Ministers lift AI ban in schools but prize student privacy

Education ministers have given the green light to the use of artificial intelligence in classrooms next year, with new rules to govern privacy and cheating.

Ministers have lifted a year-long ban on AI in schools. Picture: iStock

A ban on artificial intelligence in public schools will be lifted in term one next year, after education ministers agreed to bring their classrooms in line with private and Catholic schools.

AI companies will have to prove their technology protects children’s privacy before it can be used in classrooms.

Education Services Australia – a not-for-profit educational technology company owned by federal, state and territory education departments – will be given an extra $1m to fast-track vetting of AI tools ahead of the school year.

It will draw up “product expectations’’ for AI, effectively setting standards for accuracy, safety and privacy of artificial intelligence used in public schools.

The guidelines will focus on protecting students’ privacy, by prohibiting AI companies from selling student data – including names, addresses, interests and academic results – to third parties.

The year-long ban on student use of AI was slapped on state and territory government-run schools in February due to concerns students were using chatbots such as ChatGPT to cheat on homework and assignments.

South Australia lifted the ban but many private schools have embraced the technology as a tool for writing lesson plans and providing tailored tuition to struggling students.

Ministers on Thursday endorsed the first framework for AI in schools but refused to make the document public after their meeting in Hobart. However, they all agreed to permit the use of AI in both primary and high schools, subject to oversight from their state and territory education departments, from the start of the 2024 school year.

Ministers also discussed crippling teacher shortages, and signed off on a $10m taxpayer-funded advertising campaign to “raise the status of the teaching profession’’.

The advertising, mainly online as well as on bus stops and ­billboards, will feature some of Australia’s most inspiring ­teachers, in a bid to lure more school-leavers and career-changers into the profession.

Ministers will continue their marathon meeting on Friday, discussing the priorities for the next National School Reform agreement, which will set long-term targets and reforms for schooling systems ahead of a five-year funding deal.

They will be briefed by an advisory group led by Dr Lisa O’Brien, who chairs the Australian Education Research Organisation and is a former chief executive of the Smith Family educational charity for disadvantaged students.

The Smith Family’s current chief executive, Doug Taylor – also part of the advisory group updating ministers on Friday – called for a focus on students living in poverty. He said “equity in education’’ must be a priority in the next funding deal, as disadvantaged students often started school behind their classmates.

“By the time they reach year 9, they can be up to four years behind their peers in literacy and numeracy,’’ he said.

“We are also concerned about similar gaps in digital skills, which have been compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.’’

Mr Taylor called for evidence-based supports in the foundational subjects of literacy, numeracy and digital literacy to help children catch up and stay engaged in their education.

He said the latest results from the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) showed a quarter of students from low socio-economic ­backgrounds require additional support at school to meet ­minimum standards of literacy and numeracy. Overall, one in 10 Australian students needs additional support.