Applications of AI to Support Democratic Access to Education Opportunities in Eswatini

• In Event: Poster Session 1
  In Poster Session: Applications of AI to Support Democratic Access to Education Opportunities in Eswatini

Proposal

We live in a world with what feels like unprecedented levels of global cooperation and collaboration moving towards the bid to promote peace, cross-cultural understanding, and renewed sense of purpose to pursue sustainable development for all nations as established in the UN 2030 agenda and particularly, UN SDG 4 on quality education which has its roots in a liberal vision of freedom and equality. As the world grapples with the technological promises, ethical dilemmas, and ultimately the desire to explore the untapped potential of this exciting new technology, it is important to uncover the impact of AI on the democratization of education and social equality in the Global South using the successes of Eswatini’s educational reforms.

In Author's provisional system of design criteria for democratic technologies lies the proviso to ‘avoid technologies that support illegitimately hierarchical power relations between groups, organizations, or polities.’ (Author, 1993) By synthesising existing literature on the impact of technology (and particularly, generative AI) and relevant AI governance frameworks, the paper identifies opportunities for contextualising the use of AI in the Global South and to further interrogate the ways that different actors are contributing to the democratization of the educational landscape and to more equitable access to educational opportunities in Eswatini.

This study proposes a framework for how technology and AI could be utilised as well as the constraints to address education financing concerns and education poverty in the Global South. By synthesising data sources ranging from systems-level assessment indicators for SDG 4 and 5 from reports by Global Partnership for Education (GPE); the 2021 World Bank report on Eswatini’s educational sector; studies on youth participation experiences, developmental outcomes, and implementation successes and challenges; existing reports on the integration of technology in Eswatini (Authors, 2023); and the Eswatini government’s implementation of the education sector strategic action plan (ESSP) from 2022–2034, this paper consolidates the impact of existing interventions on educational outcomes in Eswatini and identifies possible areas for further research.

Authors

• Thein Ying Yi Danna

• Price Tarbet, Harvard Graduate School of Education

• Snehal Rawal, Harvard Graduate School of Education