UCalgary researchers at the forefront of exploring AI's potential to revolutionize education

In 2021, Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton submitted a draft grant application to explore the impact of artificial intelligence on education. 

In terms of AI, three years is an eon, so, in hindsight, it may not be surprising that the response she received expressed significant skepticism.

“’You want to study artificial intelligence in higher education? Isn't that a little bit like Star Trek?’” Eaton, MA ’97, PhD’09, a professor and recently named research chair at the Werklund School of Education, recalls one reviewer questioning. 

“They asked us: ‘Do you really think artificial intelligence will have any impact in classrooms in our lifetime?’”

As it turns out, Eaton was at the forefront of a revolution.

“The signals were already there, and we were paying attention to what was coming forward in media and that artificial intelligence applications for the general public were on the horizon,” says Eaton.

Something wicked this way comes

Eaton is leading a transdisciplinary team researching how AI can be used to promote ethical teaching, learning and assessment while being attentive to equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility and decolonization in higher-education learning.

The other team members are Dr. Bob Brennan, BSc (Eng)'84, PhD'97, of the Schulich School of Engineering; Dr. Jason Wiens, PhD'01, of the Department of English, Faculty of Arts; and Dr. Brenda McDermott, PhD'15, MEd'21, of Student Accessibility Services. Each brings a different perspective to the project, which Eaton says is essential as no one person could hope to address the potential impacts of this fast-changing technology.  

“We understood very quickly that AI was going to be a wicked problem in education, meaning it's a complex problem that no individual can solve on their own and that there wouldn't be a singular solution," she says. "It would take many people working together.”

Equity, access and ethics

Working with a diverse group also allows the academics to disrupt the polarizing discourses that attempt to paint AI as all good or all bad. Eaton says such entrenched positions are reductionist and fail to consider the nuances of the tech.

On the plus side, she says access to AI can help students with learning difficulties plan out their work, adhere to timelines and prioritize tasks. As well, students can turn to AI if tutoring assistance is not to be had. 

“One of the things we can see is students taking more responsibility for their learning and using their agency to propel their own learning by independently using these apps when other kinds of supports may not be available,” Eaton says.

Eaton does caution that overdependence on the technology is a real possibility, and she emphasizes the difference between relinquishing control and relinquishing responsibility when using an AI application.

“By asking ChatGPT to write an essay for me, I'm offloading the control for the writing. But what I don't relinquish is the responsibility for the output," she says. "As humans, we still maintain responsibility for the work that we submit to our professors, to our bosses, etc.”

Over-reliance on AI also raises ethical considerations as apps may contain copyrighted material and can falsify content or fabricate references. We do not know exactly how the apps work, nor what happens to the intellectual property rights of work that students upload, Eaton notes. 

“We've been teaching students about digital citizenship in K to 12 for years. We have taught young students that not everyone on the internet is their friend and that they shouldn't believe everything they read on the internet," she says. "Those same principles can be applied to artificial intelligence.”

Collaboration with UNESCO

In addition to her role as Werklund research chair, Eaton recently shared her expertise with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for its report on the Impact of AI on Gender Equality. The report was launched at the Policy Dialogue on AI Governance: Impact of AI on Gender Equality held Oct. 30 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.

As research chair, she intends to continue exploring the AI-driven technologies that are likely to impact education in the next 10 to 15 years, and how to prepare for them. 

“Not all technologies are going to be successful, but, in terms of artificial intelligence, we can be sure that we will need teachers who are trained to understand these technologies for K to 12 and higher ed classrooms,” Eaton says.

While some may find AI daunting, Eaton remains attuned to the signs and thrives on the discipline’s dynamic nature. 

“One of the things that excites me is that the technology is rapidly changing. We don't know yet what tomorrow brings," she says. "Nobody has a crystal ball, but we know that AI is here to stay. Together with expert collaborators, we are tackling the messy question of how to use it ethically to help your students bring their best selves to the classroom, to the workplace and to the world.”