Talking to Artificial Intelligence will help you improve your French

The dilemma of AI in education

In the state of New York, United States, educational authorities have banned ChatGPT in their elementary schools on the grounds that it hinders the development of critical thinking and contains misinformation, however, the idea of ​​Duolingo is to use it to assist, more than to delegate tasks.

Both tools will be quite useful in learning processes, says the person in charge of AI on the platform, because they will allow errors to be more significant and users will be able to practice in a more real way. “We spent a lot of time making the tool generate interest in following the lesson, which makes the tool more valuable instead of just asking you to do a task,” he says.

Although the GPT-4 version was released last week, Duolingo and OpenAI began collaborating from September 2022 on training the model for the specific use of the platform, checking the accuracy of the explanations and fine-tuning the instructions.

“We learned that this technology really expands the possibilities because there are only two features. (…) We consider that we will use this in many more things and we are barely scratching the surface, ”says Bicknell.

Another element that the executive highlights is the increase in inclusion in the platform, since it allows people who do not have experience in AI to use a tool based on this technology.

It also highlights that it has the ability to customize the platform to deliver better lessons and serve a broader range of ages. According to Duolingo figures, the average age of people who use the platform globally is between 13 and 29 years old, while in Mexico six out of 10 users are under 25 years of age.

The future of AI-powered education

Concerns around the use of AI in education are many, but Bicknell says the capabilities have barely scratched the surface, and because of that, his focus is on keeping the research going through teams looking for more ways to personalization and teaching assistance.

In addition, it highlights that the objective of these digital resources is to take into account what the user knows, determine what works for him when he is learning, as well as his interests and goals to make personalization more efficient. “We live in a very exciting time because things are changing so fast,” concludes Bicknell.