The Conservative Party believes artificial intelligence has “huge potential” to “transform” British education.
Officials hope to work towards harnessing this potential at an upcoming AI “hackathon.” The Department for Education (DfE) said this will form part of a “two-day event to experiment with technology and identify how AI could supercharge education.”
A government release reveals that participants at this “hackathon” will be asked to “experiment with AI.” It is suggested that the quickly developing technology could be used to help teachers with exam marking and lesson planning.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan is clearly excited by the potential. She said:
During my career in the tech business, I have seen innovation in action. Artificial intelligence has huge potential to transform the way we do things, from providing personalised support for pupils to helping tackle teacher workload.
Keegan added that “to reap the benefits in education, we need to improve our understanding of how AI works and safely.” Indeed, in spite of this excitement, the Tory government sees itself as a world leader in regulating AI.
Small-c conservatives who were pleased to hear Rishi Sunak tell last week’s Tory conference that his government will prioritise education in all future policy agendas are likely to be more than a little unnerved to find AI could be at the centre of this drive. But the signs have been there for some time, no more so than when Sunak earlier this year said he would be comfortable with robots teaching his children.
