“It is the core aim of the Forum to define human AI competencies – the knowledge, skills and values needed for effective human–machine collaboration in life, learning and work. Dedicating this Forum to the theme of Developing AI Competencies, we call on Member States to recognize the increasing importance of developing AI literacy and AI competencies for all citizens,” said UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education Stefania Giannini during the Opening Ceremony of the International Forum on AI and the Futures of Education.
The International Forum was convened from 7 to 8 December 2020 to address the challenges associated with developing competencies for the AI era. The Forum, under the theme of Developing Competencies for the AI Era, merged virtual sessions and physical meetings to engage in debates on the implications of the pervasion of AI in the futures of education. It marked the first successful test of UNESCO in organizing a large-scale conference that merged both online sessions and physical meetings in the host country.
Organized in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for UNESCO, the Forum provided a platform to exchange views on the definition of competencies required in the AI era, and competencies all people need to live and work effectively with AI. More than 80 speakers presented their AI experiences and initiatives to more than 3,000 attendees during the two-day event. It was opened by the Chinese Minister of Education, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education and Chairperson of the Executive Board of UNESCO. UNESCO’s intersectoral contribution to the event was further reinforced by representatives from its Social and Human Sciences Sector, Priority Africa and External Relations Sector, International Bureau of Education (IBE), and Institute for Information Technologies in Education.
The high-level panels of the Forum invited Ministers, Vice-Ministers, or designated representatives of China, Slovenia, United Arab Emirates, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Croatia, Morocco, Qatar, Cambodia, and Kenya to share their national experiences and programmes on AI and education. Mr CHEN Baosheng, Minister of Education of China, called upon the international community to leverage the potential of AI in achieving four strategic objectives under the framework of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 to accelerate: the improvement of the quality of education; the achievement of a more equitable and more inclusive education; the provision of personalized learning that are relevant to different contexts and needs of all learners; the building of more open and flexible education systems.
Follow up to the Beijing Consensus
This Forum was organized as a follow-up initiative to implement the Beijing Consensus, the first international consensus on AI and education that was adopted at the first International Conference on AI and Education which UNESCO co-organized with the Chinese Government in Beijing at 2019. The debates during the Forum reaffirmed the shared vision and principles of the Beijing Consensus, and went on to chart more concrete actions moving forward.
The debates over the two days recognized that the pervasive use of Artificial Intelligence will be the distinct feature of the future. Living and working with AI will not be optional, and therefore, preparing to live and work safely and effectively with AI has become a shared challenge at global level. The speakers noted that countries face diverse development challenges and possible futures, which implies that development of AI competencies and the use of AI will need to account for the diversity of local contexts.
It is recognized that the potentials of AI – including automation of low-skill tasks, augmentation of human capacities, and amplification of business models – should be used for the benefit of society and for the common good. Aligned with the humanistic approach UNESCO takes towards the use of AI, humans should be protected from becoming victims of AI tools. AI should be designed and deployed as a tool at the service of humans towards a sustainable development that is economically and socially just and inclusive. Keeping AI under control should be from, and by, design. AI developers need to be regulated, and the design of AI should be based on accountability, transparency, and explainability. AI by nature has the power to transcend borders. It is therefore imperative that cross-border regulations be developed and executed to ensure that AI is designed for and serves the common good. The work of UNESCO in developing the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence was presented and was recognized as one of the most important international response to the need.
During the deliberation on how to understand and define core AI competencies, it is noted humans also need to understand how to control AI. This requires a specific AI mind-set or AI literacy. The speakers of the Forum argued that while we believe in the uniqueness of human intelligence, creativity and ethical reasoning, we should help people understand the theory and practice of artificial intelligence. The debates suggested that AI Literacy should include: understanding how AI collects and can manipulate data; Data Literacy and the skills to ensure safety and protection of our personal data; and Algorithm Literacy that comprises knowledge of how algorithms process data and control our behaviors through personalized human-machine communication. Robust AI curricula must ensure balance between human-orientated and technology-mediated approaches. AI literacy should also be integrated into lifelong learning programmes, so that all citizens can understand how to interact with AI systems and make informed decisions. It is also key to support youth to achieve higher levels of AI competence, and engage youth in the design and implementation of IT systems. Contextual problem-solving methodologies should be adopted to develop AI competencies that can be used to solve real problems in local contexts and to serve sustainable development. Career-related AI competencies should be introduced to help graduates and youth seek job opportunities and support self-entrepreneurship in a life-long perspective.
AI in curriculum and textbooks
AI, by nature, has the power to transcend subject areas. The development of AI literacy should move beyond subject areas of computer science, and take an interdisciplinary curriculum framework. In this context, a session on the integration of AI in the curriculum and textbooks across subject areas was organized by IBE and its partners. Speakers of the session propose that AI should not only be a new discipline to the curriculum but should rather be integrated in all existing disciplines to highlight how it transforms our lives. AI in the curriculum should prepare students to become citizens of the future.
Throughout the general debates and specifically during the session devoted to supporting African countries’ education development for the coming AI Era, it underscored the importance of promoting equitable and inclusive use of AI. AI tools have demonstrated potentials in supporting the achievement of SDG 4 commitments and targets – including supporting inclusive education; diagnosing learning problems; augmenting teachers’ learning management; and enhancing evidence-based education policy planning. However, for this potential to be fully leveraged, ICT infrastructure, especially connectivity, are the pre-requisites. To address the long-lasting digital divide and ensure that all countries and people benefit from the potential of AI, effective international cooperation must be reinforced. More concretely, international organizations and countries leading in the field of AI must help enhance infrastructure and provide open-source AI tools and resources in the spirit of global solidarity.
UNESCO reiterates its commitment to gender equality in the fields of AI and the use of AI in education, especially given that only 22% of AI professionals are women. A specific session was organized to call on policy makers and international development agencies to take effective actions to empower women and youth with AI competencies.
During the Forum, a special consultation on UNESCO’s Futures of Education Initiative was held on the opportunities and challenges of the upcoming AI era. Approximately 20 invited Chinese scholars, policy-makers and educators shared their perspectives on the Futures of Education in order to enrich the deliberations of the International Commission on this initiative. “We must reframe the purpose of education. It’s about what are the probable futures but also the possible futures of education, to ensure that we all contribute to this shared future while maintaining our uniqueness and specificities,” said Sobhi Tawil, Director of the Future of Learning and Innovation at UNESCO, during the introduction to the session. “We must also rethink the organization of learning, around the governance of education, management, competencies, curriculum, teacher training and assessment.”
Mr TIAN Xuejun, Vice Minister of Education and Chairman of National Commission of the People’s Republic of China for UNESCO, reaffirmed China’s commitment to enhancing its partnership with UNESCO and international cooperation: “China will pursue wider and deeper educational opening up and we stand ready to work more closely with UNESCO and various countries to make contribution to the community with a shared future for humankind.” It is tentatively confirmed that the Government of China will continue its partnership with UNESCO in co-organizing international conferences on Artificial Intelligence and education in pursuing the implementation of the Beijing Consensus.
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