Information and digital literacy in education via the digital path

From Google searches and dating sites to detecting credit card fraud, artificial intelligence (AI) keeps finding new ways to creep into our lives. But can we trust the algorithms that drive it?

As humans, we make errors. We can have attention lapses and misinterpret information. Yet when we reassess, we can pick out our errors and correct them.

But when an AI system makes an error, it will be repeated again and again no matter how many times it looks at the same data under the same circumstances.

AI systems are trained using data that inevitably reflect the past. If a training data set contains inherent biases from past human decisions, these biases are codified and amplified by the system.

Much has been written, and rightly so, about the potential that artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to create and promote misinformation. But there is a less well-recognized but equally important application for AI in helping to detect misinformation and limit its spread. This dual role will be particularly important in geopolitics, which is closely tied to how governments shape and react to public opinion both within and beyond their borders. And it is important for another reason as well: While nation-state interest in information is certainly not new, the incorporation of AI into the information ecosystem is set to accelerate as machine learning and related technologies experience continued advances.

What if you could have an artificial intelligence assistant to take down your notes for you? You could just sit back and give your full attention to the lecture secure in the knowledge that at the end of the lecture, you will have everything that was said organized in notes.In the business world, there are already a few companies that have developed solutions to automate note-taking at meetings.  As far as we could ascertain, there is room for the development of AI solutions that would automate note-taking for students. Such solutions, especially if they could summarize the important aspects of a lecture, would be invaluable to students who could then focus all their attention on the lecture while knowing that notes are being created for them.

One key element that will impact all our futures is artificial intelligence. Now, I have written about AI on several previous occasions, and I also feature an entire chapter on its applications to learning and development in my new book, Digital Learning in Organisations. But here, on this more informal channel that I call my blog, I just wanted to share with you a few thoughts about the impact I think it will (and won't) have on our learning future. 

A growing number of academics are experimenting with new technologies powered by artificial intelligence, but many of the technologies aren't yet ready for prime time.

A.I. is everywhere at the moment, and it’s responsible for everything from the virtual assistants on our smartphones to the self-driving cars soon to be filling our roads to the cutting-edge image recognition systems reported on by yours truly.

Have you noticed more discussion recently about Artificial Intelligence or AI? When first hearing “Artificial Intelligence” is there an image that pops into your mind? Is it something that you can easily define? Perhaps your understanding/reference point is something you’ve seen in the movies. For myself, being an 80s child, my initial frame of reference is Star Wars, I immediately think of R2D2 or C3PO. My mind then wanders to thoughts of “I, Robot” starring Will Smith, in which the robots developed the capacity to think like humans, to feel and to take action on their own.

Things are about to get very interesting. These four disruptive digital technologies aren't mainstream, but they will change the very fabric of learning.

A majority worries that the evolution of artificial intelligence by 2030 will continue to be primarily focused on optimizing profits and social control. They also cite the difficulty of achieving consensus about ethics. Many who expect progress say it is not likely within the next decade. Still, a portion celebrate coming AI breakthroughs that will improve life

The machines haven't taken over. Not yet at least. However, they are seeping their way into our lives, affecting how we live, work and entertain ourselves. From voice-powered personal assistants like Siri and Alexa, to more underlying and fundamental technologies such as behavioral algorithms, suggestive searches and autonomously-powered self-driving vehicles boasting powerful predictive capabilities, there are several examples and applications of artificial intellgience in use today.

Video is the medium of the age and AI is the technology of the age. Combine the two and you have a potent mixture. I’ve been involved with both, working in a video production company, using video on all sorts of media, from interactive videotape machines, laserdiscs, compact discs, CDi to streaming, even making a feature film called The Killer Tongue (you really donl;t want to know). 

Every aspect of life can be guided by artificial intelligence algorithms – from choosing what route to take for your morning commute, to deciding whom to take on a date, to complex legal and judicial matters such as predictive policing.

Big tech companies like Google and Facebook use AI to obtain insights on their gargantuan trove of detailed customer data. This allows them monetize users’ collective preferences through practices such as micro-targeting, a strategy used by advertisers to narrowly target specific sets of users.

AI is arguably the number one driving technological force of the first half of this century, and will transform virtually every industry, if not human endeavors at large,” said Charles Fadel.

Fadel is the founder of the Center for Curriculum Redesign and has a new book on Artificial Intelligence in Education. He wrote it with his research manager Maya Bialik and Dr. Wayne Holmes, Open University.

“We have tried addressing the impact of AI on both the What and the How of education,” said Fadel.

Have you been following all the coverage about the fourth industrial revolution – Industry 4.0, as it’s sometimes called? Big data, artificial intelligence and robotics will fundamentally change the way products are designed and built and how services are provided. They are already changing how we live and communicate.  

Some tech trends fizzle out and die a quiet death, while others are so significant that they transform our world and how we live in it. Here are the top nine tech mega-trends that I believe will define 2018 and beyond.

I’ve been trying to write this post, or a more accurately a version of this post for the last couple of weeks. It all started a couple of weeks ago when I attended  the City of Glasgow College Digi…

This article was written by Kris Hammond.
This is an invitation to collaborate. In particular, it is an invitation to collaborate in framing how we look at and…