UNESCO Issues First Guidance on Generative AI (GenAI) in Education, Urges Regulation
UNESCO has published its inaugural guidance on the use of Generative AI (GenAI) for educational purposes, with a call for government agencies to regulate this technology. Among the recommendations, UNESCO emphasizes the importance of data privacy protection and the establishment of age limits for users.
GenAI’s Remarkable Growth in Education
GenAI chatbot ChatGPT, launched by OpenAI with support from Microsoft in November, has rapidly become the world’s fastest-growing application. Its success has spurred the development of competitors like Google’s Bard.
Championing Ethical and Educational Standards
Students have embraced GenAI, which is capable of generating various forms of content, from essays to mathematical calculations, with just a few prompts.
“We are grappling with the challenge of aligning the pace of transformation in the education system with the rapid advancements in technological progress and machine learning models,” stated Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director-General for Education. She emphasized that governments and schools often adopt unfamiliar technology, which even leading technologists may not fully comprehend.
UNESCO’s 64-page report outlines several guidelines, including the need for government-endorsed AI curricula for school education, especially in technical and vocational education and training.
The report also underscores the responsibility of GenAI providers to ensure compliance with core values and lawful purposes, respect intellectual property, adhere to ethical practices, and prevent the dissemination of disinformation and hate speech.
UNESCO further calls for safeguards to prevent GenAI from replacing opportunities for learners to develop cognitive abilities and social skills through real-world observations, empirical practices, discussions with humans, and independent logical reasoning.
While China has established rules regarding GenAI, the European Union’s AI Act is expected to be approved later this year. In contrast, many other countries lag in the development of their AI regulations.
UNESCO’s guidance also aims to protect the rights of teachers and researchers, as well as the value of their practices when using GenAI.
