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AI+ED = Artificial Intelligence + Education

<h3>A practical guide&nbsp;</h3>Even though we live in a world where the internet is rich in content on a wide range of topics, the work of researching, analyzing, selecting, creating, reworking, and sharing digital educational materials is demanding and crucial for the success of educational practices that utilize digital tools.By implementing the right processes and paying attention to some fundamental elements, it is possible to tackle this challenge successfully.In general, I believe it is important to clarify that there are no universally applicable solutions. The proposed steps, like any educational practice and evaluation of educational pathways, should be considered a draft that needs to be adapted to the specific context. My advice? Modify it, improve it, critique it, and share your experiences with other schools: effective innovation is born only from collaboration and comparison.To bring innovation into the school context, all stakeholders (families, students, and school staff) must be involved and committed, and the objectives and responsibilities must be clear and transparent.Below, I suggest some steps to follow to initiate a process of digital innovation: <figure id="figure-t9lf0tslemlzu1b7kf"><img id="t9lf0tslemlzu1b7kf" src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/86Vo10auqgaHPDfohCoFy1Ir4Lh9fgPMDhzCe5QwqWbZU58pcHpKD60JnSmDZkF0.png" alt="Happy black public speaker during business conference in convention center looking at camera." title="Happy black public speaker during business conference in convention center looking at camera." class="object-cover bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: undefined undefined;" data-corners="default" data-aspect="1:1" data-caption="" data-positionx="undefined" data-positiony="undefined" data-fullwidth="false" data-mce-src="https://cdn.durable.co/blocks/86Vo10auqgaHPDfohCoFy1Ir4Lh9fgPMDhzCe5QwqWbZU58pcHpKD60JnSmDZkF0.png" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 1/1; object-position: undefined undefined;"></figure> DEDICATED TEAM Identify a group of people who can lead the process and hold its members accountable for the objectives. The group should include representatives from each subject area and the digital facilitator. The objectives of this group might include:<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100.002%;" border="1" data-mce-style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100.002%;"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 99.9975%;" data-mce-style="width: 99.9975%;">Designing an action plan and monitoring its progress.</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 99.9975%;" data-mce-style="width: 99.9975%;">Assessing the current and future availability of the best tools based on the context to initiate effective digital teaching.</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 99.9975%;" data-mce-style="width: 99.9975%;">Identifying the most suitable ways to use and produce digital content to achieve the educational objectives and the technological resources of the school and involved families.</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 99.9975%;" data-mce-style="width: 99.9975%;">Monitoring the quality, accessibility, and safety of digital content and the tools needed to access it.</td></tr></tbody></table>ASSESSMENT Before creating a plan, it is important to conduct an assessment of the starting point. Aspects to consider include:<table style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100.002%;" border="1" data-mce-style="border-collapse: collapse; width: 100.002%;"><tbody><tr><td style="width: 99.9975%;" data-mce-style="width: 99.9975%;">A mapping of the school's technological resources (computers, screens, digital whiteboards, headsets, etc.).</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 99.9975%;" data-mce-style="width: 99.9975%;">A mapping of the students' technological resources.</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 99.9975%;" data-mce-style="width: 99.9975%;">An evaluation of the minimum skills needed to use the tools available to both the school staff and students. For this, we suggest using frameworks such as DigCompEdu and DigComp or similar tools.</td></tr><tr><td style="width: 99.9975%;" data-mce-style="width: 99.9975%;">A mapping of any digital teaching materials already available to the teaching staff and the school.</td></tr></tbody></table> DEFINE OBJECTIVES AND PLAN First, the group should consider the ideal final outcome to be achieved over a medium-term period (e.g., 3 years). Based on this outcome, we suggest creating a series of steps with bimonthly or quarterly milestones to achieve the final result. Each goal should be ambitious but achievable and easily measurable/verifiable. ASSIGN RESPONSIBILITIES For each activity, responsible individuals must be identified: depending on the activity, this may involve individuals or groups, but it is helpful to always identify a single person to take charge of coordinating the activity, checking deadlines, and identifying any potential issues. INVOLVE FAMILIES AND STUDENTS Using digital content and innovative new pedagogical approaches means creating a collaborative pathway between all involved stakeholders. It will be important to involve families and students in the innovation project, keep them updated on progress, and periodically gather their suggestions and feedback on the selected content used in the activities that involve them. MONITOR AND ADAPT THE PLAN No plan, no matter how well