Generative AI and the tools spawning from the new technology are changing many aspects of society as these become ubiquitous.
As we look forward to the new year, one might wish to take a bit of time to read up on the concepts and the potential of AI in education as well as within society as a whole.
- One of the most prominent titles available is Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick, who publishes the AI focused blog One Useful Thing. He is a distinguished faculty scholar at Wharton, where he also is co-director of the generative AI labs. His text is an easy read and I think is a fairly balanced approach to the possibilities and concerns raised by the use of generative AI in society and education.
- Another general book about AI in education is Salman Khan’s Brave New Words: How AI will Revolutionize Education (and Why That’s a Good Thing)*. Khan’s book is a more rose-colored view of an AI-rich future, if that wasn’t evident from the book’s title. However, the creator of Khan Academy and author of The One World Schoolhouse: Education Reimagined, presents his views for a future educational environment much richer due to the influence of AI. If you haven’t read One World Schoolhouse, it is an excellent volume on the potential of education in a digitally connected and knowledge rich world. Khan has also recently chatted with Tech & Learning about how he uses AI to teach.
- To focus specifically on the classroom aspects of AI, Daniel Fitzpatrick’s The AI Classroom: The Ultimate Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Education is a well-recommended choice. He writes with co-authors Amanda Fox and Brad Weinstein, and it includes a summary of the AI landscape but then dives into how educators can use AI within their individual classroom environments. Approximately a third of the book is a repository of potential tools for educators to use. It includes some templates for AI policy development as well. It is more of a resource and less narrative than Khan’s or Mollick’s texts.
- A slighter volume is AI for Educators: Learning Strategies, Teacher Efficiencies, and a Vision for an Artificial Intelligence Future, by Matt Miller, founder of Ditch that Textbook. Miller shares a lot of resources and ideas like his website does in general. At only slightly over 100 pages, you could get through this book while baking cookies for Santa! However, it will most likely become a resource for you to regularly return.
- For those who are more focused on learning about bias, ethics, and equity issues surrounding AI in education, The Promises and Perils of AI in Education: Ethics and Equity have entered the Chat. by Ken Shelton and Dee Lanier, may be the title to try.
- Madhumita Murgia, a British-Indian author, provides a great look under the hood of the generative AI engines through the view of those who are impacted by its biases. She shares a less positive outlook through her examples in Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI.
- A more general read about how AI fits into the geo-political scene is Paul Scharre’s Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. Scharre’s text brings great insights into the AI issues beyond many of the issues that are being discussed in the news. He shares how AI is involved in global security, national interests, and the future of freedom. A thicker read, well-sourced, and engaging.
- For someone looking for a more scholarly approach to the impact on AI in education, check out Erionia Cela’s et al. collection of Teachers' Roles and Perspectives on AI Integration in Schools. It includes academic essays on the impact of AI and how to harness it for blended education, curriculum design, community development, and professional development among other topics.
- Finally, Tech & Learning advisor Alana Winnick’s The Generative Age: Artificial Intelligence and The Future of Education explores both the opportunities and implications of AI in education as well as the ethical considerations for its effective integration.
Moving forward, generative AI will continue to become an integral part of our society. The tools and technologies emerging from AI are transforming various aspects of our lives, including education. With some background reading, we can better understand its potential impacts and harness its capabilities. The books mentioned each provide valuable insights into the possibilities and challenges of AI.
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