New Microsoft study highlights the region has miles to go

By Uwin Lugoda For decades, artificial intelligence (AI) has been synonymous with science fiction books and movies, often showcasing the dangers of having an AI-dependent world. Come 2019, we see that we have indeed become heavily dependent on AI, but instead of bringing on the apocalypse, it has become ubiquitous in numerous aspects of our daily lives. From immersive product catalogue visualisation in retail to computer vision that helps pinpoint diseases in healthcare, AI has slowly but surely taken over several industries worldwide, and is poised to make big changes in one industry in particular – education. AI has already started making waves in the education sector with the altering of traditional educational tools and institutions, changing what the future of education might look like. According to the report titled “Artificial Intelligence Market in the US Education Sector” released in August 2018, AI in US education is set to grow by 47.5% from the years 2017 to 2021. While not replacing teachers, AI is set to change both a teacher’s job and best practices in education. While Asian countries like China and Japan have become prominent hubs for AI development in education, others still have a long way to go in terms of integrating AI and moving away from traditional education systems. Recently, a study launched during the Sixth Asian Summit on Education and Skills in Bangalore, India by tech giant Microsoft Asia and leading market intelligence provider International Data Corporation Asia Pacific (IDC) found that the Asia-Pacific region is falling short in several AI aspects of education. The Sunday Morning was the sole media representative from Sri Lanka at this summit, which provided us an insightful and exclusive understanding of the role of AI in education in the region. The study titled “Future-ready Skills: Accessing APAC Education Sectors Use of AI”, was on AI learning in educational institutions, and stated that the region is currently lagging in data, strategy, and investment and lacks a culture, when assessing Asia-Pacific’s overall AI readiness. The study was conducted in several higher education institutes in countries around Asia, including Sri Lanka, Thailand, and India, to name a few. It also involved 207 school leaders (CIOs) and 150 staff members from a 51% and 49% mix of both public and private institutions, respectively. At an event held to launch the study, Microsoft Asia Education Lead Larry Nelson said that the biggest takeaway from the study was that higher education leaders have an expectation that AI is going to have a dramatic impact on innovation in education, with the impact doubling in the next three years. However, according to Nelson, out of all the institutions involved in the study, 29% have not done anything with AI, 39% are waiting for AI to mature before integrating it, 24% are currently experimenting with AI as a strategy, and only 8% have actually adopted AI as a core part of their business strategy. “A mere one-third of education institutions in the Asia-Pacific region have initiated measures for AI learning. Only 32% of education institutions in Asia-Pacific have embarked on their AI journey. We have found that three out of four education leaders agree that AI will be able to drive competitiveness in the next three years.” A long way to go Comparing this to other industries like retail or healthcare where the engagement and involvement with AI is at 41%, he explained that the education industry in the Asia-Pacific region has a long way to go. Nelson stated that there were three main things they learnt from the 32% that had interactions with AI; the biggest one being the hope for better student engagement, which evidently ties into the objectives of many higher education institutions. The second was the need for better ways to leverage or maximise the resources available in order to run an institution more efficiently. The final thing, according to Nelson, has been the potential of AI to drive innovation in schools, whether its delivery of content or using IoT (Internet of Things). The study also goes on to measure several aspects of the region in order to determine the readiness of its education industry to adopt AI, compared to other industries. These aspects include data, strategy, investment, culture, capabilities, and infrastructure. Nelson explained that in making the comparison, the study showed that there were a couple of areas, like infrastructure and capabilities, that were at the right level for the integration of AI in education. However, other aspects like strategy, investment, culture, and data fell short when compared to other industries. He stated that the study showed that data was significantly less compared to the other industries; something Microsoft has been seeing a lot of. He went on to state that they’ve seen institutions that collected a lot of information from different departments and professors, with no set structures or policies set to enable them to harness all this data. “This is a great opportunity for us to engage; we see that educators in higher education are going to be very keen to learn and understand more.” The study delved further into the many benefits that AI has to offer the education industry, such as providing unbiased grading systems, helping fill gaps between teachers and students, and reducing teachers’ time spent on certain aspects of their work. Nelson stated that even from an administrative standpoint, AI will help run admin tasks much more effectively. Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Nelson stated that the possibility for AI-enhanced education is vast and can be easily adapted in any country, including Sri Lanka.