Standards Development

Scope

This proposal is intended to provide ethical recommendations and guidelines for the application of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in education and learning services. It addresses general ethical principles, integrated framework, key factors, essential actions for applying AI technology in education and learning services.

This proposal does not cover AI technologies or other information technology recommendations and guidelines that are defined or addressed by other standards.

This proposal is applicable to all organizations providing education and learning services, including commercial entities, public services, and not-for-profit organizations.

Purpose

Prospects and demands

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, its applications in the field of education have become increasingly widespread, encompassing intelligent tutoring systems, educational robots, personalized learning platforms, and more. These technologies have significantly improved teaching efficiency and quality while offering new possibilities for achieving personalized education and promoting educational equity. As UNESCO has claimed, AI has the potential to tackle some of the biggest challenges in education today, innovate teaching and learning practices, and accelerate progress towards SDG 4. AI can enhance education management and delivery, empower teachers and teaching, promote learning and assessment, offer more learning opportunities, and develop the values and skills needed in the AI era. Meanwhile, the ethical issues and risks associated with AI have been discussed for a long time. Human development and values, safety and security, labour issues, privacy, trustworthiness, and accountability are inescapable topics whenever AI is mentioned. UNESCO's publication, Artificial Intelligence and Education: Guidance for Policy-makers, aims to foster a shared understanding of the opportunities and challenges that AI presents for education, including AIED's social and ethical implications. Notably, another important UNESCO publication, Recommendations on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, includes "Education and Research" as "Policy Area 8" to discuss and provide recommendations on related topics.However, when facing the ethical risks of AI in education and learning, designers often fail to embed ethical considerations into AIED, education and learning service providers struggle to control and optimize the ethical performance of products (services), government departments and third-party institutions find it difficult to conduct adequate supervision, regulation, and evaluation, and users have trouble selecting suitable products (services) and reducing ethical risks in use. Furthermore, the lack of related international standards may lead to unnecessary divergence or conflicts between AIEDs from different countries/regions/organizations in joint research and development, collaborations, and communication, as well as in the provision of products (services). This may make it difficult for education and learning service providers to comply with ethical responsibilities.

Problems solved

This proposal aims to establish a framework that adequately embeds ethical considerations in Application of AI Technology, in order to ensure that the application of AI technology in education and learning services aligns with ethical standards and safeguards the rights and well-being of all educational stakeholders, by providing ethical guidelines and operational recommendations.

Value to standard users

- For the policy maker and the market regulator of education and learning services/AIED, this document will provide reference and guide to promote and regulate the high-quality development and trade of education and learning services/AIED.

- For the provider, organizer, supplier, and operator of education and learning services/AIED, this document will help them to establish or transform a high-quality business mode based on AI efficiently, with much lower cost, to get twice the result with half the effort.

- For the learner and sponsor of education and learning services, this document will guide them to identify, choose and make use of proper services and/or products, and enjoy the high-quality AIED freely and easily.

Alignment with ISO/TC 232

- Alignment with ISO/TC 232 scope:

The proposal supports and contributes to the scope of ISO/TC 232 – ‘Standardization in the field of education and learning services focused on, but not limited to: …; ethical conduct.’

- Alignment with ISO/TC 232 strategy:

The proposal is aligned with ISO/TC 232 Strategic Business Plan (SBP) – ‘5.5 Priorities for New Standard Development: Responsible and Ethical use of Technology in Education’.