Deputy Prime Minister and Education Secretary
jointly hosted a
roundtable to better harness the benefits
cutting-edge technologies like AI could have for the
education sector.
Teachers, education professionals and technology
companies came together to discuss how revolutionary
technologies, such as AI, can be leveraged to boost education
outcomes for British children.
Roundtable attendees included leaders from across the education
and tech sector, such as:
- Michael Lynas, UK Country Director, Duolingo
- Riaz Moola, CEO, HyperionDev
- Daniel Emmerson, Academic Affairs Lead, Goodnotes
- Ian Cunningham, Chief Technology Officer, TeachMateAI
- Gemma Gwilliam, Head of Digital Learning, Education and
Innovation, Portsmouth Education Partnership
- Phillip Hedger, CEO, LEO Academy Trust
- Josh Goodrich, CEO and Founder, StepLab
- Jon Hutchinson, Director of Training and Development, Reach
Foundation
- Matthew Ansbro, CCO, Busuu
- Sir Anthony Seldon, Headteacher Epsom College and co-founder,
AI in education
- Anna Artemyeva, Google for Education UK & Ireland lead
- Jen King, Microsoft, UK Schools Engagement Lead
AI is already being utilised across public services, and research
conducted by the Department for Education over the last year has
shown that educational professionals are already embracing the
opportunities offered by this emerging technology, such as
reducing the amount of time teachers spent on administrative jobs
to allow them to spend more time delivering valuable lessons to
students.
This technology also has the power to tailor education programmes
to pupils and rapidly drive up attainment by making learning more
individualised and accessible and opening up new
opportunities.
The Department for Education has invested £2 million in Oak
National Academy to create new teaching tools using AI, and the
results of a hackathon hosted by the Department for Education in
collaboration with Faculty AI, the National Institute of
Teaching, held in November will be published in due course.
Recognising that innovators across the education sector are
already using generative AI, the roundtable shared learnings and
best practice in the sector.
Attendees also considered the challenges of AI, the need
for robust evidence, and the importance of safe usage.
This includes the need to set standards, ensure essential
technology infrastructure is in place, and support education
institutions to equip themselves to mitigate the risks of
implementing new technologies.
The session reinforced the importance of government, technology
experts, teachers and education leaders working together to
safely transform education in a way that puts students
first.
Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said:
Rapidly advancing technologies, including AI, are going to change
the way we live and work.
That is why we are listening to and working with the sector on
what technology means for education, to understand how we can
draw on the advantages of AI to benefit pupils and teachers.
Having the right safety measures and controls remains an utmost
priority, and we are already at the forefront of AI safety,
convening the world for the first global safety summit last year.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said:
Artificial intelligence is already changing the way we work and
learn, but we need to understand its risks and challenges.
Bringing together tech experts in the field with teachers and
education leaders is crucial if we are to take advantage of this
emerging technology, and I look forward to hearing from those on
the ground about how we can continue to lead the way in our
approach to AI in education.
