Empowering Teachers: Solidarity with the Teaching Profession in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

• In Event: Exploring AI’s Role in Educational Leadership, Teacher Preparation and Program Development

Proposal

Empowering Teachers: Solidarity with the Teaching Profession in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
Introduction: The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education has the potential to transform teaching and learning processes and revolutionize education systems around the world. As AI technologies become more pervasive, it is crucial to ensure that teachers are prepared and empowered by the vast potential for AI to radically transform how education systems function. This position paper advocates for an open and stimulating discussion about how AI can be harnessed by teachers as a new tool for teaching and learning. Meanwhile, the paper also sets forth the proposal for the revaluing and protection of teaching, in times of generative AI. With concerns that AI could undermine the teaching profession and the delivery of quality education, it argues that teachers need to remain central to education systems and that the teaching profession is strengthened and also reimagined for the future.
In addition to exploring the broader as well as nuanced aspects of AI's impact on education and teaching, the paper will also discuss the imperative to bridge the evolving digital divide persisting around the globe and how AI has the potential to deepen exclusion based on a growing gap between learners, teachers, communities and societies in general. It will also discuss some of the philosophical implications of AI in teaching and learning into the broader context of global aspirations for education and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
As a position paper, the International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 (the TTF) sets forth a number of recommendations for policy and decision-makers to consider in developing teacher policy and overall education strategies related to ICT, digitization and artificial intelligence.
Irreplaceability of teachers
While AI can be a useful tool to support teaching, teachers play a pivotal role and are not expendable in the education process. There are a number of competences that teachers possess which cannot be replicated by AI. This includes the critical pedagogical thinking required to know what, where, when and how to use AI with learners. Moreover, since generative-AI is based on the vast repository of data gathered online, including incomplete and non-factual content, teachers must also possess the media and information literacy required to evaluate content and discern factual content from misinformation, fake news and also provide balance to the perspectives being presented.
What is most important, AI cannot replace the relational dimension of education; the social and affective connections that teachers establish with their students. This is key for the socialization of learners and cannot be achieved through AI. Teachers also motivate and inspire learners by guiding and nurturing students and their learning– something which is not possible through AI. Finally, AI requires that teachers bring an ethical dimension to the teaching and learning process. Again, for multiple reasons, AI should be viewed as an aid to teachers rather than a substitute for their expertise and unique competencies.
Potential de-professionalization of teaching
AI has enormous potential for enhancing teaching methods and in many cases can carry out tasks teachers have completed solely in the past. The paper will also discuss the issue of possible red lines and the potential for the deprofessionalization of teaching. While AI can be leveraged in lesson planning and in supporting teachers in their pedagogical decisions to support pupils, the complete substitution of teachers’ know-how may result in losing skills that are paramount for education and teaching, such as assessing and evaluating progress of students’ learning. Controversy abounds, especially where AI may lead to over reliance on use of AI and the deprofessionalization of teachers who do not attain the competencies to make informed professional judgements based on the available information and evidence. Moreover, with education systems and teachers strained another red line is represented by the use of AI as a long-term solution to deal with deeper structural challenges in education systems originating from a lack of funding, support to teachers and a lack of a recognition of teachers as critical to the delivery of quality education. Teachers should consider AI-generated content as a supplementary resource rather than the sole source of information.
Inclusion dimension: A diversity of voices, reducing the digital divide and epistemological concerns
AI has the potential to enhance educational accessibility, but a digital divide remains globally that hinders many teachers’ and students' access to AI tools. Given the growing capabilities and expanding nature of AI, the divide is in jeopardy of increasing leading to a significant gulf between those with and without access. It is essential to consider and address the needs of low-income and developing contexts to ensure an inclusive approach for teaching with and benefiting from AI. Moreover, AI contains a number of biases based on the sources, voices, and languages it draws from. As such teachers will have an important role to ensure a greater plurality and diversity of voices, including those from low-income countries, remote and indigenous communities, from women and from the special needs and differently abled. Teachers will also have a role in helping to understand, identify and question AI’s inherent biases, which will be critical to help avoid reproducing and legitimating them. This includes the understanding that the majority of content online which is captured in generative AI is written in the English language.
Conclusion
AI presents exciting opportunities for education, but its integration must be approached with a steadfast commitment to the irreplaceability of teachers. The valorization of the teaching profession, reducing the digital divide, and embracing lifelong learning perspectives will foster a collaborative and inclusive future of education. By nurturing teachers and providing them with the technical tools to thrive in an AI-augmented world, we can ensure that education remains a transformative force in society. The paper will include a number of recommendations for the use of AI at many levels, including at systems, schools and classrooms.

Authors

• Carlos Vargas, UNESCO

• Peter Wallet, UNESCO