Introduction

So good evening, everyone. I'm really excited to be here. My name is Flora Wen and I am a technical education specialist at the Vector Institute, which is actually right across the street in that big white building.

1And so today I'm going to talk a little bit about my own experience and perspectives on how I feel like AI is going to impact education and also the future of work. And I know that there were a few questions on that, and that's obviously a concern that a lot of people have.

So a little bit about me. My background is in computer science and I've worked in a number of years in both software development and also in healthcare. And one of my passions is actually in education and to help people learn.

So a few years ago, I started really learning about AI. And I started taking courses, and I started teaching AI alongside a group of doctors. And so eventually, I just joined the Vector Institute as a technical education specialist. And that was around September 2022.

And so who knows what happened in November 2022? Anyone? ChatGPT, exactly.

So two months after I started working at Vector, ChatGPT came out and the whole field exploded. Suddenly everyone wanted to learn about AI.

So fast forward about a year and a half. So this is last month. In June of 2024, Toronto hosted a tech conference named Collision. And so a lot of you have probably heard about it and some of you might have actually been there.

And so this year there was a record-breaking 37,000 attendees and it pretty much took up the entire exhibition place downtown. So if you're from Toronto, you can kind of think about it as the CNE for nerds. It was a lot of fun.

And what was really amazing this year was that I found that almost every booth, every speaker, and every panel discussion has something to do with AI. And so there's no doubt in anyone's mind that AI is really taking an evolution right here.

And so as I was walking around this conference, one of the things that really struck me was this poster that was done by Telus. And it was a really fun setup where the attendees could use stickers to answer a few questions about AI. And so one of the questions was, where could AI do the most good? And as you can see, most people picked healthcare and education.

But what's interesting is that these are also the two industries that are pretty slow to change and pretty cautious to adopt new technology, especially like AI, even though there's so much positive impact. And so that got me thinking, how can we improve the adoption of AI in these sectors?

AI and Education

So today I'm going to focus specifically on the education sector and we'll briefly discuss the opportunities and challenges in AI and education, AI's impact on the future of work, and how to stand out in the future of AI whether you are an innovator or an individual or a leader.

Opportunities in AI for Education

So let's start with the opportunities. There is now an unprecedented amount of information. So we can have it in textbooks, on the web, or even in other non-traditional sources like YouTube. AI can really help students quickly sift through all this information to identify their trends and insights and to quickly summarize all of this information.

But if you take it a step further, what if AI can act as a personalized interactive tutor to help students learn about different subjects based on their specific strengths and weaknesses and preferred learning style? Wouldn't that be helpful when we were in school?

And for teachers, AI can help in content generation. So for example, teachers can use AI to develop engaging lesson plans and education materials, or come up with analogies for complex topics, which is something that I really like to do with ChatGPT. So for example, you can ask it to explain the theory of relativity using a Taylor Swift concert. And it actually did it. It's actually not bad. And so then wouldn't that be so much fun for students to learn that way?

And let's say instead of learning about history from a textbook, what if students can interact with a chatbot that has the persona of Albert Einstein and ask him about how he came up with the theory of relativity and then have a class discussion about the topic? So there's so many things that we can do with AI in education.

And if we think even beyond the traditional ways of learning, how about using AI to explore new creative outlets? So for example, how about facilitating a collaborative science project between students from different parts of the world with AI tools, translating languages in real time and providing research assistance.

Challenges in AI Adoption

And there's just so many possibilities, I'm sure you can think of more, but there are also some challenges. And so one of the questions that I often hear from both teachers and students is whether using AI tools like ChatGPT is considered cheating. So to answer this question, I'd actually like to use an analogy of photography.

So when photography first appeared in the 19th century, a lot of traditional artists thought that it was cheating and devalued handcrafted art. But as we all know, photography quickly became a new art form, and it revolutionized many things like journalism, scientific discoveries, and even created new industries like fashion and advertising. So just like photography, we need to change our thinking about AI.

1Instead of thinking about tools like chat GPD as cheating, we should see how they can actually accelerate learning and open up new education and creative opportunities. And to do this, teachers need to change the way they assess students. So for example, instead of traditional assignments like asking students to write an essay on a certain topic, teachers can have students think of the best ways to prompt ChatGPT on a topic and then write a report to critique its output. So this not only prepares students for the future by teaching them how to use these tools effectively, but also to help them develop the critical thinking skills that are so important and so that they can know how to critique these AI-generated content.

Another question that often comes up in AI in education is, how do we upskill our educators so that they can incorporate AI education into their curriculum? And so for this, we need to take a few key steps. First, we really need to get teachers involved. And I recently talked to a few of my friends who are elementary school teachers, and it was eye-opening to hear from their perspective on how they've successfully integrated some AI tools, but also worry about other ways that students are relying on these tools. Before we can solve the problem, we really first need to understand it. And the way to do it is to start involving our frontline teachers.

