2023-09-07 15:09:23
UNESCO called on Thursday, September 7, governments to “rapidly regulate” the use of artificial intelligence tools such as the ChatGPT chatbot in classrooms, including restricting their use to older children.
In a guide to be made public on Thursday, the United Nations considers that public authorities are not ready to manage the ethical issues linked to the integration of artificial intelligence programs in schools. Replacing teachers with such programs could affect children’s emotional well-being and leave them vulnerable to manipulation, the Paris-based organization warns.
A possible source of damage
According to the Director General of UNESCO, Frenchwoman Audrey Azoulay, quoted in a press release, “Generative AI can be a tremendous opportunity for human development, but it can also be the source of harm and harm”. “It cannot be integrated into education without public engagement and strong government safeguards and regulations”she added.
Generative AI programs accessible to the general public have multiplied since the end of 2022, when ChatGPT, created by the Californian start-up Open AI, demonstrated its ability to generate coherent essays, poems and conversations from succinct questions.
This growth has also raised fears about new forms of plagiarism or cheating within schools and universities, without however reducing the attractiveness of an education market considered potentially very lucrative.
Regulate the uses of AI
The UNESCO recommendation states that AI tools have the potential to help children with specific educational needs, for example by generating subtitles, provided that teachers, users and researchers help to design them, and that governments regulate their use.
The guide, however, does not recommend a minimum age for schoolchildren, but notes that ChatGPT cannot, under its own conditions, be used by children under 13 years old. Many commentators advocate raising the cap to 16, according to the report.
#Unesco #recommends #age #limit