Today's Edition
KHALED AL KHAWALDEH (DUBAI)
The explosion of generative AI has been met with mixed reviews in the education sector, with some worried that the technology “dumbs down” the learning process, while others argue that it simply enhances the ability of the student.
Certainly, it was latter case that was being made at the GESS education conference in Dubai on Tuesday, where suppliers from Google to more boutique solution providers, descended on the World Trade Centre to promote the latest AI tools for the sector.
“The reality is students are already on ChatGPT, the issue you’ve got with that is that the AI is the same one being delivered to students regardless of how strong or how proficient they are,” Senior Vice President International at PowerSchool, Stewart Monk, told Aletihad.
PowerSchool, an American company which has recently expanded its operations to the Middle East, has been deploying its own AI agent to schools across the region.
The company recently conducted a survey of 300 teachers and principals from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which found an overwhelming willingness to use AI in the classroom. According to Stewart, 86% of respondents across the two countries were open to implementing AI.
“If you think about a region like Dubai, you’ve got the most diverse group of individuals from all over the world sitting in the classroom of 30 people and trying to keep up,” he said.
“So, there is a huge opportunity here to make learning more personalised and the region in general is very supportive of adopting new technologies.”
Currently PowerSchool is working with several UAE-based schools where they deploy their suite of tools which includes a generative AI chatbot, custom-built to fit the curriculum being taught and the capability of the child.
Stewart says this allows the schools to circumvent the issues with generative AI models, including the elimination of biases and the ability to customise answers to reflect the policies of the educational institution.
Stewart believes their portfolio will only expand in a region that he says is more progressive than other parts of the world when it comes to the take-up of AI.
The UAE has made significant strides towards integrating AI into its education system. This has included the Ministry of Education incorporating AI and coding into the national curriculum, introducing digital literacy, robotics, and AI fundamentals to students from an early age.
Various programmes, including the UAE AI Camp and the One Million Arab Coders initiative, offer students and youth specialised training in coding, data science and AI skills, supported by experts from global tech companies like Google and Microsoft.
Additionally, the UAE has launched the Smart Learning Programme, which leverages AI-powered learning platforms for personalised education and adaptive learning, with the idea of helping students learn at their own pace.
“Earlier this year, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed instructed all teachers to go through AI awareness, so we’re participating in doing education,” Stewart said.
“If you look at it, this part of the world is much more progressive than other regions.”
