Vice President Sara Duterte. (File photo from her Facebook page)
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Thursday called for the careful use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education because of the uncertainties it presents.
Speaking at the 2023 Global Education and Innovation Summit in Seoul, South Korea, Duterte admitted she had considered using AI to edit her speech for the event.
“Last night, I was editing the keynote message for this morning. And I was telling my colleague, ‘Why are we editing this keynote? Shouldn’t we use AI to edit this keynote at this hour?’” she narrated.
“And then, my colleague said, ‘Sshh, someone might hear you,’” she recalled.
Duterte observed AI appeared to evoke fear and shame due to its unknown nature.
“We now live in an era where, undeniably, technology must be harnessed to improve access, quality and equality in education. And the advent of artificial intelligence will certainly create another paradigm shift in education,” the vice president made a forecast.
“While this possibility will present newer and greater opportunities, it will also present many uncertainties in our vision of digital education,” she observed.
According to Duterte, educators must give great consideration when using technology, adding they must be quick to adapt and respond to how it changes.
“Adaptability and sustainability of new technology in education systems must be studied by the end users before implementation,” she said.
“This is in line with the thought that government programs and policies should be designed according to the behavior of people,” she explained.
“We must recognize that some technologies may work for one ecosystem, but it may not work for others,” she cautioned.
Duterte went to Seoul on Wednesday upon the invitation of South Korean government.
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