough to make online education as good as, or even better than, what traditional schools offer? It’s hard to say for sure, but given that ChatGPT has only been around for a year and there’s so much investment going into this field, it could happen sooner than we think.
