Five Key Insights on Innovation and the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Education

The Orfalea Center, in partnership with Georgetown University Qatar (GU-Q) and the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE –Qatar Foundation), hosted the webinar “Innovation in Education: Global Trends and Contextualized Solutions in Qatar” on September 24th, 2024. Based in Doha, Qatar, WISE is a think tank dedicated to promoting innovation and equal access to quality education. Through research, policy engagement, and leadership programs, it fosters a dynamic platform for exploring and addressing the challenges faced by the most vulnerable learners. By leveraging technology, data, and evidence, WISE strives to create a fairer and more effective education system for everyone.

The webinar featured WISE specialists Aurélio Amaral and Selma Talha-Jebril, who shared insights on global issues, challenges, and solutions related to education, including current uses of artificial intelligence. They discussed trends and emerging research in the field and talked about how we foster innovation in the ecosystem in Qatar and the Global South.

Aurélio Amaral leads the WISE Prize for Education and the Edtech Accelerator, which support innovative projects and ventures in the education sector. He has experience in the Brazilian nonprofit sector and holds an MPA in Urban and Social Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Selma Talha-Jebril leads the research and policy unit at WISE and researches AI's impact on teaching, learning, and equity. Previously Talha-Jebril was in New York with the Institute of International Education in New York.

1. Redefining Innovation Beyond Ideas

Aurélio Amaral emphasized that innovation in education goes beyond good ideas; it involves assessing the potential for practical implementation. He posed critical questions about the feasibility and evidence supporting educational projects, highlighting the importance of viable, coherent ideas backed by adequate resources. Educate Girls, an organization based in India whose founder, Safeena Husain, won the WISE Prize for Education, is an example of how technology can be adopted even in low-resource contexts. Husain partnered with a tech company to build a predictive tool using machine learning to identify the areas with the highest prevalence of out-of-school girls, which made their door-to-door outreach work much more efficient.

2. AI’s Transformative Potential and Challenges

Selma Talha-Jebril discussed the multifaceted applications of AI in education, from classroom instruction and administrative efficiency to data-driven policy making. However, she also highlighted the ethical, privacy, and digital-divide issues that accompany AI integration. Talha-Jebril stressed the need to equip students with skills for an AI-driven world while acknowledging the persistent gaps in technological access.

3. The Irreplaceable Value of Human Agency

Despite AI advancements, both specialists underscored the irreplaceable value of human agency in education. As mentors and community leaders, teachers play crucial roles beyond instruction. Aurélio mentioned technology-based solutions that, rather than replace educators’s roles, can support them to better identify students’ needs. Speech recognition technology, for example, can help track reading fluency and provide teachers with more data to support students with dyslexia.

Technological platforms can also help educators conduct more comprehensive assessments of students’ outcomes and recognize a broader range of skills through microcredentials.

4. Bridging Research and Policy

Selma Talha-Jebril emphasized the importance of aligning research with policy-making. Effective data collection must be close to the problem to ensure relevant solutions and policymakers need to understand and utilize this data to make informed, evidence-based decisions. She highlighted the need for scalable solutions that can be adapted to various contexts to ensure broader applicability and impact.

5. Balancing AI with Ethical Considerations

The webinar underscored that while AI offers significant opportunities for educational innovation, it must be balanced with ethical considerations and human-centric approaches. By fostering a collaborative ecosystem that includes educators, policymakers, and technologists, meaningful advancements in education can be achieved, particularly in regions like Qatar and the broader Global South.