Last month with great fanfare the AI Impact Summit was organized in New Delhi where the world’s who’s who in AI participated. Some very interesting issues were discussed but the general feeling one got was as if AI is the panacea for everything ! We should be aware that it is a slave and will never be a master of mankind. It cannot think out of the box.  That ability only the human mind has. Though some AI practitioners will disagree with this statement. 

Nevertheless, its uses and evolution are unstoppable. Therefore, we need to use it judiciously and with concern. Since it will play an important role in the future in almost every aspect of our daily life, its usefulness and progress in India can increase by leaps and bounds if it is introduced in schools. For that it is necessary that children learn proper and creative use of AI in schools.

AI Great for Research. Making Learning Fun 

AI is a powerful tool which can put lots of things together. I use it all the time in doing deep research and evaluation of documents, books etc. It is a great starting point for any research work. The same methodology and tool can be used for children where new things need to be developed by teachers, for e.g. curriculum, videos, and other educational material to make learning fun and productive.

Once the children become interested in the audio-visual projects generated by AI, they will become interested in finding and learning more about it and this will hopefully help them become AI programmers and content producers in future.  That is the best way to produce future AI creators – through education of children.

However, for that to take place it is necessary that there are excellent teachers who will teach AI and its proper use in schools. Thus, there must be a major program of training the teachers in AI.

Tailored to Complement Creativity 

Most teachers presently do not know how to use AI properly and creatively. So how can they teach students about it? Yet many students presently use AI to cheat in exams and assignments.  That is a very wrong way to use AI and in the absence of its proper teaching they will continue to do so.  It kills their creativity, dulls learning and in extreme cases produces individuals who cannot function without AI support. 

Recent evidence also suggests that AI chatbots are being used by teens to plan violence and other harmful activities. Like all technologies, AI is a double-edged sword. It can either be used for very creative work or destructive activities. Thus, there is a tremendous responsibility for teachers to teach the children and youngsters about the positive aspects of AI.

AI for schools therefore should be tailored to help and complement the creativity of children and students.   That is a great challenge for AI creators to tailor the programs for school.

At the same time exams should be made creatively so that they test the analytical ability and knowledge of the children and students rather than their rote learning capabilities. Naturally that will mean a lot of creative and hard work from the teachers to produce such exam papers.

Firing the Imagination of Children           

With heavy emphasis on passing exams, use of AI by students is an easy way out. However, AI has a tremendous power to put lots of information together, produce very creative output and solutions, and can be a great way to learn about the world.

With proper teaching of AI in schools even in the remotest rural areas of India and even South Asia, one can fire the imagination of children by creating very creative contents.

(The writer, an IIT and US-educated Indian spiritual engineer and rural development pioneer,  a 2022 Padma Shri award winner, is the Director, Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), Phaltan, Maharashtra.  He can be reached at anilrajvanshi50@gmail.com/@anilraj24.bsky.social)