BUSINESS and government leaders all over the world are finally understanding just how transformative artificial intelligence (AI) is.
And it’s not just big-time industry players who are driving this revolution. Even emerging players are trying to get in on the game — so much so that investments toward generative AI have recently been reported to have reached over $1 trillion. AI’s influence is continuously growing across industries and is being used to advance disciplines in more ways than one can imagine. Of course, the Philippines, being one of the world’s most digitally savvy nations, is not one to allow itself to be left behind.
According to Microsoft, 86 percent of knowledge workers in the country are already using AI in their day-to-day job; significantly higher than the global average of 75 percent and regional average of 83 percent. This impressive adoption rate reflects an openness to AI and signals a potential economic boost.
In fact, according to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), AI has the potential to contribute up to P2.6 trillion annually to the local economy. With such an immense potential for growth at its doorstep, the Philippines is in the right position to make the necessary steps needed for the future of its citizens. And central to this transformation will be teachers — specifically those teaching in higher education (HE). See, to fully harness AI’s benefits, there is a need to start preparing tomorrow’s workforce for workplaces that will eventually be transformed by AI. This will require changes to higher education systems, including pedagogical methods, assessment practices, a redefined set of core competencies and curriculum.
Developing AI expertise among educators
Future-proofing students entails developing a technology-driven, AI-skilled education workforce capable of transferring their skills and aiding their students to navigate the new landscape. Intuitive, AI-ready learning management systems (LMS) play an important part in this goal.
Additionally, institutions must take on a proactive role and provide comprehensive training to faculty and staff to ensure they are well-versed in these platforms. Unique attention and tailored training must also be given to faculty and staff who may not be digitally savvy when adopting new applications and workplace technologies.
To support faculty across digital competencies, institutions can employ targeted training, face-to-face sessions where on-demand support and application are delivered, curriculum enhancements, technology transfer initiatives, and peer-to-peer learning. Ultimately, the best way for faculty to become advocates for AI is by experiencing its benefits firsthand. In the context of Philippine SUCs having an average classroom teacher-student ratio of 1:30 and teachers reporting having to work overtime, AI can help reduce their administrative workload so they can focus on their lessons, making classes more interactive and engaging and, of course, providing them with an improved work-life balance.
AI in higher education effective only if ethical
In AI in Higher Ed: Hype, Harm, or Help, a study conducted by Anthology that explored the perceptions of educational leaders and students on AI in higher education, 30 percent of higher education leaders in the Philippines viewed AI as unethical and opposed its presence in schools. Institutions need to strike a balance that enables AI-driven success while also addressing the concerns of their own staff; AI integration requires an AI Policy Framework that is fitted to the culture and AI objectives of a respective institution.
The framework ensures the responsible and ethical use of AI by faculty as they deliver AI-assisted classroom experiences, course materials and assessments. Most importantly, it ensures human oversight before AI-generated materials and experiences reach students. An AI Policy Framework also establishes the essential guardrails that define the extent to which AI can assist students in their learning, ensuring integrity and accurate assessments.
Future-proofing higher education
More than developing technical capabilities to use AI-integrated learning management systems efficiently, an equally important task for teachers is to leverage AI to cultivate well-rounded, employable and technology-proficient professionals. AI and humans working together help ensure that future graduates possess strong soft skills, critical and creative thinking, collaboration, entrepreneurship and problem-solving acumen, equipping them to be efficient contributors to society and tackle the challenges of tomorrow with innovation.
Sam Tang is the regional vice president for Asia-Pacific at Anthology, an education technology (EdTech) company that provides a comprehensive suite of solutions to support higher education institutions on a global scale, supporting over 150 million users in 80 countries.
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