It is necessary to begin teaching the proper use of artificial intelligence as early as school. This was stated by Professor Yulia Gorbunova while speaking at a roundtable discussion titled “AI in Science and Industry: Challenges and Opportunities,” organized as part of the JINR Days in Armenia.

According to her, AI should be not only a trusted and verified tool, but also a technology that people need to be taught to use from childhood. Gorbunova gave the example of a “smart” refrigerator belonging to one of the Skoltech employees. After relatives with children had been living in the apartment for several weeks, the refrigerator detected that there was no milk and, being connected to a service and the owner’s bank card, independently ordered 16 liters of various kinds of milk. The owner himself did not drink milk.

In Gorbunova’s opinion, this example shows why users need to understand the principles behind how AI and related automated systems work, as well as know how to properly control their actions. “This should be taught from childhood so that people use it correctly,” she emphasized.

AI is already being used in school education

Gorbunova also spoke about the educational product “01 Mathematics,” developed at Skoltech, which, according to her, is currently used by about 700 schools in Moscow.

The system first assesses a student’s level of knowledge, after which it selects tasks appropriate to that level. Depending on the results, the system offers the next problem or returns the student to material that they had not previously mastered. Teachers can also use the tool to generate assignments.

According to Gorbunova, an experiment that has already been conducted showed that school students who studied using this methodology scored on average 17% more points on the Unified State Exam. She added that similar educational products for other subjects, including biology and chemistry, are now being developed jointly with the Prosveshcheniye publishing house.

The use of AI does not mean abandoning the teacher

At the same time, Gorbunova emphasized that the use of AI does not mean dispensing with the teacher. In her view, the technology should free educators from routine tasks and give them more time for direct work with students.

“This helps relieve teachers of certain routine tasks and turn the teacher into a guide, a mentor, a person who will have time to talk to the student, look them in the eye, and truly be a teacher,” the professor said.

Speaking about the use of AI in scientific activity, Gorbunova noted that scientists are already using it, in particular, in preparing grant applications and expert reviews. In her opinion, it is impossible to completely stop the spread of such technologies, but certain regulation is necessary.

At the same time, using AI for routine tasks, such as preparing a literature review, can free up a scientist’s time for creative work. Therefore, Gorbunova believes, the question is not only whether to allow or prohibit the use of AI, but also how to teach specialists to work with this technology properly.