China has started a grand experiment in AI education. It could reshape how the world learns.
Racing ahead: While experts puzzle over AI’s role in education, China hasn’t waited around. Its AI-enabled teaching and learning sector has exploded. Tens of millions of students now use some form of AI to learn—whether through extracurricular tutoring programs like Squirrel’s, digital learning platforms like 17ZuoYe, or even in their main classrooms.
Blowing up: At the moment, it looks like this could be a huge new business area. That’s got Silicon Valley interested. And the Chinese firms behind the programs are already beginning to export their models globally.
A note of caution: Experts worry about the direction this rush is taking. At best, they say, AI can help teachers foster their students’ interests and strengths. But it could also further entrench a global trend toward standardized learning and testing, leaving the next generation ill-prepared to adapt in a rapidly changing world of work.
Three things have fueled China’s AI education boom. The first is tax breaks and other incentives for AI ventures that improve anything from student learning to teacher training to school management. For VCs, this means such ventures are good bets. According to one estimate, China led the way in over $1 billion invested globally last year in AI education.
Second, academic competition in China is fierce. Ten million students a year take the college entrance exam, the gaokao. Your score determines whether and where you can study for a degree, and it’s seen as the biggest determinant of success for the rest of your life. Parents willingly pay for tutoring or anything else that helps their children get ahead.
Finally, Chinese entrepreneurs have masses of data at their disposal to train and refine their algorithms. The population is vast, people’s views on data privacy are much more lax than in the West (especially if they can get coveted benefits like academic performance in return), and parents are big believers in the potential of technology, having seen how much it has transformed the country in just a few decades.
See the full story here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614057/china-squirrel-has-started-a-grand-experiment-in-ai-education-it-could-reshape-how-the/?