the government of Australia announced that eight public high schools in the state will be the first in the country to test a Application of artificial intelligence (IA). The goal is to help students develop online protection skills as AI becomes more ubiquitous.
The app shows students how AI can support their studies while protecting them from potentially risky information. Developed in collaboration with Microsoft, the chatbot is based on the same technology as the ChatGPT.
test phase
The eight schools selected for the eightweek test are: Ceduna Area School, Streaky Bay Area School, Adelaide Botanic High School, Adelaide High School, Mitcham Girls High School, Unley High School, Thebarton Senior College and Glenunga International High School.
The following points are taken into account during the test:
- The test will run for eight weeks before deciding on a more comprehensive implementation;
- Students who take the test have the opportunity to give the app, which is initially called EdChat, a name;
- The application has protection features to prevent access to malicious content.
Australian Government expectations for this technology
Australia’s education minister, Blair Boyer, said AI is present in students’ lives, including outside of the school environment, such as on weekends.
He emphasized that education is not just limited to the basics of reading and writing, but also to preparing young people for the world they will live in.
Boyer pointed out that AI will not replace research tasks and student knowledge, but has advantages such as the ability to synthesize large amounts of information.
He believes that artificial intelligence will become more and more present in the professional lives of students and emphasized the importance of preparing them to use technology confidently.
Andrew Gravestocks, Principal of Ceduna Area School, expressed an interest in providing a safe and engaging environment for students. He mentioned that students are already using AI in written answers, for example in English courses.
Security measures have been built into the AI to protect student data and school staff will be able to moderate the app. After the eightweek test phase, the government will decide whether to roll out the app to other schools.
The AIpowered application is currently called EdChat, but testtakers have the option to choose a new name.