Rationale
Artificial Intelligence is a booming technological domain capable of altering every aspect of our social interactions."
- UNESCO (2019a)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is arguably the driving technological force of the first half of this century, and will transform virtually every industry, if not human endeavors at large."
- Holmes et al., 2019, p. 1
Introduction
[executive summary]
We've all heard high claims about artificial intelligence becoming increasingly powerful and 'transforming' many areas of our lives; from the service industry, shipping/logistics and healthcare, to shopping, home maintenance and law enforcement.
Education has not been exempt. There are thousands of companies around the world promoting AI-based apps and services, many that promise to do amazing things for teaching and learning.
Education has not been exempt. There are thousands of companies around the world promoting AI-based apps and services, many that promise to do amazing things for teaching and learning.
[closer look]
We've all heard of 'artificial intelligence' (AI). Indeed, many of us already use AI-based tools. Consider this list of common apps and devices:
The list goes on and on...
At the same time, there are many high claims about artificial intelligence becoming increasingly powerful and 'transforming' many areas of our lives; from the service industry, shipping/logistics and healthcare, to shopping, home maintenance and law enforcement.
Education has not been exempt. There are thousands of companies around the world promoting AI-based apps and services, many that promise to do amazing things like identify gaps in students' knowledge, provide virtual tutors, automate the creation of effective personalized learning plans, automatically grade essays, measure student engagement, and much more.
At the same time, there are many high claims about artificial intelligence becoming increasingly powerful and 'transforming' many areas of our lives; from the service industry, shipping/logistics and healthcare, to shopping, home maintenance and law enforcement.
Education has not been exempt. There are thousands of companies around the world promoting AI-based apps and services, many that promise to do amazing things like identify gaps in students' knowledge, provide virtual tutors, automate the creation of effective personalized learning plans, automatically grade essays, measure student engagement, and much more.
Why AI in Education?
[executive summary]
In the last 10 years, key international indicators of the importance of AI have increased dramatically:
In 2019, IDC reported that global spending on AI increased by 44% over 2018 and was expected to reach $35.98B by the end of 2019 and $79.2 B in 2022. After government and consumer services, education was predicted to experience the third largest growth of any sector, with 44% growth from 2018 to 2022 (Nagel, 2019).
- Investment in educational AI startups
- Growth in academic research on AI
- AI conference attendance
- Enrollment in AI degree programs
- Government and non-profit initiatives to nurture AI expertise, products and services
In 2019, IDC reported that global spending on AI increased by 44% over 2018 and was expected to reach $35.98B by the end of 2019 and $79.2 B in 2022. After government and consumer services, education was predicted to experience the third largest growth of any sector, with 44% growth from 2018 to 2022 (Nagel, 2019).
The global AI in education market size was estimated by Global Market Insights at over USD 400 million in 2017 and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 45% from 2018 to 2024:
Trusted and influential non-profit organizations like the the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) and the Vector Institute have recently begun to actively promote AI-based innovation in education and across major industry sectors.
Because of these developments, education leaders and decision makers are feeling pressure to figure out how to leverage AI technologies for their institutions, districts and schools.
A critical analysis of the AI for education market is needed to separate hype and sales claims from proven benefits; to demystify terminology and provide guidelines for assessing AI projects. The resulting insights and knowledge can help empower education leaders to make wise decisions about how to meaningfully invest in AI technologies. |
[closer look]
In the last 10 years, key international indicators of the importance of AI have increased dramatically:
- Investment in educational AI startups
- Growth in academic research on AI
- AI conference attendance
- Enrollment in AI degree programs
- Government and non-profit initiatives to nurture AI expertise, products and services
- Attendance at AI conferences continues to increase significantly. In 2019, the largest, NeurIPS, expects 13,500 attendees, up 41% over 2018 and over 800% relative to 2012. Even conferences such as AAAI and CVPR are seeing annual attendance growth around 30%.
- Between 1998 and 2018, the volume of peer-reviewed AI papers has grown by more than 300%, accounting for 3% of peer-reviewed journal publications and 9% of published conference papers.
- In the US and Canada, the number of international PhD students graduating in AI continues to grow, and currently exceeds 60% of the PhDs produced from these programs (up from less than 40% in 2010).
Trusted non-profit organizations like the publicly and privately funded Vector Institute have been established to promote AI-based innovation across all industry sectors.
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) is likewise actively encouraging educators to learn how to teach AI concepts to students. ISTE makes a case for the importance of AI education based on the notion that AI is already and increasingly impacting society in profound ways, as presented in this video:
NEXTCanada.com is one of many examples of non-profit organizations with AI incubator programs. This video profiles Village Technologies, an AI company that participated in NEXTCanada's startup program:
In 2019, IDC reported that global spending on AI increased by 44% over 2018 and was expected to reach $35.98B by the end of 2019 and $79.2 B in 2022. After government and consumer services, education was predicted to experience the third largest growth of any sector, with 44% growth from 2018 to 2022 (Nagel, 2019).
The global AI in education market size was estimated by Global Market Insights at over USD 400 million in 2017 and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 45% from 2018 to 2024:
The global AI in education market size was estimated by Global Market Insights at over USD 400 million in 2017 and is anticipated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 45% from 2018 to 2024:
Because of all these developments, education leaders and decision makers are feeling pressure to figure out how to leverage AI technologies for their institutions, districts and schools.
A critical analysis of the AI for education market is needed to separate hype and sales claims from proven benefits; to demystify terminology and provide guidelines for assessing AI projects. The resulting insights and knowledge can help empower education leaders to make wise decisions about how to meaningfully invest in AI technologies.