PARIS: The United Nations on Thursday called for strict rules on the use of artificial intelligence tools such as the viral chatbot ChatGPT in classrooms, including limiting their use to older children.
In new guidance for governments, UN education body UNESCO has warned that public authorities are not prepared to tackle the ethical issues of introducing ‘generative’ artificial intelligence programs in schools.
The Paris-based organization said relying on such programs rather than human teachers could affect a child’s emotional well-being and leave them vulnerable to manipulation.
“Generative artificial intelligence can be a huge opportunity for human development, but it can also cause harm and prejudice,” said UNESCO’s Audrey Azoulay.
“It cannot be incorporated into education without public involvement and the necessary safeguards and regulations from governments.”
Generative AI programs took center stage late last year, with ChatGPT demonstrating the ability to generate essays, poems and conversations from the briefest of prompts.
This has raised concerns about plagiarism and cheating in schools and universities.
But investors poured money into the field and boosters focused on education as a potentially lucrative market.
According to UNESCO guidelines, AI technologies could assist youngsters with special needs, serve as an adversary in “Socratic dialogues,” or serve as a research assistant.
But the tools would only be safe and effective if teachers, students and researchers helped design them and governments regulated their use.
The guidelines stopped short of recommending a minimum age for school children, but pointed out that ChatGPT has a lower age limit of 13.
“Many commentators understand that this cutoff is too young and have advocated for legislation to raise the age to 16,” the guidance states.