designed, will perfectly reflect reality. Therefore, it is useful for the dedicated group to periodically spend time (every 2 months, for example) evaluating the plan itself to make any necessary adjustments based on real progress. These changes should be shared and communicated transparently to all involved stakeholders. <h3>ACTIVITIES OF THE DEDICATED TEAM</h3>Once the project is underway, the group will organize its activities, keeping in mind some key principles.Accessibility and Equity The content and tools used for accessing it must respect the principles of accessibility and equity from various perspectives.Special Needs and Cultural and Linguistic DiversityIt is important to ensure that all involved individuals can fully benefit from what is provided and achieve their learning objectives. For content, it is advisable to check that it is designed and presented according to the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). SkillsBased on the assessments carried out, actions should be taken to ensure that all involved (students, teachers, and families) possess the necessary skills to effectively use the provided content. DevicesThe content should be accessible from different types of devices to ensure that everyone can access it without limitations related to the device they own. Internet Connectivity: If the content requires a connection to be accessed, it is important to ensure that connectivity is adequate in all contexts (e.g., avoiding assigning tasks and additional work at home to students who do not have access to fast internet at home). Inclusive Language and Bias-Free ContentIt is critical to monitor for gender, cultural, or any other type of bias, based on the context. Security and Sharing Content should be shared among all teaching staff and easily accessible through an effective storage and retrieval system, and should be evaluated and modified over time. To this end, internal systems can be designed or existing market platforms can be used. Some of these platforms also offer their own or third-party content. Whatever setup is chosen, it is important to choose an IT architecture or platform that:Ensures cybersecurity standards to protect content and usersEnsures standards for data and privacy protection for all involved users. Content Appropriateness Online, we have access to a wealth of content that can be used in the classroom or for classwork. However, not all of it is appropriate, even if it is high quality. Content is appropriate if it is designed for digital use and to be used in an educational context with a specific target audience in terms of school grade. Assessing the appropriateness of content is a fundamental principle for the success of a teaching program integrated with digital tools. Note that content may be appropriate for guided classroom use by the teacher and not for individual use, or vice versa. It is, therefore, useful to pay attention to this aspect as well.Trust and Quality It is important to choose sources and publishers you trust and establish open and collaborative contact. The beauty of digital is that content can easily be improved, expanded, and optimized. It is helpful to define the parameters and qualities sought in the content or sources used, establish guidelines and a list of recommended sources, and share them among teachers. The guidelines and sources can be constantly updated to account for actual effectiveness and any changes.Balance and Effectiveness Not everything needs to be digital, nor does everything need to be analog. The selected content is just part of the curriculum, and it is used where its format is effective or, ideally, more effective than other learning forms.Multimedia Digital educational materials can come in different forms: images, graphics, or photographs; audio and video clips; simulations and animations; and lessons. Each medium or mix of media has advantages and disadvantages, and it is important to choose the best application based on the context and content.Sociality and Interaction Ensure that materials and their use promote interaction and collaboration between students, between students and teachers, and among teachers.Teachers Training and Peer Learning It will be important to organize specific training sessions on researching, selecting, reusing, creating, and sharing digital educational content and to foster an environment of exchange and collaborative learning among teachers to spread the necessary skills. Training on the content and its use should be as integrated as possible with reflection on the different pedagogical approaches that can be adopted and the validity of the content in relation to them.User Generated Content (UGC) In cases where conditions are created for the production of content by teachers and its sharing with colleagues, it may be useful to incentivize this through mechanisms for recognizing the best content created.Measure, Evaluate, and Improve Content Periodically Digital content must be constantly evaluated and updated based on the context and the results achieved through its use.It will be important to establish specific periodic moments to carry out this activity with the help of all the teaching staff, taking into account students' feedback as well as shared and easily recognizable and measurable quality evaluation parameters over time. This goal can be achieved by organizing periodic evaluation questionnaires closely linked to the individual content used. The dedicated group should then set specific checkpoints 2–3 times a year or at the most suitable frequency for the context to continuously improve the available content.

