When I was appointed as an education minister last summer, I was struck by the enormous potential that education technology held within my brief.
As a government we are committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity for every child, regardless of where they come from.
From what I have seen in my time in post, we cannot afford to ignore the transformative power of artificial intelligence in education. If we get this right, AI has the potential to enhance learning and life outcomes for generations to come.
In January, the prime minister set out plans to use the power of AI to drive forward our Plan for Change - harnessing tech to improve lives and deliver better, more efficient service for the public.
AI can transform education
At the Department for Education, we are grasping the opportunities that AI presents with both hands - modernising the education system to back teachers and drive high and rising standards for students.
Last week I spoke at the Human Intelligence in the Age of AI conference at King’s College London, hosted by the Centre for Data Futures in partnership with AI in Education and The Policy Institute.
This conference, and a subsequent roundtable at the DfE, brought together policymakers, academics and cultural leaders, all focused on channelling the immeasurable potential of AI to transform education.
At the heart of that discussion was a shared understanding that technology in education should be focused on automating tasks, with more human interactions the prize. As Professor Sylvie Delacroix, director of the Centre for Data Futures, told the delegation, the goal is designing systems that “augment rather than automate away the art of paying attention”.
AI isn’t going to replace teachers. The work of educating the next generation is far too important to be reduced to machine outputs and data. AI doesn’t understand culture, it can’t sense a child’s passions and use them to inspire.
But it can cut down on marking handwritten classwork. It can produce tailored feedback and opportunities for targeted learning in an instant. It can unlock more face time with pupils, more time listening to them read and more time doing what teachers got into the profession to do - teach.
Working in collaboration
The department is making great strides in investing in AI tools for education. In January, the education secretary named 16 developers who will use government funding to focus on automating teacher tasks, creating tools that genuinely help to reduce the workload burden on teachers.
At a hackathon last month, I was able to see some remarkable early products; from tools that capture and log verbal observations from early years staff, to services that can provide pupils with detailed and personalised feedback on written work.
These tools all retain teacher oversight in the feedback - balancing AI efficiency with crucial teacher expertise and judgement. This is on top of the work of Oak National Academy, whose DfE-funded AI lesson assistant is helping teachers to plan personalised, high-quality lessons in minutes.
This isn’t something we can achieve on our own. Only by working together - across government and with the tech and education sectors - will we be able to fulfil AI’s promise in education.
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That’s why we’ve been listening intently to educators and sector leaders, making sure we’re putting their priorities at the heart of our approach.
But our enthusiasm for the future must be matched with a sense of responsibility, putting safety at the core of our plans to bring tech into the classroom.
That’s why we’ve worked with leading global tech firms - including Google, Microsoft, Adobe and Amazon Web Services - to develop the world’s first AI Product Safety Expectations in Education framework. Published in January, these expectations set out clear standards for safe generative AI products in the classroom.
Avoiding an AI digital divide
The UK is already the third largest AI market in the world, and we’re determined to maintain our leadership position. But this isn’t just about market share - it’s about using technology to support our fundamental mission of improving everyday lives and creating opportunities for everyone.
But everyone means everyone. I won’t allow digital disparities to deepen disadvantage, which is why my department is laser-focused on ensuring that schools across the country have the technological foundations from which to build from.
That starts with giving the sector the right tools and the right guidance. Our Plan Technology for Your School service is already helping schools to develop robust digital strategies and make more informed decisions about technology, which saves time and money when they plan and implement change.
And we are close to finalising a package of guidance and training so every teacher and leader can feel confident in introducing AI safely and effectively.
But there is always more to do to bridge the digital divide so tech delivers incredible opportunities for all children, and I look forward to sharing our work in this space shortly.
The future of education is being shaped now. Let’s ensure we shape it wisely, purposefully and ambitiously.
Stephen Morgan is a minister in the Department for Education
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