49% of teachers not prepared for AI impact

New Delhi: As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes all-pervasive, at least half (49 per cent) of the teachers feel unprepared for its impact, saying more must be done to empower and help them prepare students for an AI-enabled future, a new report has revealed.

Governments should support schools to harness the potential of AI to transform education, according to the report by Oxford University Press (OUP), which has also made recommendations for school leaders and education business leaders to support the use of AI in schools and prioritise quality resources in education.

If the current education system does not adapt to the age of AI, pupils could experience inequalities in its implementation and risk being prevented from developing broader cognitive skills for the future, significantly impacting learning outcomes.

"Our research shows that teachers and pupils are optimistic about the role of AI in education and recognise how it has the potential to have a positive impact on learning. However, there are many unanswered questions and potential risks associated with this advancing technology,” said Nigel Portwood, CEO, OUP, a department of the University of Oxford.

The global publisher warned that without proper consideration of the risks and impacts of AI or clear guidance on how to use it, teaching and learning standards could be affected during an inevitable -- and necessary -- period of experimentation.

The report included existing research on the topic, supplemented with data from a survey of OUP’s global teacher network across the UK, Hong Kong, Japan, Italy, Australia, the UAE and other countries.