Indian artificial intelligence (AI) policymakers, surveyed by tech giant OpenAI on perceptions of AI risks, said generally that AI threats to education are a particularly high concern in India compared to other countries.

However, experts from government, industry and academia told The Hindu that they disagreed with many of the OpenAI study’s findings on risk perception. They said the threats of AI to education were exaggerated, misplaced and failed to recognize that the benefits far outweighed the dangers in India.

OpenAI’s private research conducted between September and December 2023 through surveys and expert interviews with a few dozen policymakers in five countries found that “education risks (e.g. students relying too much on AI tools at the expense of their critical thinking skills) were considered less risky”, but “India is a notable exception: Indian respondents ranked education risks as the fifth area of ​​priority concern, ahead of risks geopolitics or the alignment problem.

No explanation was given in the OpenAI study for why Indian policymakers found the risks of AI in education to be particularly concerning. OpenAI did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article.

The OpenAI study, obtained exclusively by The Hindu, focused on four broad categories: the benefits and risks of AI, the pace of AI development, AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) and existential risks, and AI risk management. The study implicitly focused on cutting-edge use cases of generative AI, such as AI tools that generate new text, images, videos, etc. rather than on the broad uses of artificial intelligence that have been around for many years.

OpenAI, the world’s largest and most popular generative AI company, found in the study that the technology’s biggest dangers come from “misuse/malicious use of AI” by bad actors and “economic risks” (such as layoffs due to automation). ),” according to policymakers surveyed in five different countries: India, Japan, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States.

On the other hand, OpenAI’s study on risk perception, which has not been made public, found that “advanced research and discoveries as well as advances in health” were identified by respondents from all countries as the most beneficial applications of AI over the next five years.

OpenAI’s private study surveyed 47 policymakers, including members of the Indian government, civil society and AI specialists, with a focus on career civil servants within ministries as well as non-governmental entities in India.

Advitiya Sharma, chief growth officer at major EdTech company Schoolnet, disagrees with parts of the OpenAI study’s findings, pointing out that the fundamental problem with using generative AI, particularly in education in India, is the lack of understanding and awareness which creates a lack of confidence and overestimation. technology-related issues.

“We have already worked with tens of thousands of teachers and students who have used AI in their schools and the benefits outweigh any existing risks or dangers,” said Mr. Sharma, an AI entrepreneur. series who previously co-founded Housing.com. and founded Genius Teachers, a quiz-based online learning platform.

“The other four countries in the OpenAI study are much further ahead of India in their use and understanding of AI in education and other areas. So there is bound to be a perception higher problems in India if it hasn’t been used much before,” Mr. Sharma said.

Mr. Sharma added that if the OpenAI study is conducted again in 18-24 months, the perception of risks related to AI in education in India would significantly reduce due to its widespread use and awareness. of its advantages as well as the reduction of its vulnerabilities.

Some of the specific elements of AI policymaking in India that OpenAI investigated include the pitfalls of the education sector and India’s growing optimism and trust in public cooperation mechanisms. -private.

The potential loss of critical thinking among students due to the use of technology in education in India is one of the most important considerations and threats, according to Indian educators and policymakers surveyed by OpenAI.

For example, with state-of-the-art generative AI tools, a student may not need to think or reason about a problem because the technology can give them an immediate answer and thus could lead to a decline in the ability to understand. original thinking and problem solving among students.

Another potential worry among Indian educators is that if students across the country use generative AI tools like OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT chatbot, then schools could face the challenge of testing the artificial intelligence rather than the students themselves, which could force educators to change the way they assess and test students.

“Some challenges certainly exist, such as when AI tools produce incorrect or misleading results, but I am nevertheless very optimistic about AI in education because it is ideal for brainstorming and is a tool for co- very useful knowledge creation,” said Krishnan Narayanan, head of research at IIT. Madras’ Center for Responsible AI, which is piloting a ‘GenAI4Edu’ initiative.

“We simply need to learn how to design Socratic AI systems, to get the technology that forces students to find or be guided to answers themselves rather than giving them the answer automatically,” said Krishnan, an award-winning author of “Against All Odds: India’s IT Story” and former senior executive at Infosys.