Benefits and Risks of Using Artificial intelligence in Kid's Learning

Artificial intelligence has taken a prominent position in recent years across diverse domains, including education. We are seeing an increased integration of AI in shaping the educational system, making offerings like personalized learning experience possible and seamless to implement. As with anything else, artificial intelligence also comes with its own set of benefits as well as risks. It is essential for educators and parents to be aware of both to integrate it appropriately in a manner which enhances the learning experience.

Advantages Of Artificial Intelligence For Students

Let’s first explore the many benefits that AI in education brings for students.

• Customized Learning Experiences
  The awareness about shifting away from a one-size-fits-all teaching approach is increasing in the educational system. This comes from the rising recognition of the fact that every child learns in different ways. While some learn better through visual learning, others may learn better through experiential learning methods, and so on. Artificial intelligence makes it simpler to personalize the learning experience for the students, which in turn helps them perform better.
  • AI can help in customizing curriculum and study plans for students irrespective of their educational board.
  • It can help identify areas for improvement, thereby providing relevant solutions such as increasing practice tests, etc.
  • AI can also be used for regional language education, allowing students to learn subjects more easily.
• Interactive Learning Experiences
  AI can be implemented for creating interactive learning experiences for students. Students learn best when they are taught a subject with a hands-on approach. This can mean conducting experiments, engaging in educational activities, conducting quizzes, games, etc. These interactive activities expertly make the learning experience more fun for the students, making it more effective for them to grasp as well as retain information.
  • AI can play an essential role in boosting curiosity among students with interactive activities.
  • It can be used for creatively and effectively breaking down complex topics into bite-sized, simple-to-understand pieces of information.
  • Animations and simulations created by AI can be used for making the topics more clearly understandable by students.
  • When students become more curious about the subject matter, they also participate more in class, which further boosts their performance.
• Inclusivity For Special Needs Students
  AI makes it possible for educational institutions to enhance the learning experience for children with special needs. Tools such as text-to-speech and speech-to-text are some of the most widely used AI-powered technologies which elevate the educational experience for these students. By increasing modes for conveying information to a class, these tools help enhance inclusivity in the classroom.

Risks Of Implementing Artificial Intelligence in Education

Just as there are many benefits that artificial intelligence brings for students, there are many risks that come with it as well. The following are the key risks which should be considered before implementing AI technologies to maintain effectiveness without suffering much risk:

• Privacy Challenges
  Privacy is one of the biggest challenges which we struggle with when it comes to handling artificial intelligence. AI depends upon data, and can collect a lot of student data when being used. It can even extract personal data including personal preferences in order to improve outcomes. However, if not utilized properly, this can lead to data leaks, compromising the students’ security.
  • It is essential to monitor the students’ usage of AI in educational aspects to ensure their security is not risked by sharing unnecessary information.
  • Platforms chosen should be assessed properly for privacy policies to ensure full protection.
  • This risk is especially challenging because the collected data can be sold to third-parties which they can then use without your permission.
• Hindering Interpersonal Relationships
  If students are exposed to artificial intelligence too much, and interaction with peers reduces, their social and behavioral development takes a massive hit. It is essential to maintain a human touch to inculcate the values of empathy, and help students develop normal social skills. This is also important to help them learn social cues, know how to talk to people including peers, teachers, parents, and other people around them. Emotional regulation is also affected by this which makes human presence important.
  • The big risk in this respect typically occurs if children are isolated from social environments and rely completely or mostly on AI for their education. It is important to maintain a balanced learning experience involving traditional teacher-student techniques and classroom participation, and AI-based learning.
  • If children do not interact with their peers in a regular school environment, sharing ideas and helping each other solve problems, they don’t just not develop communication skills, but also miss the opportunity to learn other essential skills. Team work, discussions, and even leadership traits are formed when students work and learn together.
• Excessive Dependence on Technology
  Technology is everywhere, and everyday, human dependence on technology is increasing rapidly. This is primarily because technology and AI especially make life simpler. However, the negative impact of this excessive dependence comes from the toll it takes on cognitive abilities.
  • Too much reliance on artificial intelligence impacts the ability of people to grasp and retain information, because all information is at our fingertips at all times.
  • Another way this impacts mental faculties is by hampering the development of the students’ critical thinking capabilities. Every problem can be fed into the system to get the most logical answer, minimizing the need to work on these aspects, which in turn leaves them underdeveloped.

These challenges may or may not be very apparent immediately, but in the long run will have an extremely negative impact for the child.

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence is growing everyday, with its applicability being realised for every field and aspect of life. Within education, AI offers a plethora of benefits, some of which we have discussed above, but there are also a lot of risks it brings, especially if left unchecked. Managing the risks through basic monitoring and balancing approaches can help navigate through the complexities, and enable students to derive the maximum advantages that AI has to offer. Schools and parents need to collectively implement measures which help enhance the learning experience for all students.