Education secretary Gillian Keegan will today launch a new call for evidence on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform schools, as well as the risks it poses.
As well as seeking views on positive developments and risks, the government will also ask for views on the ethical considerations of AI, and its use in training for education workers.
The call for evidence will be open to education professionals across the schools, colleges, universities and early years sectors.
The education secretary is also set to announce a new task force to establish what computing and digital skills young people need now and for the future.
In a speech to technology and education experts at London Tech Week today, Ms Keegan is expected to say that AI is set to “transform the world around us and help grow the economy” and education must be one of the workforces to “ride the wave”.
“For that potential to be realised, we - the government, our schools, colleges and universities - need to be able to understand those opportunities, as well as the real risks new technology brings”, Ms Keegan is expected to say.
It comes after prime minister Rishi Sunak told London Tech Week on Monday that AI had the power to transform work and public services but measures were needed to protect against the “extreme risks” it could pose.
The Department for Education said today that the call for evidence marks ”an important starting point” and the results would provide a base to inform future work, “including how AI could be used to reduce workload, improve outcomes and run operations more efficiently as well as work around misuse such as essay bots and cheating in exams”.
Earlier this year, think tank EDSK said that the development of ChatGPT and other AI software programs meant coursework and other forms of teacher assessment were no longer viable because of the risk of cheating by students.
The DfE has said its evidence gathering will also involving speaking to experts through forums, surveys and interviews.
The education secretary is also expected to today confirm the launch of a new Digital and Computing Skills education taskforce, which will work to establish what computing and digital skills are needed now and for the future, working closely with industry experts to encourage more young people to consider a career in key sectors such as cybersecurity, AI or computing.
The call for evidence will open from today for anyone working in education and run until 23 August 2023.
The British Educational Suppliers Association director general Caroline Wright said she welcomed the secretary of state’s focus on addressing the use of AI in education.
“Emerging technologies such as large language models have the potential to be transformative to education and the future of work”, Ms Wright said.
“I am glad that both educators and industry are invited to contribute to the call for evidence and look forward to working closely with the department as it engages with the sector on this important issue over the months ahead.”
Last month, government quango Oak National Academy announced that it would broaden its licence for most resources from the autumn to an Open Government Licence, in what it said would provide a significant boost to the potential use of artificial intelligence in education, as well as a guardrail on reliability.
John Roberts, director of product and engineering at Oak National Academy, said: “AI could lead to significant advances in education, but we have to proceed carefully to make sure it helps rather than hinders teachers. We welcome the call for evidence from across the sector, so all voices are heard about AI’s potential benefits.
“One of the greatest risks of AI use in education is the quality and accuracy of the content AI generates. AI educational tools are currently trained on the general internet which means a mix of reliable and unreliable content. Teachers need 100 per cent accuracy. We believe Oak’s decision to offer all our new teaching resources on an open licence will help address this by giving anyone developing AI educational tools a totally reliable, freely available set of resources that will be a trusted launchpad for their AI products.”
