{"id":712231,"date":"2023-07-27T06:15:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T10:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/?post_type=article&p=712231"},"modified":"2023-07-27T16:38:22","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T20:38:22","slug":"student-led-conference-puts-focus-on-ai-and-education","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/student-led-conference-puts-focus-on-ai-and-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Student-Led Conference Puts Focus on AI and Education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On Aug. 5 and 6, student volunteers from the University of Illinois and Stanford University will present the AI x Education conference<\/a>, an online event charting the adoption and utility of artificial intelligence in education, with a special emphasis on student perspectives. So far, more than 2,700 educators have registered to hear the perspective of over 60 student representatives and the insights of thought leaders in the field including Stephen Wolfram, Chris Dede and Kristen Dicerbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the organizer of the conference, I have had the opportunity to interview over 30 high school and college students from a range of backgrounds, who were nominated by teachers who are slated to speak at the conference or have shared their AI experiences through articles and interviews. Their innovative use of AI tools has underscored to me that if the broader community of educators, policymakers and industry professionals are to harness AI effectively in education, this collective cannot afford to overlook student voices in its discussions. This raises a pertinent question: How can students and educators cultivate a collaborative approach to this rapidly evolving field?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most students want to learn, but many have anxieties that their current skills and knowledge could rapidly become irrelevant without integrating AI. In my interviews, one accounting student who interned at a tax consulting company said she feared that AI could automate her data processing tasks, while a computer science student expressed worries that tools like ChatGPT<\/a> could replace his entire job of coding user interfaces for websites. A marketing student noted that the advanced copywriting and strategic thinking abilities of these AI tools are already making the skills she learned in classrooms obsolete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Such fears are most evident among college students who will soon enter the job market and hope their professors swiftly revisit their teaching materials and reconsider the goals of their classes in light of the evolving future of work. They need to discern which aspects of the curriculum could be enhanced by AI and which may no longer be relevant. Undertaking such a revision requires professors to have a thorough understanding of what AI can and cannot do. Ideally, they will be supported by their academic departments and college-based teaching and learning centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n