UNESCO Clearinghouse on GCED

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Reporting on Artificial Intelligence: A Handbook for Journalism Educators Year of publication: 2023 Author: Maarit Jaakkola Corporate author: UNESCO The rise and control of artificial intelligence (AI) is impacting society as a whole. It follows that AI coverage must inform audiences about the implication of the technology itself, beyond journalism. For instance, reporting on the power dynamics in the changing relationship between companies, authorities, citizens and computer chips, and between data and algorithms. While many AI deployments serve public interest, journalists also need insight and expertise to alert about aspects like exclusions, unequal benefits, and violations of human rights. As part of its journalism education series, UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) has supported the World Journalism Education Council in commissioning this handbook. The aim is to inspire and empower so that journalism educators can help both journalism students and working journalists do justice to one of the major issues of our times. The handbook covers:• Understanding machine intelligence and identifying different types of AI• Exploring AI’s potential, as well as its strengths and weaknesses• Imagining diverse futures with AI by recognising pervasive popular narratives that inform public consciousness• Understanding journalism’s role in mediating and shaping AI discourse• Finding ways of reporting about AI in a nuanced, realistic and accountable manner• Making connections to existing genres of journalism, ranging from general news reporting to data journalism. Strengthening journalism education is one of the key results sought by IPDC, a unique intergovernmental programme within the UN system that specializes in media development.

Guidance for Generative AI in Education and Research Year of publication: 2023 Author: Fengchun Miao | Wayne Holmes Corporate author: UNESCO This Guidance aims to support the planning of appropriate regulations, policies and human capacity development programmes to ensure that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) becomes a tool that genuinely benefits and empowers teachers, learners and researchers. It explains the Al techniques used by GenAI and maps out a list of GPT models that are made publicly available, especially those under open-source licences. It also opens a discussion on the emergence of EdGPT - GenAI models that are trained with specific data to serve educational purposes. Furthermore, it summarizes some of the key controversies around GenAI, from worsening digital poverty to the homogenization of opinions, and from deeper deepfakes to issues of copyright. Based on a humanistic vision, the Guidance proposes key steps for the regulation of GenAI tools, including mandating the protection of data privacy and setting an age limit for independent conversations with GenAI platforms. To guide the proper use of the tools in education and research, this Guidance proposes a human-agent and age-appropriate approach to the ethical validation and pedagogical design processes.

Eduaction in the Age of Articial Intelligence (The UNESCO Courier no. 4, October-December 2023) Year of publication: 2023 Corporate author: UNESCO At a time when the field of education is in worldwide ferment, a single instructional phenomenon has captured the attention not only of professionals but of laymen.” Does the innovation in question refer to artificial intelligence (AI), or to the use of augmented reality in the classroom? Neither one. This quote is from an article in The UNESCO Courier about “teaching machines”, a set of programmes developed in the USA to guide students in their learning. It dates back to… March 1965. Which just goes to show that pondering the role of computers in learning is nothing new. Whether lauded or decried, technologies are increasingly part of the school landscape, at least in industrialized countries. Digital learning games, online tutorials or massive open online courses (MOOCs) have become a reality for a growing number of pupils and students. The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the phenomenon, spurring the rise, including in Africa, of companies specializing in digital educational services, the so-called “edtechs”. Yet no matter how sophisticated these technologies may be, they have not challenged the founding principle of a teacher giving a class simultaneously to a group of students. Artificial intelligence could be a game-changer. Does the arrival of content-generating tools like ChatGPT and intelligent tutorials mean the oft-heralded revolution has started? In any case, the use of generative AI in learning presents unprecedented challenges to education systems. As UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report 2023 highlights, these new tools can prove invaluable in providing personalized support for students, particularly those with disabilities or living in remote areas. But they also raise questions about the digital divide, data confidentiality and the preponderance of major global corporations in this sector. And for the moment, safeguards are lacking. It is therefore urgent that regulations be adopted to ensure the use of AI in education remains human-centred, in the best interests of students. To support this, UNESCO published in September 2023 the first-ever Guidance for generative AI in education and research, designed to address the disruptions caused by these technologies. It complements other tools produced by the Organization, including the Recommendation on the ethics of artificial intelligence and a guidance for policy-makers on AI and education, both published in 2021.

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