DIGITAL LEARNING
How will AI affect student learning ?
Boris Lo , Upper Sixth student
AI and Internet Governance , and its impact on students
The internet has been a revolutionary invention , and as it was adopted , policies were set by countries to guide its positive development . These policies , frameworks and guidelines are all part of Internet Governance and are discussed and evaluated at worldwide meetings , such as the United Nations Internet Governance Forum .
As a Youth Advisor in the Internet Governance Forum ’ s AI policy network , I was exposed to diverse discussions on AI ranging from warfare to art . However , the topic that felt most pertinent to me was Generative AI ’ s impact on me as a student . Government policies on AI are still vague , due to the complexity and novelty of the issue ; governments want students to develop valuable AI usage skills , whilst ensuring AI usage doesn ’ t inhibit student development .
Therefore , I decided to write this article sharing what I know about AI and student learning , and some valuable points of knowledge on AI usage from coalesced recent research by the UK department of education , UNESCO and other valuable sources .
The relevance of AI in education
AI has only recently stepped into the global spotlight , but it has shown the potential to revolutionise many aspects of our lives , including student learning . Statistics show that the ChatGPT service , the Web front-end for ChatGPT was the fastest-growing service in history to break the 100 million user milestone in January and had 1 billion visits by February 2023 ( Herbold et al ., 2023 ). This demonstrates how widespread the use of GenAI is becoming .
Current research substantiates the positive impact GenAI can have on student learning , improving student study efficiency ( Rafał et al ., 2023 ), by augmenting areas ranging from note creation , developing study strategies , and supporting time management . However , its usage may also be a cause of concern because the misuse of GenAI can have a negative impact on learning outcomes and memory capacity loss ( Abbas et al ., 2024 ). It is therefore a critical issue for learners and educators to use AI in a beneficial manner that doesn ’ t compromise cognition or academic integrity in the process .
UK government figures show that 79 % of children aged 13-17 use one form of AI , and 14 % of pupils selfreported utilizing ChatGPT for schoolwork ( Department of Education , 2024 ). To provide context , AI is split into two forms ANI ( Artificial narrow intelligence ), and AGI ( Artificial general intelligence ). ANI can only perform a specific task , such as Siri and Alexa , which are limited to the tasks they are programmed for , such as checking the weather . However , AGI is what educators are worried about . This is because AGI is a type of AI aimed to replicate human cognitive capabilities across a wide range of cognitive tasks , hence it being “ general ”.
ChatGPT is what people think of when AGI is mentioned , but although it can perform language-based tasks effectively , it is still insufficiently general due to its limited ability in areas such as mathematics . However , ChatGPT is still a broad form of ANI , and can perform most academic tasks in subjects such as English or essay-based subjects .
The relationship between AI usage and untrained students ’ academic performance is a weak positive correlation ( Bancoro et Jaysone , 2024 ). This is likely due to a lack of education around AI , causing some students to benefit from correct usage , whilst others being detrimentally affected . The benefits of correct AI usage for students with training have already been identified , and this current relationship underlines the need for more focus and training on effective student AI usage .
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