AI in schools ‘should be encouraged with safeguards’

Students should be encouraged to use artificial intelligence in schools, but within clear limits that keep human thinking at the centre, according to Hibiscus Sports and Culture Foundation founder Akealii Hall.

Hall was speaking to Barbados TODAY on the sidelines of the Next Wave: AI + Entrepreneurship Experience, held at the Sugar Cane Club Hotel & Spa on Friday.  The programme was designed to help young people better understand both the opportunities and risks associated with AI.

He said, “There are a lot of benefits of it and it can definitely be used as a good tool within the classroom system, but it has to be used sparingly and knowledgeably.”

Hall noted an appropriate use of AI would be helping students refine work they had already completed. 

“The best way that AI can be used inside the classroom would be things like proofreading, already done essays… to make sure the punctuation is correct, that you’re using the correct grammar, maybe even sprucing up some of your text to get what the message that you want to come across, but you were not maybe able to put down on paper yourself,” Hall said. 

“That is a good use of AI.”

He also suggested AI could assist students with organising data collected through school projects, including Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations and School-Based Assessments (SBAs).

“You obviously have to do the surveys, the questionnaires.… You can put that data into AI in order to create your data systems, your data packs in terms of the answer sheets, etcetera. Again, it does require you to do the first initial legwork yourself.”

But Hall cautioned against allowing AI to become the primary tool students rely on. “You want to always start by leading with humans first.”

The Friday initiative was supported by Youth Uprising, iTech Consulting, Sugar Cane Club Hotel & Spa and the Legacy Foundation.

Participants were introduced to AI, entrepreneurship and practical ways the technology could be used to develop business ideas.

“They’re also going to learn how to then use AI with their human component to do things like creating a business plan and creating a business model, and then they’re also going to learn how to pitch,” Hall said.

“The end result is to hopefully get a more collective experience and knowledgeable interface of all these kids with the tools that they use every day.” 

(SB)