ACT conducted an Informative YouTube Live Session on Artificial Intelligence and Its Impact on Education

Asian College of Teachers (ACT) conducted a YouTube live session on ‘Artificial Intelligence & its Impact on Education’ on 26th May, 2023. The guest speaker at the session was Mr Dwijattam Mukherjee, who is an associate partner at IBM, highly skilled technocrat and a quintessential practice builder with an experience of more than 22 years in the field of Information Technology of which he spent more than 16 years into being a cloud architect with a focus on software as a service and PAS architecture. During the session, Mr Mukherjee emphasized that AI should be viewed as an augmented tool to enhance the existing practices of educators and students, rather than a complete replacement for human interaction and guidance. The session addressed several thought-provoking questions, such as the origins of AI, the interpretability of data by AI systems like ChatGPT, potential threats posed by AI to younger individuals, and whether AI diminishes real-life learning experiences.

Mr Mukherjee shared valuable insights, highlighting that AI is designed to mimic human cognitive functions and lacks consciousness. He underscored the importance of considering AI as a tool and not a competitor, while sensitizing educators and students about the significance of human interaction, the reliability of AI outputs, and ethical considerations surrounding AI usage in education. Although AI has the potential to enhance personalized and adaptive learning experiences, he emphasized that AI can never replace the need for human educators. AI can generate versions of what has been done before but cannot predict future possibilities. The session concluded on a positive note, with Mr Mukherjee assuring the audience that jobs are not lost to AI itself but rather to those who possess the knowledge and skills to effectively leverage AI. Mr Mukherjee reiterated that as AI continues to evolve and shape the education landscape, collaboration between educators, policymakers, and technologists is essential to harness its full potential and create an educational future that is accessible, personalized and effective.