AI in Primary Education – Why Is It Important to Teach About AI

There is no good or bad, right, or wrong, and fair or unfair when it comes to AI technologies. This is by design. Dr. Melvin Kranzberg, a professor of the history of technology at the Georgia Institute of Technology, stated that “technology is neither good nor bad; nor is it neutral.” Keeping this statement in mind, we should ask students
to think critically about the impact AI has on society. They should consider the trade-offs (both good and bad) of various AI innovations and consider ways that biases and negative impacts in AI might be identified and mitigated.

Ethical AI is a shared responsibility. Students, teachers, users, programmers, investors, regulators, and others all play a role in determining the future of AI technology development and use. Students should discover that often a technology will have inequitable impacts: positive on some users or stakeholders and detrimental on others. They should understand that while they might use AI to improve efficiency or accuracy of one task, at the same time they may be asked to give away personal data, civil rights, or personal freedoms in return. We should ask students
to consider timeless ethical questions, diverse perspectives, and even gray areas as they begin to construct their own ideas about how to determine if an AI is ethically developed, designed, and used.

You can learn more about these topics at Generation AI | The hidden intelligence in our best teaching practices video of the Real World-Real Education transnational online educational conference.