Taseer Rehman Soomro
The life of the 21st century has become very demanding as each day we explore new advancements in the field of science and technology. Today we need prompt assistance in our daily life chores to manage our lives efficiently in this fast-paced world. This seems impossible without the help of technology, whether it’s the Google Maps that guides us to our desired destination or the Google Drive which keeps our files accessible at the click of a button. Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) identified the significance of technological integration in all the walks of life, which aids in finding the smart solutions of the problems encountered in the 21st century. Humans had evolved progressively and so had their ways of learning. With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), technology has become smarter by automating tasks, which has transformed our lives. AI has taken technology to an entirely new level, and this also calls the education sector to incorporate AI to facilitate the teaching and learning process. People now look for ways to spend less time and become more productive. AI aids as a great help in facilitating teachers to update their knowledge regarding the new pedagogies, content knowledge, and research. Teachers can provide instant assistance to their students in a blink of an eye by using AI tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
AI has revolutionized the way we interact with such technologies, making it faster and intuitive than ever. These advanced technologies enable educators to answer student queries, generate lesson plans and question papers, which offers a personalized experience effortlessly. Learning has become self-paced as students now can not only access the learning materials and resources anywhere and anytime but also interactively as feedback is received straightaway. It also helps teachers and schools by analyzing student data, including anecdotal records, highlighting the learning gaps, which makes it convenient for teachers to offer personalized support. Schools can also use this data to evaluate curriculum, update lesson plans as per the students’ needs to keep up with the latest research and trends in the field of education. Instead of wasting hours in translating the text, students now can access tools like speech recognition and text-to-speech, which helps students with disabilities by allowing them to engage with learning materials in ways that suit their individual needs. Real-time language translation also breaks down language barriers, making it easier for students from different backgrounds to learn, collaborate globally, and promotes inclusion.
AI in teaching has been a blessing in many ways, but alas, all that glitters is not gold. The perils of AI in education arise when students become overly dependent on technology. This diminishes their creativity and their critical thinking skills are also distorted. Relying too much on AI hinders students’ ability to develop problem-solving abilities. Furthermore, AI can be addictive in a way that it may have severe effects on the mental and physical health of humans. AI can be a double-edged sword in education. While it enhances learning, it also enables procrastination. With AI-powered tools offering instant answers, students may delay critical thinking as students now spend less time browsing and researching on the learning materials. Students may be tempted to spend hours scrolling through social media instead of actively participating in the learning process as AI makes task completion almost effortless.
Reading habits have been significantly affected since the integration of technology and AI into the education system.
Students prefer audiobooks and mostly now rely on AI-generated content rather than indulging in deep reading, visiting libraries and collecting real life experiences. No one can deny the fact that AI has increased accessibility and convenience. However, it also diminishes our attention spans and weakens comprehension skills. When everything is readily available without requiring mental effort, it discourages critical thinking. Instead of reflecting on the reading material, students now rely on AI-generated summaries, leading to superficial understanding of the reading material. This calls for the intensive research on the long-term impact of AI on basic foundational skills, literacy, and independent thinking.
AI is only as fair as the data it learns from. If an AI system is trained on biased data, it can lead to unfair assessments and grading. This can disadvantage certain students. Moreover, not all students have equal access to AI-powered learning tools, which could widen the gap between privileged and underprivileged students, making education less inclusive rather than more. Data breaches and misuse are another concern, this can put sensitive student information at risk, leading to privacy issues and ethical considerations. Another major challenge is bias and inequality as AI learns from existing data and any biases in that data can lead to unfair grading and assessments.
While AI has the potential to improve learning experiences, it must also be used carefully to ensure fairness, privacy and equal opportunities for both underprivileged and privileged students. AI in education can be a blessing or a curse, it depends on the intention of the users. It can create a student-cage where a student might lose creative abilities and overly depend on AI. which also limits their real-world interactions. The right guidance, policy making and surveillance regarding the efficient use of AI-technology in education lies on the shoulders of the stakeholders, including teachers, parents, the Government, and the society as a whole.
