G. Balasubramanian
G. Balasubramanian is a doyen of school education in India. He has held several positions of leadership at CBSE, including Director Academics. He was the brain behind the introduction of several innovations at CBSE, which included frontline curriculum, communicative approach to language teaching, Information Technology, alternatives to homework, etc. He is also an author, poet and a sought-after speaker at educational conferences world over. This article has been taken from G. Balasubramanian’s official website balaspeaks.in
Last two weeks, the newsrooms had kept me quite busy. Not only busy, but it did also give a few anxious moments compelling to ponder what is next. The reason behind this is the news presented by one of the famous news reporters, anchor, and storyteller Ms. Palki Sharma. She referred to the speech of the IMF chief saying that ‘AI is not just coming, but it is coming like a Tsunami.’ It is quite likely that sixty percent of jobs could be impacted, if not eliminated. Referring to the ‘AI -teacher’ tutoring the students and the possibility of customised learning, fears have been expressed on what would be the role of a teacher of the future.
That Chat4.0 narrative that AI would provide a perspective as much as a human being in conversation, in comprehension and in decision making offers yet another dimension to our understanding of the role of AI. With Open AI joining hands with their contemporary early birds in technology, the result of the constructive collaboration might open a magic box for all sectors of professional operations (I would hesitate to call it a Pandora’s box). Integrating Copilot with Microsoft, Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, has offered a broad spectrum of operational and learning opportunities posing a mighty challenge to the competitors of his kingdom. His intention to train at least two million people in India is a pointer to his trust on India as a hub of AI in the future.
Not really lagging, the CEO of the Alphabet Inc, Mr. Sundar Pichai, has taken the level of the Google to further heights by providing a spectrum of operational opportunities overwriting its earlier knowledge, skills and search competencies. The prospects of Google with AI as reported, opens newer dimensions in personalised learning with better interactivity, collaborative learning, freshly fabricated personalised tools of assessment. Calling AI ‘as a Friend not a foe’, Mr. Narayana Murthy, former Chairperson of Infosys, said the fear of loss of jobs due to AI is ‘overblown.’ Instead, it opens new opportunities and now jobs for those who are willing to deal with it. But how and when do we get ready?
There are both fire and fireworks in the field of technology. One is led to wonder whether they should look up to the sky with a sense of awe and wonder to see the fireworks, or whether one should warm up themselves with the fire on the ground to remain more pragmatic by upskilling themselves.
As another CEO of a company pointed out, ‘AI is making almost everyone a programmer without knowing programming’. India is perceived by the world, not as a tourist guide to the emerging AI systems, but as a navigator to lead AI to a space travel, be it to moon, mars or to the Apollo. Possibly, through AI, Indian technology would be mining gold without even digging the soil! The economics of this development appears quite magical and mind blowing if we are willing to get going and not miss the opportunity.
All that I am concerned as an educator and a thinker is - how is it going to impact our learning systems – universities, colleges and schools?
The most crucial and urgent requirement in education appears to be a change in the mindset. A mindset to position learning – be it in school, college or the university – as an exercise of playing with curiosity, an opportunity to engage with decision making skills, a gateway to entrepreneurship through innovation and as envisaged in the National Education Policy, - a platform to create new knowledge, new skills and new perceptions. The world is waiting for it. AI could certainly disrupt the way education is handled in the country. It can provide ‘freedom to learn’ & ‘freedom to experiment’, provided the pedagogues and the educational administrators are willing to support. We are moving to a world where more than the data and information, our methods of handling them, our goals and objectives for processing them would become more important.
There are innumerable new avenues for using AI in learning systems – virtual laboratories, virtual project management, process management, immersive learning, diving into unfathomed oceans of intelligence and knowledge, developing newer aesthetic perceptions and others. Witnessing a chat between humans and chat platforms where the AI could respond to human emotions on an equal level, opens yet another dimension of creating newer psychological models.
Yet, there is an undeniable need to focus on values, ethics, culture, heritage and spirit of nationalism, in the absence of which no credible business or knowledge infrastructure could either exist or survive. Rightly pointed out by the chief of Microsoft, “AI is just a tool, and it cannot replace human intelligence.” The depth of this statement needs to be understood so that we can stay protected ourselves, whether it comes as tsunami or a hurricane or as an inundating flood.
There is an urgent need to prepare the teaching community to understand the role of AI alongside its use and implementation. In the absence of adequate understanding of the role of AI, any mistaken celebration of AI would enslave the unparalleled human competencies and tame it as mere consumers rather than producers. The question before the AI generation is - are we were willing to think differently?
The time is ripe to welcome AI as a guest and accommodate it as a member of the family of thoughts, but not surrender to it as a mightier head!
Do we have to reflect on our new role? We need to get our mindset ready as partners in progress with all developed countries and deal with them with better self-confidence, self-esteem to gain the AI leadership for the future. That will provide not a mere leadership in technology, but a leadership in managing the world. When do we start? If not now, when?
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