UN calls for age limits for AI tools in schools

PARIS: The United Nations called on Thursday for strict rules on the use of AI tools such as viral chatbot ChatGPT in classrooms, including limiting their use to older children.

In new guidance for governments, the UN´s education body Unesco warned that public authorities were not ready to deal with the ethical issues of rolling out “generative” Artificial Intelligence programmes in schools.

The Paris-based body said relying on such programmes rather than human teachers could affect a child´s emotional wellbeing and leave them vulnerable to manipulation. “Generative AI can be a tremendous opportunity for human development, but it can also cause harm and prejudice,” said Audrey Azoulay of Unesco.

“It cannot be integrated into education without public engagement, and the necessary safeguards and regulations from governments.” Generative AI programmes burst into the spotlight late last year, with ChatGPT demonstrating an ability to generate essays, poems and conversations from the briefest prompts. It sparked fears of plagiarism and cheating in schools and universities.