Potential Risks & Concerns
Potential Risks & Concerns
Privacy & Data Ownership
Given the incredible scope and personalization of the data being collected using the Adaptive Learning Coach, it is crucial that the learner themselves are the clear owner of their own learning data. Learners must be able to consent to others accessing portions of their profile, with perhaps a time limit and great care must be taken that the consolidated learner data is not accessible as a whole in any personally identifying manner.
Bias
"AI can help identify and reduce the impact of human biases, but it can also make the problem worse by baking in and deploying biases at scale in sensitive application areas." (Manyika et al., 2019). Aritificial intelligence systems are only as good as the data they are trained on. If the training set contains a bias, the resulting AI system will also contain that bias in its operation, and depending on how ongoing training occurs, may even increase the level of bias. Bias is all around us, and there is no easy fix, but remaining ignorant of bias is an unacceptable shortcoming and so both users and developers of this platform must work to reduce and eliminate bias wherever possible.
Influencing Futures
Closely related to the challenge of bias is the risk that by integrating so tightly with a system to guide a learner's journey, certain opportunities or paths to mastery are promoted and "accepted", while others fall into obscurity. This is a similar challenge faced by sites like YouTube and Twitter that tailor the content you receive based on previous choices you have made. Work could be done here to make this process transparent to the learner, and to give them greater control over how the coach makes recommendations for them with the ability to explore alternative paths to mastery and even chart their own.
Screens, Screens, Screens
We spend enough time on our screens as it is, and screen-based learning can be isolating and impersonal. While connecting via video can give learning a personal touch, the Adaptive Learning Coach itself must leverage natural language processing so that the user can interact using voice wherever possible. This also frees up the user to use their eyes and hands for other tasks, giving them greater mobility and flexibility. However, simply being able to use the tool without looking at a screen should not be considered sufficient. Given the influence this tool would have on learners of all ages, one key aspect of its "learning to learn" should emphasize healthy balance and routine and encourage active exploration of the world around.
Increasing the Digital Divide
With any new learning tool, consideration should be made about what preconceptions and assumptions are being made about the tools and technology available to the learner. By requiring a reliable internet connection and a mobile device we are already preventing many learners around the world from benefiting from this new technology. Often the learners with the most need for personalized coaching and support are those with the least means to acquire it.