Union Minister Jitin Prasada emphasises that artificial intelligence cannot replace teachers and warns about the potential risks of excessive AI use in education, stressing the importance of human guidance and values.
Union Minister Jitin Prasada warned on Monday that artificial intelligence (AI) cannot replace teachers and that the risks of the technology in education must be carefully addressed. During the AI Impact Summit, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology said AI has the ability to enhance teaching and learning for teachers and students. It should not, however, be seen as a way that diminishes curiosity and critical thinking. Speaking about AI in education, the minister stated that the technology should be incorporated not only into school curricula but also into the larger educational framework.“We have to ensure that this is not merely a subject in a school curriculum. This is much more. We have to equip our young so that they contribute. It is about capacity building,” Prasada said, adding that young people should understand computational thinking and its applications. News agency PTI reported. He cautioned that students should not view AI as a shortcut, warning that it must not undermine curiosity, rational thinking and the learning process.“It’s only a tool to better their lives and do something faster…As far as education goes, we can’t have people using AI and somebody doing their homework, especially young people. It’s not a shortcut,” Prasada explained. Using AI as a shortcut will be counterproductive in the long run, he added, adding that teachers should use it as an enabler. “Some people say an AI tutor is much better. But that doesn’t mean you want to replace a teacher. You can’t,” Prasada noted.He added that the government is also taking steps to ensure that data is available to researchers, innovators and domestic industry to develop models and solutions. Prasada highlighted, “We are ensuring that these data sets are available, which are non-personal, which are safe. And that is the real edge that India has. We have the data which no one else in the world has to that level that India has, and for AI, as everybody knows, the fuel is data.”
AI fake news can have a major impact on democracies: Union minister Jitin Prasada
Prasada also brought attention to several issues, such as the lack of digital literacy that leaves people open to cyberattacks and the spread of false information by AI that could threaten democratic systems. He identified deepfakes and misinformation as specific dangers during India’s annual elections, which take place at different scales.“If you don’t get into digital literacy, then you have the vulnerability of falling to cyber threats. Cybersecurity is such a big issue, and AI deep fakes misinformation. And a country like India, which is truly democratic, and elections are happening year-round, at the central, state, and municipal levels. But if there’s kind of misinformation using AI, it has the power to derail democracies. It has the power to change people’s minds in the wrong fashion, and once a decision has been taken, as far as the vote goes, it could be counterproductive because it is based on false information. So the government and we have that challenge as well,” he explained. The minister said the government will make policies to protect citizens and their futures, but emphasised that collective action is needed. “But everybody has to contribute,” he added.
