​

“Social Learning with Generative AI” By Professor Mike Sharples, Emeritus Professor of Educational Technology, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, UK

Abstract

In 2005, Josie Taylor, Giasemi Vavoula and I developed and published a Theory of Learning for the Mobile Age. The essence of that theory is that we need to re-conceive learning for an era of networked mobility, where people are continually connected with and through personal and embedded technologies. Twenty years later, we again need to re-think learning, for a world infused by AI. In my presentation I shall discuss the emergence of “social generative AI” – AI systems that interact with humans and with other AI tools in complex social networks. Social AI will have profound implications for education. Young people will have lifelong AI companions, mentors and tutors. They will command AI agents to solve problems and represent them in conversations and on social media. Social AI will break down language barriers and connect people across cultures. Companies will compete with traditional education in providing online classes, tutorials and group seminars facilitated by AI. Social AI may also erode trust in information and create networks of interacting machines beyond human control. I will propose we should explore education for an AI-infused world that is not only effective but also empowers human teachers and extends human care and empathy.

Bio

Mike Sharples is Emeritus Professor of Educational Technology at The Open University, UK. He gained a PhD from the Department of Artificial Intelligence, University of Edinburgh on Cognition, Computers and Creative Writing. His expertise involves human-centred design and evaluation of new technologies and environments for learning. He provides consultancy for institutions worldwide including UNESCO, UNICEF, universities and companies. He established the mLearn conference series and the influential Innovating Pedagogy report series. As Academic Lead for FutureLearn.com he led the pedagogy-informed design of its open learning platform. He is an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. He is author of over 300 published papers in the areas of educational technology, learning sciences, science education, human-centred design of personal technologies, artificial intelligence and cognitive science. His recent books are Practical Pedagogy: 40 New Ways to Teach and Learn and Story Machines: How Computers Have Become Creative Writers both published by Routledge, and An Introduction to Narrative Generators, published by Oxford University Press.