Digital innovation for schools

My TEDx about AI and the paradigm shift we are living in is out! <figure id="figure-lebwtekrhxclzkzbysu" data-full-width=""><iframe id="lebwtekrhxclzkzbysu" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bP5fYGPaKQ8" class="w-full bg-gray-100 rounded-sm md:rounded-md lg:rounded-lg" style="aspect-ratio: 16/9;" allowfullscreen="" data-url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP5fYGPaKQ8" data-corners="default" data-fullwidth="true" data-mce-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bP5fYGPaKQ8" data-mce-style="aspect-ratio: 16/9;"></iframe></figure> Here is a English translated transcript!&nbsp;______________________________It's a day like any other. You are heading to work, mentally going over all the news you want to share with your confidant as soon as you take a break with her.But then, when you enter the office, something feels off: whispers, smirks, faces... It almost seems like your colleagues are aware of the two or three secrets you shared just with her. Could she have betrayed you like that?&nbsp;And so, in an instant, you find yourself shouting at her, demanding explanations.However, these explanations cannot come because you are shouting at a wall... a digital one: that is, you are shouting at a screen. Well, this woman shouting at the screen exists because the traitor is ELIZA, and she is a chatbot, the first chatbot in history. It's 1966 at MIT, and our protagonist, the human one, is Professor Weizenbaum's secretary, the professor leading the ELIZA research project. Everyone in the lab could chat [with ELIZA] whenever they wanted, and of course, it was a test, so all conversations were recorded, analyzed, read, and reread by everyone. And so, she let herself go a bit and didn't realize she was actually sharing her personal matters with all her colleagues. However, the point isn't that she was careless. The point is that she was the first victim of what we today call the ELIZA effect: if we have something in front of us that expresses itself in natural language, we immediately tend to overestimate its intelligence. It must be human.&nbsp;After all, what other species have we found in the universe that express themselves with language like us? This is the power that language, this technology we have invented, has over us. And yes, of course, you might say, well, we were in 1955, now we are all a bit more used to these chatbots and algorithms, and we would never get involved in this way as it happened to her. Yet, in reality, exactly the same things happen. In 2015, 50 years after ELIZA, just a short time after voice had joined language, we found ourselves with our voice assistants in our pockets, at home, and we started conversing with them. And indeed, already in 2015, we read stories like the one Luis tells us in this review, where he says that Alexa helped him get over a breakup. But not only that, but he also adds that now that Alexa is at home, why bother going out with friends? He has her company. And this is the power that voice has over us. And yes, speaking of voice and company, today I brought it with me, let me introduce you to Kirobo, a Japanese companion robot, who, believe it or not, accompanied Japanese astronauts in space. It's a personal robot designed to dialogue with us and our technologies, with our smartphones. And above all, can we say it? ... Yes. How cute is it? This is its main feature! And it's cute for a reason: because at this moment, while we look at it, our bodies are producing oxytocin. It's a hormone also known as the love hormone because it can provoke behaviors of mutual care, genuine love, trust, and even happiness in us. It makes us feel good, so good that other robots like it, specifically designed for this purpose, like the seal Paro, are used to combat depression. So, it's an effect absolutely studied to make us feel good. And this is the power of design when it's intended for this purpose. And it's no coincidence that this design often comes from Japan because the way technology is perceived is also influenced by the way it is talked about, and in Japan, take artificial intelligence, the narratives are completely different because intelligence in the term artificial intelligence is more akin to wisdom, a wisdom that, according to Japanese culture, resides not in the brain but in the heart, and for this reason, it is impossible for an artificial intelligence project not to also have a body. Whatever its form, an animal, a little robot like this, or a humanoid body. That body is needed because that kind of intelligence cannot be separated from emotions, empathy, imagination, consciousness, and what is built, in fact, is a harmony, an interaction between human and machine where there is also a certain mutual respect. Well, it’s a completely different story compared to the dichotomy we are used to between technology and human. And think, all this just for the power of the words we choose and that then accompany us in our narratives, in the values they evoke in us, and in the emotions we feel.&nbsp;Amazing. And speaking of things that can excite us and catch our attention, the truth is that yes, robots like these are very cute and well-designed, but sometimes much less is needed for us humans. Sometimes even a well-designed mechanism with just a few pixels is enough. And perhaps for those of my age, you will remember a famous hit of the '90s. Do you?