Artificial Intelligence at School: educating beyond taboo or technicality

Abstract

In recent years, Artificial Intelligence has been used in the educational field in various international experimentations. We can identify two basic ways of integrating AI into the world of education: 1. Artificial Intelligence as a topic to be dealt with in the classroom, to develop knowledge, skills and awareness in the citizens of the future; 2. Artificial Intelligence as a tool for analyzing, enhancing and improving the learning process. The most explored approach is definitely the second one, since there are taboo attitudes towards the introduction of AI as a subject in schools. However, the importance of working on this issue can be summarized in a few main educational needs: a citizen participating in the society in which he or she lives should be able to discuss the ethical aspects of Artificial Intelligence, what an AI algorithm should or should not do; a citizen should be able to understand the basics of how AI works; a citizen should have the ability to recognize the risks and potential of these tools.