By Checky Abuje
UNESCO has released two new AI competency frameworks that target students and teachers in schools to help education systems keep pace with the new technology.
These guidelines are designed to help countries empower students and teachers with a deep understanding of AI’s potential and its risks. Launched during UNESCO’s #DigitalLearning Week 2024, Unesco aims to ensure that everyone can engage with AI safely, ethically, and responsibly, both in education and beyond, especially during this era where Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the way we live work and learn.
According to UNESCO findings, AI is distinct from other digital technologies due to its potential to profoundly reshape societies, economies and education systems. However, unlike conventional information and communication technologies (ICTs), AI poses unique ethical and social challenges, such as issues of fairness, transparency, privacy and accountability.
The findings at the same time reveal that AI’s unique ability to mimic human behavior directly impacts human agency, and these challenges require dedicated competencies beyond the scope of traditional digital literacy.
While UNESCO has provided guidance on digital competencies for many years, it underscores the new AI competency frameworks are tailored to address the specific nuances of AI where they emphasize a human-centred approach to AI education, promoting critical thinking, ethical considerations and responsible use of AI technologies.
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into all aspects of society, education systems worldwide are struggling to keep up. UNESCO’s data from 2021 shows that only about 15 of its Member States have begun to develop AI curricula for school education frameworks that provide a much-needed roadmap for countries to develop AI education strategies that are ethically informed, inclusive, adaptable and forward-looking.
UNESCO maintains that by helping students and teachers understand AI’s potential and limitations, these frameworks will empower them to use AI responsibly and thoughtfully, ensuring that AI contributes positively to society and the environment.
And with human-centered approach to AI in education, UNESCO is emphasizing the enhancement of human capabilities and the promotion of social justice, sustainability and human dignity. This aligns with the principles outlined in UNESCO’s guidance on generative AI in education and research as well as the 2021 Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and the 2019 Beijing consensus on Artificial Intelligence and education.
The new frameworks provide the pillars for AI to support human decision-making and intellectual development, rather than undermining or replacing it, as well as highlighting the importance of respecting human rights and cultural diversity in the design and use of AI technologies.
The AI competency framework for students is designed to guide policy makers, educators and curriculum developers in equipping students with the necessary skills, knowledge and values to engage with AI effectively and focuses on four core competencies that include A human-centred mindset which encourages students to understand and assert their agency about AI, Ethics of AI that Teaches responsible use, ethics-by-design and safe practices and AI techniques and applications Providing foundational AI knowledge and skills. Another competency is AI system design which is fostering problem-solving, creativity and design thinking.
The framework encourages integrating AI-related topics into core subjects across the curriculum, emphasizing interdisciplinary learning in both STEM and the social studies.
In designing the AI competency framework for teachers, UNESCO is focused on lifelong professional development for teachers, offering a reference framework for national competency development and training programmes which ensure that teachers are equipped to use AI responsibly and effectively while minimizing potential risks to students and society and the competencies focuses on a human-centred mindset Focusing on human agency, accountability and social responsibility, AI foundations and applications Providing the knowledge, understanding and skills needed to create and use AI, AI pedagogy that Supports teachers in leveraging AI for innovative teaching methods, Ethics of AI to Promote ethical principles and responsible use and AI for professional development which outlines teachers’ capacities to leverage AI for driving their lifelong professional development.
However, the framework emphasizes the need for AI tools to complement, not replace, the vital roles and responsibilities of teachers in education.
Even as UNESCO recommends that AI competency frameworks for students and teachers be integrated into a comprehensive strategy for AI capacity building across all educational levels that includes ensuring universal access to the internet, enforcing ethical design principles for AI tools, and promoting environmentally friendly AI practices, it warns against over-reliance on AI in addressing systemic issues in education, such as teacher shortages and infrastructure inadequacies, which require sustained policy attention and investment and calls to action for countries to develop national AI strategies that are ethical, inclusive, and aligned with human-centred values.