We are currently living through a boom in the development of AI platforms and resources.
Many of these are focussed on ChatGPT or are based on its technology. ChatGPT is a Large Language Model (LLM) AI system that simulates natural human conversation and has a knowledge base of 300 billion words worth of information.
There are amazing benefits for teachers, students and educational leaders who use LLMs. None of them are perfect yet, but the technology is going to get much better very fast. Co-founder of Open AI, Greg Brockman, recently stated that:
“[The] most amazing fact about AI is that even though it’s starting to feel impressive, a year from now we’ll look back fondly on the AI that exists today as quaint & antiquated.”
Not only are there gaps in the market now for quality educational AI resources, but these opportunities will continue to present themselves in the coming months and years.
For any companies jumping into these gaps, here are three early considerations:
- You will have to develop competence in your customers
The educators won’t know the benefits or have the skills yet.
To ensure that teachers and students can use and understand LLMs, companies should write resources that are immediately understandable by the average teacher. Teachers and students will also need to understand their limitations.
Forming your own customer base can be difficult but if educators love your educational content, then they might also try your product.
- You will need to be ethical in your approach
Tools like ChatGPT should help teachers outsource the doing, not the thinking.
It should build upon the expertise of the teacher and not replace the need for human interaction. Ethical considerations are crucial to ensure that the chatbot’s purpose is ethical and does not promote harmful behaviour or stereotypes. It is also essential to be aware of and avoid the bias that ChatGPT can produce.
This could be a minefield, but building trust with educators early could do wonders for reputation in this new market.
- Data protection will need to be a priority
It goes without saying that data protection laws and regulations must be followed.
When it comes to ChatGPT specifically, it does not comply with GDPR. Although I believe this will change, there are some companies pro-actively mitigating against this, by building platforms that filter out any sensitive information before submitting it to the chatbot.
It would be sensible to hang fire until data protection is sorted out, however the gaps in the market exist now and some companies are jumping head first into them.
Dan Fitzpatrick‘s former roles include serving as Director for Digital Strategy at Education Partnership North East, and as a senior leader at a secondary school. Presently, he assumes the role of Director at Thirdbox.org, Director at Edufuturists, and Director of Scout Industries. In 2023 alone, Dan has trained approximately 6,000 educators worldwide, guiding them in the integration of AI into education.