&nbsp;The Tamagotchi: a digital alien pet to carry with us always, and that occasionally notifies us because it wants to go for a walk, play, eat, drink, be cuddled, or sleep, and our goal is to keep it alive, healthy, and happy. It's a game. Eh, but a game if well-designed..., and indeed I add, a digital service of any kind like many of those we use today, if well-designed as if it were a game, and therefore gamified as we say today, well, a game is powerful. And then again, if a game requires us to cooperate: oxytocin, we start producing it. But not only. A lot of things happen in our body: adrenaline, dopamine, endorphin, just to name a few. Everything that happens in us ensures that our attention, motivation, excitement, sense of pride, and again our happiness increase. And all this sense of well-being somehow also creates a certain dependency. I mean, who wouldn't want to repeat such a positive experience? And this happens in our bodies, and it's the power that games have over us, which, after all, touch fundamental levers in us humans. But there is something that not only touches fundamental levers of humans but also manages to modify us significantly. And these are intellectual technologies: all those technologies that we somehow use in our cognitive activities. Thinking, solving a problem, reading, writing, learning, but also media, communicating, and collaborating.&nbsp;And here you see Nietzsche writing on a typewriter because when they pointed out to him that since he started using this medium, his prose was changing, well, he expressed very well how these technologies impact us, because he said that these technologies participate in the formation of our thoughts. Today we would say they are part of our extended mind that relies on external objects. And today we know they also physically change our brain. That is, when we train our brain to perform certain activities, it physically modifies itself and therefore maybe dedicates entire areas to doing something we deem important, or it converts other areas that are no longer useful to us. And so today, well, if we need to find information or solve a problem, the first thing we activate is not what in our brain digs into our knowledge, we activate what goes to seek outside towards search engines. And on the other side, we are excellent at multitasking, jumping from one place to another, from a link to a notification, constantly dividing our attention. We have become less good at concentrating on one thing, reflecting, because this requires us a lot of time and few distractions. And this is the power that intellectual technologies have over us, which doesn't stop here because it is so strong that we could, if we wanted, also construct a sort of timeline where, depending on the cultural paradigm, we find different intellectual technologies at our disposal. And then in antiquity, where much was based on orality also because the supports were cumbersome to consult, carry around, rare, expensive... well, what would you have done if you were lucky enough to have in your hand a writing of Aristotle or Pythagoras? One thing: learn it all by heart. So, when you needed it, you could bring it to mind and use it to support your reasoning by appealing to the good old principle of authority, that is, IPSE DIXIT, he said it, word for word.Then came the book, came paper, printing, and suddenly the tools to carry around culture became much less rare, less expensive, easier to carry in our pockets but, above all, also easier to consult again to maybe find the mark.And so, I can dedicate a little less space to memory because I can rely on the book.And above all, I add, even the movement we make when we read a book facilitates a consequential reasoning, a reasoning much closer to the scientific one. Here we are ready for a new paradigm. Today our filter is artificial intelligence, we access and disseminate culture with search engines, social networks, analytical tools, predictive tools, today even with generative artificial intelligence. Well, we are in the new AI Dixit paradigm and in this new paradigm, I believe it is very explicit that we dialogue with these technologies, we converse, and they participate in the formation of our thoughts. They participate in our reasoning and will participate more and more in what becomes a dialogue also useful to be more creative, to try to look at things from different points of view, to structure our reasoning. If we use them well, they can do this, so, they almost become a kind of... I don't know, an inner voice? Maybe in the future, we will talk about the “Talking Cricket Effect”. A synthetic digital talking cricket that participates in our cognitive activities and after all, just as the talking cricket helped Pinocchio become human, in some way this new synthetic talking cricket is helping us humans become different humans who express their intelligence differently. It therefore participates in the construction of our memory, our identity, the image we have of the world, and therefore also of the role we humans have in that world. And so, it is also changing the way we give meaning to our existence. Well, this is the power and impact that culture has on us, it is a change of the cultural paradigm. And so: language, voice, design, words, game, intellectual technologies, now even generally all culture… the fact is that all these levers, these powers, are converging today into a single space, an enormous space of power that, like all powers, we can choose to delegate more or less to third parties. Third parties who can also be very few people managing the technological companies leveraging all those powers we have seen. But the point is that this is not the path, there are others we can inhabit both individually and collectively in this space. We can make it our own as a space of freedom of action and therefore I would also say a bit of resistance.How?Well, bringing on board this space always different points of view questioning the tools and content bringing cultures, viewpoints, ideas, visions, futures all things in the plural that express the wonderful diversity of us humans. And at this point, it will become a space of sharing. You know, Michael Tomasello showed that this very ability to share, to focus attention together on a single concept, and therefore to learn from each other, to change our points of view, well, this is what was the key to the cognitive leap that in fact made our species evolve. So, I say: this is the most important power of all because this is what allows us to direct all the other levers, all the other powers, and to participate in the construction of this new cultural paradigm. In short: this, after all, is the power of being human.

