A Conceptual Design of a Generative Artificial Intelligence System for Education

Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and, more specifically, Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) are among the most trending disruptive technologies, offering unprecedented possibilities for innovation in education by customising learning paths, fostering creativity, and bridging knowledge gaps. Gen AI is a subfield of AI which generates content (text, image, audio or video) that is comparable to human-generated content. It uses complex Machine Learning (ML) models and Neural Networks (NN) trained on large datasets. The launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 has significantly raised the standards for generative artificial intelligence capabilities. Since then, researchers and practitioners have extensively investigated the potential applications of this technology. Consequently, GenAI has been applied in various sectors, including business and marketing, media and entertainment, arts and design, research and innovation, and education. While it is evident that GenAI has a high potential transformative power on education, its actual application in classical educational settings such as schools and universities remains limited to individual (student or teacher) trials without institutional guidance and support. The aim of this is expressed in two points: (1) to explore the advances in GenAI and provide guidelines on leveraging the technology in the context of learning and teaching. (2) to identify the main barriers to adopting GenAI in education and how to address them when building a Gen AI application for education. The paper’s main contribution is conceptualising a Gen AI system for learning and teaching. Such a system produces course content, exercises, and supplementary materials tailored to the curriculum and each student’s learning pace and style. This system will enhance comprehension and retention, making education more accessible and effective. Secondarily, the research addresses the ethical issues and other barriers to adopting GenAI in education.