The report found that schools around the world are largely unprepared for the use of generic artificial intelligence (GENAI) in education.
A new UNESCO report urges governments to regulate generative AI (GenAI) in the classroom, with a recommendation to place age limits on the technology.
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GenAI, which generates new content in various formats from text to images, gained popularity in late 2022 with OpenAI’s natural language tool ChatGPT.
In January 2023, ChatGPT’s monthly active users reached 100 million people. According to the authors, six months later, in July, only one country had issued regulations on GenAI.
The guidelines highlight that GenAI in education can have consequences on “the development of human capabilities such as critical thinking skills and creativity”.
UNESCO also calls for caution on the growing global divide, which could be exacerbated with technology such as generative AI trained on biased data to generate content,
“Such a wide range of capabilities […] There are potentially huge implications for education, as they replicate the higher-order thinking that forms the foundation of human learning,” said Stefania Giannini, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education.
AI Age Restriction
The report found that schools around the world are largely unprepared to use generic AI in education due to a lack of government policy.
The authors recommend that governments follow seven steps to use generic AI in education with a “human-centered” approach, including **implementing GDPR regulations** and strengthening copyright rules.
The report’s guideline and recommendation of an “age limit for the use of JNAI” was a first in the world.
UNESCO has highlighted that ChatGPT requires users to be at least 13 years of age, but there is a worldwide debate in favor of raising the age limit to 16 years.
The paper’s authors argue that many online safety regulations for minors were passed long before the invention of AI and call on policymakers to reconsider restrictions.
“The emergence of various GenAI chatbots demands that countries carefully consider – and publicly deliberate – the appropriate age limits for free interaction with GenAI platforms,” UNESCO said.
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The report calls for greater attention in the coming years, as it states that education could be completely transformed by current and developing technologies.
approval for EU AI Act Likely to happen later this year or early 2024.