AI Dixit: our new cultural paradigm and how to navigate it

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«The future is the wildest destination we can ever visit. [...] Let us not delude ourselves that it is possible to continue not to think about it: the journey into the future is not a choice. It concerns us all and, in this historical phase of radical change, it is not allowed to travel unpredictably. The future with its extraordinary destinations, its unsuccessful experiences, its extreme complexity, its opportunities and threats, requires profound reflection before departure, and the indications that apply to everyone, whether they are regular travelers of the future or about to embark on their first journey.»

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AI Dixit: AI and our human future

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Perché il covid-19 ci ha colti di sorpresa? È stato davvero un cigno nero, un evento raro e imprevedibile? Meglio dire che si è trattato di un rinoceronte grigio, una minaccia di grande impatto e altissima probabilità, ma trascurata: le pandemie sono infatti studiate da anni come uno dei maggiori rischi per l’umanità. Il rinoceronte ci ha colpiti e travolti, e ha cambiato completamente lo status quo. Nel libro prendiamo in esame i driver del cambiamento e il loro impatto su società, tecnologia, economia, ambiente, politica ed etica. Ma nulla è già scritto. La composizione degli scenari futuri dipende da noi e dalle nostre scelte: il nuovo mondo, l’After, è nelle nostre mani.

After. Il mondo che ci attende.

The book, available in Italian and in English will raise awareness about the dramatic changes we are facing and help the reader to make sense of the future and of the importance to use future scenarios as a tool to make better decisions today. It will also be useful to understand new emerging technologies such as blockchain, AI, robotics, biotechnologies and their possible impacts on society and on our everyday life. Therefore this book can be considered as a complete guide to 2050, able to give the readers the opportunity to immerse themselves in this destination and discover all the most fascinating secrets.

Destination 2050 | Benvenuti nel 2050

Casual Future è un podcast per esplorare il futuro, in modo casual. Per noi, il domani è a portata di mano.
Nelle puntate del podcast forniamo le informazioni di base per muoverci a nostro agio nell’innovazione tecnologica. Tra 5, 15 o 50 anni, a partire da adesso.

Esploriamo il futuro in 8 episodi, dedicati a gamification, dati, privacy, smart cities, AI, identità digitale, robot e blockchain insieme a grandi esperti del tema come Luciano Floridi, Emannuela Girardi, Paolo Benanti, Massimo Chiriatti, e molti altri...

Un podcast di Marina D'Incerti, giornalista, e Cristina Pozzi, future maker, prodotto da Piano P con il sostegno di UpTown, dove Milano cresce.

Podcast - Casual Future

Human vs Machine: Futureland - Adapt wisely, a framework for ethical AI

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Cristina Pozzi
Cristina Pozzi is a leader in the field of educational and technological innovation, shaping the future of education and society. Cristina is an entrepreneur, public speaker, and activist with a mission to positively influence society. She studies and disseminates topics ranging from the future and ethics of artificial intelligence to education in the age of AI and the dynamics of work in the era of digitalization and new media. Cristina is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum (2019-2024) and was named a European Young Leader in 2020.