We also need to create resources like student activities and worksheets based on real use cases so that teachers can have practical examples they can use in their classrooms. And last but not least, we should work on normalizing the use of AI in classrooms so that there's no stigma around teachers either using AI to teach or teaching about AI. Let's change the mindset from using AI as a shortcut or cheating to we need to teach students about AI to prepare them for the future.

The Future of Work and AI's Impact

So speaking of which, what is the future of work in the world of AI? Is AI going to replace all our jobs?

Well, a survey by Accenture last year asked, in which industries could AI do most of the heavy lifting? So in this graph here, the green bars represent the share of working hours in specific industries that has a high potential to be automated by the use of AI. So here we see that banking and industry are at the top. of the rankings followed by software and platforms and so on.

And there are many examples where we can already see how AI can speed things up in these industries. So for instance, in banking, AI can take stacks of reports and summarize them in an instant. In the software industry, AI tools can generate code in different programming languages based on text prompts, as you can see from the first two demos that we had today. And in the retail industry, AI can act as support agents to resolve common customer questions and issues.

And so there's no doubt that the future of AI will impact many traditional careers. And so when we consider education, how do we prepare the next generation if so much of what we've historically studied for can be done by AI?

Well, one of the reactions could be fear that AI is going to automate and just take away all our jobs. But the other way to think about it is what I call Thomas Edison's light bulb moment.

So in 1879, Thomas Edison managed to illuminate an incandescent light bulb with energy, which is the first recorded usage of electricity in a safe and practical way. You might even call this the chat GPT moment of the 1800s. But if you were living at that time, aside from the idea that these light bulbs can potentially illuminate some streets and houses, perhaps one of the main concerns would be that candle makers would be out of a job.

It might sound silly right now, but could the generation of the past have known how electricity will revolutionize the world? How it could power homes and industries, enable communication and transport systems, foster technological innovations, and significantly improve quality of life and economic growth?

You see, AI has the same power to change the world. And we're really just at the beginning of it. So what we have to do is we have to work to change our mindset, as Josh said, to go beyond holding onto our current way of thinking, of working, and really consider how AI can be leveraged to generate new tasks and capabilities for humans, and how we can partner with AI tools to improve productivity and create whole new industries and transform the world like we did with electricity.

Standing Out in the Future of AI

And so on this note, I want to wrap up this presentation with some thoughts on how you can not only prepare for, but to stand out in the future of AI, whether you're an innovator, an individual or a leader. So as an innovator, you have to focus on solving real problems. So instead of starting with how can I use AI, ask yourself what problem needs solving and can AI help?

You know, there are plenty of people out there using the latest AI innovations to publish papers. But to stand out, you want to make sure that your innovations are actually meaningful and impactful. And to do this, you have to make sure to involve the end users in identifying the right problems to tackle. So you have to talk to the people who will benefit or be at disadvantage from your solutions to really understand their challenges and needs. And this helps you avoid creating a solution that doesn't have a real problem to address. Or as we say, don't be a solution looking for a problem.

Also, you should always keep an end goal in mind. So how will solving this problem make a tangible impact? How will this tool be integrated into an existing workflow? And how can I help users navigate this change?

And as an individual, ironically, I don't recommend jumping into learning about AI and programming unless you're already in the field. As Josh mentioned before, there are so many AI tools now that can automate that programming process and help you build. So absolutely agree that building is one of the key skills.

And also other key skills are actually the soft skills, ironically, because improving something like your oral communication or critical thinking skills. And these are the skills where humans can excel over AI. And to be honest, skills that we have to get better at teaching in our schools. So whether you're pitching an idea, collaborating on a project, or making strategic decisions, these are the abilities that will set you apart, not your programming skills.

So don't forget also emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and manage emotions, which is really valuable in leadership and teamwork. AI can't replace this, and studies have shown that jobs needing high emotional intelligence are less likely to be automated. So focus on skills like public speaking, empathy, adaptability, and creativity to stay relevant and valuable in the future of an AI-driven world.

Finally, as a leader, you should encourage safe experimentation with AI. If you're a teacher, encourage your students to try. If you're a leader in a company, create a space where your team feels comfortable exploring AI's potential, but make sure that they're aware of risks like hallucinations and biases. You should always be a champion of ethical AI use, always emphasizing the transparency and fairness. And as leaders, we can inspire others to use AI for good and to promote AI literacy in your organization. So for example, I've heard of a company that actually does AI demos in the cafeteria at lunchtime. So really any way to foster that culture of continuous learning will help your team stay ahead of the ever-changing AI landscape and gain an advantage over your competitors.

Conclusion

So to conclude this talk, I'd like to leave you with a quote by the late Steve Jobs. He said, innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity, not a threat. And I hope you all leave here tonight feeling inspired by all the opportunities we have ahead of us with AI and pass this optimism and hope onto our next generation. Thank you.