Artificial Intelligence | Friend or Foe?

AI Meets Education | Protecting Privacy, Empowering Learning
 
The adoption of AI in schools to support students on their educational journey has accelerated rapidly.
From lesson planning and report writing to helping with homework, supporting CVs, and even creating art and music – there’s an AI tool for nearly every aspect of school life.
 
Our sponsor SchoolPro TLC share their insights here on this phenomenon that is changing all our lives.  
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AI in education is rapidly evolving, designed to help students prepare for GCSEs, A Levels, understand the world around them, and navigate life beyond school.

But it is not only students using these tools – teachers, administrators, school leaders, and even parents and carers are exploring AI to reduce workloads, save time, boost productivity, and escape repetitive administrative tasks.
 
AI is revolutionary in its ability to lift the burden of everyday chores, transforming hard work into something more engaging – even fun. But at what cost?
 
This surge in AI use raises an important question: Is AI our friend or foe?
Do the benefits truly outweigh the risks, and should we be concerned about the long-term implications? 

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FRIEND

1. Great for Learning 
AI can be useful for personalised learning, tailoring educational content to meet the specific requirement of the student. Using AI in this way will help enhance engagement and understanding of subjects being studied.
 
2. Removing the Tedium from Routine Tasks
AI is able to take over time-consuming tasks like grading, lesson planning, scheduling, report writing, and attendance tracking. By automating these routine duties, teachers are freed up to focus on what truly matters: teaching, building relationships with students, and delivering more personalised support in the classroom.
 
3. No Time Restraints
Unlike schools and educational institutions AI is available 24/7. This not only supports teachers, but also provides students with access to learning tools and support anytime, anywhere.
 
4. Providing Teachers with Support
AI offers teachers access to a wide pool of teaching resources, enabling them to enhance their instructional strategies. This support can lead to more engaging lessons, personalised learning experiences, and ultimately, improved student outcomes.
 
5. Enhancing Future Career Prospects for Students
With AI integrated into education learning, this will help students develop the necessary skills to enter the job market where AI technologies will play a significant role.
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These are but a few of the benefits of using AI in the educational environment. 

FOE

With every benefit a product or service offers, there often comes a downside, and the use of AI tools is no exception.

1. Data Privacy Risks
When using AI, users may inadvertently enter personal or sensitive data, which is then processed in ways they do not control and this raises important concerns about how this data is stored, used, and protected. The information entered into AI systems may be utilised to train and improve the applications over time, making data privacy and security critical considerations.

2. AI Psychosis 
A startling new trend is emerging in our increasingly digital world: people are forming deep emotional bonds with AI systems like ChatGPT – spending hours interacting, confiding, and even building relationships with these tools. This growing dependence is being dubbed “AI Psychosis” across media and social platforms. Whilst not a clinical diagnosis, the term reflects a concerning shift in human behaviour – where reliance on AI begins to blur the lines between reality and artificial companionship.

3. Reliance on Content 
The content delivered by using an AI tool cannot always be relied upon for accuracy. The end content is dependent on many factors of how the AI tool views the sources of the learned material and information.

4. Sharing of Responses 
You have used AI to help write a report and found it incredibly useful. Naturally, you want to share it with a colleague so that they can benefit and use it as a template for their own report writing. There is nothing wrong with that – or is there?

Recent reports suggest that when you share AI chatbot responses, such as those from ChatGPT, the content could potentially be indexed by search engines like Google, making it publicly searchable. This raises important privacy and confidentiality concerns.
 
Sharing of data this way is not always automatically but could be linked to privacy settings with the chatbot. Therefore, it is recommended to “check you settings” prior to using chatbot tools to ensure unnecessary sharing does not occur. 

​Friend or Foe? Building Safe and Positive AI Experiences
There is no doubt AI will bring about vast benefits for schools. Students will prosper, teachers will have more time to spend on teaching and interaction with students, administrators will be free from doing mundane tasks to take on more meaningful projects and money will be saved. So how do we reap the benefits but at the same time keep students, teachers and even the school safe from privacy risks and breaches? By thinking “HARP”
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H: Human Intervention
It is important not to rely solely on AI-generated information.

AI is not always accurate, so human oversight is essential before trusting or using any AI response. If in doubt, verify the information with trusted sources you have used previously to ensure its reliability.
A: Age Appropriate
When introducing AI tools in the classroom, ensure they are age-appropriate and aligned with students’ educational needs. Monitor how students use AI chatbots or other applications, as recent leaked documents from Meta’s GenAI Content Risk Standards revealed that some AI systems may engage children in conversations that are romantic or sensual. 
It is vital to remain vigilant and guide students towards safe, relevant, and appropriate use of AI technology.

Talk openly with students about the safety risks associated with using AI tools. Encourage them to limit the amount of time they spend interacting with AI to reduce the risk of developing dependency. Educating students on balanced and mindful AI use helps promote healthier, safer habits.

Harness an environment of digital literacy and critical thinking when using AI tools. Remind teachers and students to evaluate outputs and not take responses at face value – “Don’t Believe The Misinformation”.
 
R: Risk Assessments and Policy
Before implementing AI tools, ensure that your school or Trust has conducted thorough risk assessments that weigh the educational benefits against potential privacy and security concerns. Review and update existing policies and procedures to explicitly address AI use, outlining the safeguards and measures in place to protect data privacy and reduce associated risks.

Exactly like any third-party data processor, AI tools must meet GDPR standards. Before using them, ensure they have strong security measures, clear data handling policies, and comply with privacy laws. Treat AI with the same scrutiny.
 
P: Privacy and Security Settings
Set Your AI Tool to Private: Many AI chatbots allow you to adjust privacy settings. Use the toggle switch to set your chats to private, especially if you plan to share conversations with colleagues. This helps protect your data from being publicly accessible.

Delete Chats and Turn Off Memory: Regularly delete your chat history and disable memory features to limit the amount of data the AI collects about you. AI systems build profiles based on your interactions – such as your interests and question patterns – that could reveal sensitive information like religious, political, or social preferences, even if you do not explicitly provide personal details.

Practice Online Safety: Treat AI tools like any other online platform. Consider what security measures are in place to protect your information. Review the company’s privacy policies to understand how your data is used – especially whether it’s leveraged to train and improve AI models.

Report Concerns: Have clear guidance on how to report any inappropriate AI content or misuse.

By Tanya Clark, SchoolPro TLC

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We thank the SchoolPro TLC Team for these helpful guidelines as a reminder to keep safe when using AI.

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