'Education is a place where we build democracy'. Why a teacher's union isn't afraid AI will replace teachers

Talk around generative artificial intelligence (AI) in work and societies often focuses on what is happening now, or what will happen years into the future. But what about the impact it is having on those who are training young people to live happy, prosperous lives in the future?

A global survey conducted last year found that 60% of parents, educators and leaders are either ambivalent or unwilling to trust AI systems, and 71% are concerned about potential risks. As new tools become integrated into education systems, teachers must be at the centre of conversations around AI, according to David Edwards, General Secretary of Education International, a global organization that represents teachers and education workers.

For Edwards, the benefits of AI must reach every learner in every school. “Education is the place where we build societies and we build democracy,” he says. “[It is] the place where we weave together a narrative about who we are and, more importantly, who we want to be. And the teachers are those who are weaving that.”

AI has the potential to bring real progress to global education systems, according to the World Economic Forum report Shaping the Future of Learning: The Role of AI in Education 4.0. The technology can improve learning outcomes, empower teachers and equip students with the skills they need for the jobs of tomorrow

But to do this, the report says, AI must be deployed equitably and not exacerbate inequality. With more than 2.6 billion people worldwide currently without basic internet access, there is a potential for the benefits of new tools to widen existing equity gaps in education.

Edwards adds another perspective – that AI could make human teachers the reserve of the privileged. Alongside existing skills and connectivity gaps, he says teachers are concerned about a world where those with the means and resources will continue to benefit from the interpersonal interactions that a machine can’t offer. The kids of those who can’t afford it, he worries, will “sit in rooms with a chatbot”.

“They won't have the same interaction, they won't have the same mentoring, they won't have the same kinds of support,” he says. “So we want to make sure that the benefits are distributed equally across all around the world.”

The Forum report recommends that AI innovation is balanced with a series of guardrails, including measures to ensure AI for education is developed in collaboration with teachers, sensitive information is protected, and equity and inclusion are central to the design of programmes to ensure the benefits of AI in education are widespread.

The Forum paper notes that teaching tasks that emphasize interpersonal interactions with young learners are likely to be unaffected or not enabled by AI – and that potential areas for automation and augmentation of routine or repetitive tasks will open up more time for educators to focus on creative tasks like curriculum design. However, AI’s potential to disrupt teaching jobs still requires careful management to ensure teachers remain at the centre of education systems, aided by AI.

Edwards says many teachers are optimistic about the possibilities these tools bring. He cites examples, such as special education teachers using accessible digital textbooks, which allow diverse learners, including those with disabilities, to listen to or interact with the text in different ways. Language teachers he speaks to, he continues, are “really excited” about being able to provide support in multiple languages.

In his view, teachers are always early adopters who find ways to bring new technologies into the classroom to enhance learning.

“We had it with the radio. ‘The radio will make teachers obsolete’.” Then teachers incorporated radio programmes into their classrooms, he says, and the class discussed their thoughts afterwards.

“Then they moved on to the VCR tape … ‘Now we can just have one teacher tape a lesson and then everyone can play that lesson’. Of course, that didn’t happen either.

“The experience of education is more than just the delivery of content. It’s relational, it’s not transactional. And that’s what I am seeing happening right now with AI.”

Edwards has a global view of current trends in teaching. Education International comprises 383 member organizations in 178 countries and territories, representing more than 32 million teachers and education support personnel.

And while there will be a “bit of a struggle” in terms of the ethical use of AI, he says he is “not so worried” about the technology replacing the world’s teachers.

“Sometimes people talk about teachers as knowledge workers, he says. “And I think if you talk about teachers as knowledge workers in the current context with AI, you lose the social, you lose the mentorship, you lose the coaching, you lose the relational.

“So I really like to talk about them as wisdom workers because it's one thing to have knowledge. It's another thing to know how to apply it ethically and morally to the benefit of many.”