With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), AI is the hot topic of the day. Its influence has become widespread, so naturally, the question for THIS to ask is “what new opportunities and challenges will AI bring to education?”
On May 22nd, our school brought together industry professionals to share their insights about AI, to discuss the impact it has already made, and to outline considerations for future dialogue between parents, school administrators, teacher and students.
The closed-door seminar, hosted Ms. Wenting Bai, THIS Chinese Vice Principal, consisted of 3 main parts – opening presentations, roundtable dialogue, and free discussion. Invited by Principal Wenping Li, our esteemed speakers included Mr. Yaqiang Wu, Senior Director of R&D, Lenovo Research Institute, Mr. Daren Chen, Head of Engineering R&D, Smart Voice Lab, Alibaba Dharma Institute, Dr. Lu Fang, Associate Professor of Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University and Dr. Yang Hou, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Greater China.
Panel Discussion Speakers
The panel of experts and scholars were: Mr. Conglin Lin, Head of Product Operation, Baidu AI Technology Ecology Department; Mr. Bowen Zhou, Tenured Professor of Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University; Mr. Yuqun Zhao, Deputy Director of Positive Psychology Research Center, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University; Mr. Hui Sun, Founder & CEO of Little Bench Network Technology; Mr. Luning Wang, Vice Principal of University of Science and Technology Beijing; Ms. Huachun Dong, Vice Chiarman of Zhongguancun Technology Entrepreneurs Association; Mr. Wenlong Huang, Director of Policy Research Institute and General Manager of Asset Securities Department, Beijing Holding Company Limited; and Mr. Haoyun Xu, Senior R&D Director of Shopee.
Key topics jointly proposed by THIS teachers and students for the roundtable revolved around the impact and changes of LLM (Large Language Models) on various industries, what AI-enabled classrooms look like, the characteristics of AI-integrated education, how to “upgrade” students’ learning goals, and challenges that come with new technologies such as academic integrity issues.
The seminar was full of great experts, sharing the thoughts on the most cutting-edge artificial intelligence development status from their professional point of view. Combining with the integration between AI and education, they together brought an eye-opening and infinite thought-provoking speeches. Representatives of THIS students, teachers and parents participated in this seminar and most of the speakers in the opening presentations and roudtable panel are THIS parents. The seminar was filled with applause, excitement and sparks of thoughts.
Wenping Li THIS Executive Principal
To kick off the seminar, Ms. Wenping Li plainly announces the era of AI has arrived, “how education will be affected by it and how we should respond to the new changes and challenges as educators and also as schools” is now an urgent topic.
Previously offered lectures about AI from by Academician Prof. Qionghai Dai and Dr. Lu Fang ignited the passion for science and broadened the understanding of AI for THIS teachers and students. THIS Math teacher Mr. Yuqing Long had written a white paper about LLM and education. An “AI Committee” had been formed to help the school review it practices as it relates to AI. Michael Wang, an 11th grader, had recently developed an application called “AI Note taker” to quickly extract text and main ideas when reading research reports or academic articles.
While Principal Li marveled at the autonomy and creativity of students and teachers, she also pondered the role of Tsinghua to actively learn AI, to actively embrace changes, and, in turn, to innovate educational thinking. How will we empower teachers and students? how will we better integrate AI into teaching? How will we use AI to accelerate the construction of a more open and flexible education system? These are the questions for our forward-thinking educators to explore.
Mr. Yaqiang Wu
Senior Director of R&D, Lenovo Research Institute
Mr. Yaqiang Wu’s “Artificial Intelligence and Education in the Era of Big Language Model” introduced the background of Big Language Model in details. He introduced the current functions of Big Language Model and proposed applications of AI in education, including the current application of GPT in the education industry. All aspects of “teaching, learning, management, assessment, testing and examination” can be completed by one person with the assistance of AI. In the era of AI, it is “the end of the question answerer and the spring of the question writer”, we should pay more attention to cultivating students’ thinking ability, and the traditional model of answering questions is not enough to improve students’ thinking ability.
Mr. Daren Chen
Head of Engineering R&D, Smart Voice Lab, Alibaba Dharma Institute,
Mr. Daren Chen’s presentation mainly shared three aspects: the explosive growth of AI, the impact of AI on human work and AI and education. Quoting Dr. Qi Lu’s words from “My Big Model Worldview”, Mr. Chen introduced the development process of the three paradigms and the future evolution direction to the audience. Meanwhile, he analyzed the exposure of GPT risk occupations and the impact on future career content. For AI and education, he suggested that parents should treat the emergence of AI as an opportunity, not a threat. Parents should be exposed to and use AI as early as possible. They can touch and explore AI with their children and assist and guide them in the process as well as to plant seeds in their children’s hearts.
Dr. Lu Fang
Associate Professor of Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University
Dr. Fang Lu’s presentation entitled “AI for Science” shared scientific research and how we can co-exist with AI from the perspective of a scientist and a researcher, focusing on brain science, astronomical exploration and cosmic exploration. Dr. Fang Lu suggested that after the advent of AI era, simple knowledge acquisition is no longer important. The future of human learning is the model of “AI + 3C”, “3C” refers to Curiosity, Creativity and Constrain. It will be important to learn to ask questions, to develop students’ ability to think at a higher level of abstraction, and to be careful about the safety and rules of AI.
