The world has been transformed in the last 30 years by the rise and advances in the Internet and digital technologies. Due to social media, online platforms and forums, and machine learning applications, access to information and the ability to work and collaborate online have increased. However, against the backdrop of these innovations, there are fields that have not yet benefited from digital technology advances as much as they should. One notable field is education. While it has become possible to learn almost any subject online through online courses or even by following YouTube tutorials, the full potential of technology to transform education is still to unfold.
While the opportunities to leverage technology in education are immense, the technology use alone does not guarantee improved learning outcomes. What ultimately matters is how instructors integrate technology into their teaching strategies. In fact, there are several factors that can influence learning outcomes, including external factors like course materials, student-teacher relationships, and individual factors, such as a learner’s motivation and engagement. The more engaged the learner is, the more likely they are to acquire new knowledge. The Covid-19 pandemic has recently demonstrated the challenges of remote learning mediated by technology, both for instructors and learners, especially the latter who need to stay focused and motivated. Nonetheless, creative approaches to using technology in education can help overcome some of these challenges.
AI-generated characters for personalized learning
A curious way to motivate students through technology occurred in early 2020 when a digital arts professor at Shanghai University appeared as an anime character to teach his classes and saw a significant spike in his students’ motivation. While this might sound amusing at first, research has shown that fictional characters and narratives can support attention and engagement. What’s more, with current machine learning techniques, it has become possible to create AI-generated characters for educational purposes. Publicly shared code now allows for creating these characters based on audio and text input, along with a target image, resulting in a video of the target person. When it comes to education, these lifelike onscreen entities can serve as AI-generated virtual instructors, supporting online learning. Not only can real individuals transform into generated versions of themselves, but also famous artists, scientists, and historical figures can ‘come to life’ through AI. Imagine learning about the process of artistic creation from Leonardo da Vinci himself, or about mathematics and computer science from Alan Turing, or about any topic from someone you currently admire, perhaps tech innovator Elon Musk.
The effects of AI-generated characters on learners
The example of Elon Musk is not coincidental, as he is not only an admirable figure but also a contentious one. This was precisely the reason why researchers at MIT used an AI-generated character of Musk in one study to understand whether learning from someone whom one admires is beneficial to the learner. The study involved a total of 134 participants, with one group listening to a lecture delivered by Elon Musk (experimental condition), while the other group (control) listened to a lecture by an AI-generated person who ‘did not exist’ and shared the same age, gender, and race as Musk. The only difference between the two lectures was the face of the instructor, while the voice and gestures were the same. The study aimed to investigate whether and to what extent the two different versions affected learning outcomes, motivation, emotions, and perceptions of the virtual instructor. Regarding test scores, the study showed no difference between the experimental and the control condition. However, researchers found that participants in the experimental condition had more positive feelings toward learning, and their positive emotions and perception of the instructor were enhanced.
The future of authentically digital learning
The example of a virtual tutor that one admires highlights the potential benefits of using AI-generated characters in education. Beyond motivating learners, this technology can facilitate rapid updates to learning materials by regenerating them. In an ever-accelerating world, where information changes rapidly, this feature can be particularly helpful. Additionally, virtual tutors can be customized to specific learner demographics and languages, addressing the global teacher shortage and promoting education accessibility for all. This aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal No. 4, which emphasizes the need to ensure that education is accessible to everyone. Notably, there are already companies that create virtual characters with different ethnicities and accents, indicating the potential for this technology to be utilized worldwide.
Another example of creative technology usage comes from a university professor in Australia, David Kellerman. He has developed the Question bot that can be deployed in the Microsoft Teams channel, allowing students to type in their queries and receive an instant answer. In case of no pre-existing answer, the bot can alert the assigned teaching assistant (TA) to provide assistance to the student. This suggests that TAs do not need to constantly monitor the forum for student questions. For the classes that Kellerman teaches he aimed to integrate as many technological solutions as possible to facilitate collaboration and personalized learning. For instance, Kellerman also has been using digital ink instead of a blackboard and he writes it on the OneNote Class Notebook. This notebook is distributed and updated with the students, ensuring that when he writes something on the digital ink board, it automatically displays on every student’s device. Kellerman believes that higher education institutes are all trying to address key issues, such as student retention, accessibility, collaboration, personalized learning experiences, digital examinations, the ability to work from anywhere, on or off campus, and engaging online learning experiences.
Overall, the use of technology, including machine learning/AI has the potential to transform learning through personalized and engaging experiences for learners. While current research shows that learners have more positive emotions and perceptions towards AI-generated virtual instructors that they admire, there needs to be more studies to better understand the effects of generative AI in education. The technique of creating videos using AI has significant advantages in terms of time and cost efficiency. The cost of production is almost negligible, unlike traditional videos that require several hours of human labor, expensive film equipment, and specialized software to create. AI tools can facilitate rapid updates to learning materials and address global teacher shortages, making education more accessible to everyone.