Choosing AI for education: Free or proprietary?

Описание: Like any emerging technology, Artificial Intelligence has triggered debates about the consequences for the digital divide. The debate, here, is not just about access to devices, but about the design of AI systems. Proprietary AI tools, owned and controlled by companies, are behind costly paywalls. In the arena of education, such tools may exacerbate the gap between the “haves” and “have-nots”. On the other hand, free and open-source platforms promise wider reach, but raise concerns about quality and sustainability.

This doesn’t make it the first time in history that policymakers are at a crossroads in choosing between free and proprietary tools. The free software movement, which began in 1983, rejects proprietary software and advocates for complete freedom for users to use the software for any purpose, study how the program works, adapt it to their needs, and share copies with others. The intent was to prevent the creation of an elite digital class, prevent monopolies, profiteering, and rent-seeking. A major problem with open-source platforms is that, in case a problem arises, there is no designated stakeholder to resolve it.

The same choice lies ahead of the government now with AI in education. Should schools rely on free AI tools to democratise access, or push for regulated adoption of proprietary systems? What prescriptions must schools and colleges adopt today to prepare students for an AI-powered world without deepening inequality?

To delve deeper into the topic, The Hindu will host a live webinar titled, 'Choosing AI for education: Free or proprietary?', on September 6, at 5:00 p.m. The panellists include: Bhanu Potta, Founding Partner, ZingerLABS; and Parth Shah, Dean, Indian School of Public Policy. The webinar will be moderated by M. Kalyanaraman, Head, Education vertical, The Hindu.

Register now for free to ask questions and interact with the panellists. The three best questions will receive a free online subscription to The Hindu.

Panellists

Parth J. Shah, Dean, Indian School of Public Policy

Parth J. Shah is the Dean of the Indian School of Public Policy, founding trustee of Centre of Civil Society, and co-founder of National Independent Schools Alliance (NISA), a federation of more than 80,000 budget private schools in India.

He has a Ph.D. in Economics, has taught at the University of Michigan, and has been a visiting faculty at JNU and MS University. He has served on the Senate of the Central University of Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. He has been a member of several state and union government task forces, including the education task force of the governments of Delhi and Karnataka


Bhanu Potta, Founding Partner, ZingerLabs

Bhanu Potta is a global CXO Leader in digital/phygital/tech/IoT/AI products, ecosystem development, venture building, social and impact investments in education and skilling, the future of work, agriculture and livelihoods, health and well-being, and sustainability sectors. At multinationals like Gray Matters Capital, Worldreader, Microsoft, Nokia, Perot Systems, NIIT, and Informatics Group, Bhanu led global product growth and ecosystem development across the for-profit, social enterprise, non-profit / CSR contexts in EdTech, SkillTech, HealthTech, AgriTech & JobTech, and GreenTech sectors.

Priyanka Kamath, AI technologist

Priyanka Kamath is an AI Technologist and a former Application Security Executive at a Fortune 500 company. She has spearheaded technology consulting projects with organisations such as the World Bank and Novartis. She launched an AI-powered skill engine that was selected by Amazon and has been featured in Forbes Digital Assets, NASDAQ, Stanford, and the NYSE.

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