Dr. Yang Hou
Chairman and CEO of Microsoft Greater China
Dr. Yang Hou gave a presentation titled “Generative AI Era in Education”. Dr. Hou introduced the development stages of AI, the current situation and prospects of generative AI, and its corresponding applications in education, such as digital human tutors, and showed examples of application videos. In response to the seminar theme, Dr. Hou suggested that the big models already have the knowledge level of today’s excellent university graduates. In the next 5-10 years, AI will accelerate its development and show capabilities that may not be imagined today. The difference in ability and threshold brought about by learning knowledge or technology in the traditional sense in the past will be significantly reduced or even cease to exist.
In terms of mentality and strategy, AI must be fully embraced rather than restricted/resisted. Both teachers and students need to learn and use AI-enabled tools to improve efficiency such as chatGPT/Github copilot for improving the programming and writing code process and to help do more application creation. Also, for students with spare capacity, they should master interacting with models and creating training models. Dr. Hou also threw out the question – how do we better train new talents in the next 10-20 years? How do we teach or nurture the ability to identify and ask questions, empathy and morality, curiosity and mission-driven growth, physical and mental health, and a sense of inner happiness are perhaps the key elements?
Quotes from the roundtable discussion
Mr. Liu Conglin
Head of Product Operation, Baidu AI Technology Ecology Department
My department is to transform the technology and ecology well. For schools, we can combine the new technology with the current learning, practice and growth of students through the means of competition. We hope to create some good competitions with THIS in the future, and communicate with students through competitions in the mode of “class, competition, camp and exhibition”.
Mr. Bowen Zhou
Tenured professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Tsinghua University
In education, we need to pay more attention to children’s creativity, to human-computer synergy and interaction, and to the ability of lifelong learning and critical thinking. There are two open reflection questions left for the students: where do the values of GPT come from? Are the answers it gives creative or plagiarized?
Dr. Yukun Zhao
Deputy Director of Positive Psychology Research Center, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University
At the cognitive level, because AI will soon surpass humans, it is more important for us to cultivate three things in our children, physical, emotional and social, especially at the primary and secondary school level. In the future, people may have to think more about what we are as human beings, that is, how we can live this life well.
Mr. Sun Hui
Founder & CEO of Little Bench Network Technology Company
We need to shift to a more “people-oriented” approach to the cultivating of our children. If we want to keep ourselves and our children from being replaced by AI, we have to embrace the changes, strengthen ourselves, respond to the changes of the times, cultivate our children’s communication skills, social skills, empathy skills, etc., to truly achieve “people-oriented”.
Mr. Wang Luning
Vice Principal of University of Science and Technology Beijing
In the course of my teaching, it is now the college students who are already “challenging” the existing education model and learning style, so it may become a necessary skill in the future education to master the skills of learning knowledge in a new field effectively and efficiently, and to grasp the most needed knowledge in the field in the shortest time.
Ms. Dong Huachun,
Vice President of Zhongguancun Technology Entrepreneurs Association
In the field of education, I would like to leave children with three words —— ego, big love and connection. Growing an ego with a good worldview, values and moral sense, then innovating and creating out of love for the world and human drive to achieve big love, and learning how to connect with AI, others, and society, linking what we create to future generations, beyond time and space.
Mr. Wenlong Huang
Director of Policy Research Institute and General Manager of Asset Securities Department, Beijing Holding Co.
What AI cannot replace in education is human emotional education, which requires educators with love and empathy to cultivate a student to truly become a person who is helpful to the progress of humanity.
Mr. Xu Haoyun
Senior R&D Director of Shopee
The talent of the future era will be the more creative top scientists, arts festivals and entrepreneurs. Such talents need to have judgment, creativity, curiosity, precise language skills, as well as critical thinking, inquisitiveness and action. As parents, we need to tell our children the ethics of using AI tools, develop responsibility, and help them find the direction that will lead to true happiness with the help of AI and data systems.
Mr. Yuqing Long
THIS Mathematics Teacher
THIS’s educational mission is to lay the foundation for future leaders, so we should not only look at what students have to learn now, but also what skills and characteristics they should have in the future. Our teaching should focus more on developing students’ true creative thinking skills, while students’ ability to interact with others and their physical and mental health will be placed in a more prominent position.
During the free discussion session, THIS parents and students seized the opportunity to share their views. One of the student representatives asked the experts whether the emergence of AI would have a more beneficial or detrimental impact on education equity. The students’ questions triggered active responses from the guests. They encouraged students to ask questions providing them with a wide range of thinking space from different professional perspectives.
The “Empowering Education with AI” Seminar successfully with Principal Ms. Wenping Li saying that the sharing of the guests, teachers, parents and students was very inspiring, full of deep ideas and leaving everyone thinking. We will continue to discuss to better cope with the new challenges and opportunities in the AI era. The future is here, and let us embrace it so we can cultivate future-oriented talents who are physically and mentally healthy, who are independent thinkers, and who are brave to explore and innovate!
