Will AI Shrink Disparities in Schools, or Widen Them?

For the past couple of years, unrelenting change has come fast. New education technologies seem to flow out in an unstoppable stream. These often have consequences, from an increase in cheating on assignments enabled by prose-spewing chatbots, to experiments that bring AI into classrooms as teaching assistants or even as students. For some teachers and school leaders, it can feel like an onslaught. Some educators connect AI to broader changes that they perceive have been harmful to students, says Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education. But in this ever-shifting stream of change, Lake is among those who believe new technology can be steered in a way that navigates schools to a more promising channel for reducing disparities in education in the U.S. However, if that’s going to happen, it’s imperative that education leaders start pushing AI to transform teaching and learning in ways that are beneficial, particularly for low-income and historically disadvantaged students, observers like Lake argue. If artificial intelligence doesn’t help solve disparities, advocates worry, it will worsen them.