Higher Education Encouraged to Adopt and Integrate Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence continues to develop and be adopted in education. Its use remains for educational purposes.

KOMPAS?ESTER LINCE NAPITUPULU

Education stakeholders in the Southeast Asia region, from representatives of universities, international institutions, to governments responsible for higher education, gathered at the event entitledLeading Effective Integration of GenAI in Higher Education 2024 Southeast Asia Regional High Level Policy Dialogue in Jakarta, Thursday (25/4/2024), which discussed the integration of artificial intelligence in higher education.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The integration of generative artificial intelligence or GenAI in the world of education, especially higher education, is encouraged to suit educational needs and goals. This new artificial intelligence technology can be effectively utilized to improve learning activities, education management, and improve governance in the education sector.

However, the drive to continue enhancing the integration of GenAI in higher education still requires various dialogues or discussions among educators, the government, and national and regional education stakeholders. This is because the use of GenAI is acknowledged to have many benefits but also negative impacts that must be anticipated.

Education stakeholders in the Southeast Asia region, from representatives of universities, international institutions, to governments responsible for higher education, gathered at the event entitled ”Leading Effective Integration of GenAI in Higher Education 2024 Southeast Asia Regional High Level Policy Dialogue”in Jakarta, Thursday (25/4/2024). This event was held by The International Center for Higher Education Innovation under the Auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI), in collaboration with the Indonesia Cyber ​​Education Institute (ICE-I) as the Indonesia National Center for The International Institute of Online Education.

"The use of GenAI technology and solutions such as ChatGPT is gaining more attention and adoption in the education sector globally. This phenomenon needs to be of concern to educators as it will have a significant impact on the future of education," said ICE-I founder and Universitas Terbuka Professor, Paulina Pannen.

Also read: Integration of Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Education that is Still Looking for Form

Paulina stated that cooperation with various representatives of higher education from Southeast Asia is important for mutual learning and input in utilizing AI that is better, more ethical, and beneficial. The use of GenAI has begun to be optimized for learning resources, even among cross-country universities who can now mutually benefit from it. AI is also being utilized for assessment or evaluation, including in research and to assist in searching for bibliographic lists.

Needs to be utilized

The Director General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology at the Ministry of Education and Culture, Abdul Haris, has stated that the use of digital technology in learning which provides solutions for improving access, quality, and relevance offered by GenAI, must be utilized. One of its benefits is to ensure that students can easily access quality learning resources.

The use of GenAI technology is seen as able to drastically change learning because GenAI makes learning more effective and can be adjusted to individual needs.

"In Southeast Asia there has been good work so far in programs to provide learning resources so that access to learning is widely open. Regarding the development and use of GenAI, it must be strictly monitored so that it provides benefits, not damage. "We still have to guard against ethical use by prioritizing a code of conduct in using technology," said Haris.

The integration of GenAI technology in higher education is encouraged by UNESCO. In June 2023, Assistant Director General of Education at UNESCO Stefania Gianini in Generative AI and the Future of Education stated that GenAI opens up new horizons as well as challenges for the world of education. Therefore, steps need to be taken to ensure that the integration of AI technology into education is carried out according to the wishes and needs of the educational world.

Also read: The use of AI in learning needs to be accompanied by increasing teacher competency

KOMPAS/PRAYOGI DWI SULISTYO

Multimedia Nusantara University created an artificial intelligence laboratory so that students can learn to understand work systems in developing information technology-based artificial intelligence, Tuesday (4/9/2018), in Tangerang, Banten.

Xiaohan Bi from UNESCO-ICHEI representative stated that educators and leaders of educational institutions in Southeast Asia are facing an urgent need to effectively utilize GenAI technology to enhance educational services, research, and effective higher education management. The institution is committed to expanding the reach of quality higher education through collaboration with various leading universities in several countries to increase their capacity in digital education and learning as an effort to promote digital transformation in higher education institutions.

In 2023, UNESCO-ICHEI officially launched the document "White Paper on Higher Education in the Era of Artificial Intelligence". This document discusses and shares various perspectives, experiences, and recommendations related to efforts to integrate AI in higher education worldwide, with global partners.

Professor at the University of Indonesia, T Chan Bassarudin, said that there are still pros and cons in considering the benefits of AI in higher education. The use of GenAI technology is considered capable of drastically transforming learning by making it more effective and customizable to individual needs. There are also opposing opinions because of concerns that GenAI may potentially lead to academic violations such as plagiarism and weaken critical and creative thinking.

However, according to Chan, preparation for the utilization of GenAI needs to be improved. For students, the ability to learn and cultivate self-learning culture must be established. As for educators, they need to be ready in terms of critical thinking and competency in using AI, as well as changes in pedagogy. Similarly, ensuring access to good infrastructure and digital technology is crucial.

"It is also important to have a government framework that regulates GenAI and a code of ethics," said Chan.

Sungsup Ra from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) added that increasing the capacity of various stakeholders in higher education, starting from mindset, in integrating GenAI is the main thing. Universities need to be aware of trends and observations regarding the use of AI. Moreover, academies often lag behind advances in the industrial world. AI models are starting to rapidly advance advances in the scientific world.

"Ethical issues in the use of AI are also important because many incidents have arisen related to AI misuse," said Sungsup.

In the world of work, the demand for AI professionals is increasing in all industrial sectors. This is because the impact of using AI in improving business performance has been felt. In addition, policymakers' interest in AI is also increasing, for example, the global legislative process related to AI has increased by almost 0.5 times since 2016.