The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education is growing rapidly. Students are now taking help of AI tools to get answers to questions, prepare assignments and understand difficult topics. However, does getting direct answers to every question from an AI really help learning? Professor Plaban Kumar Bhowmick of Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) has said an important thing about this. According to him, the true use of AI is to help students think for themselves and solve problems.
Doing work with AI and learning with AI are different
Plaban Kumar Bhowmick, professor in the Department of Artificial Intelligence at IIT Kharagpur and principal investigator at the National Digital Library, explains the difference between the two concepts of using AI in education. These include cognitive offloading and cognitive scaffolding. Cognitive offloading means that the student hands off the work to an AI instead of doing it themselves. In such a situation, the AI can solve the question, but the student does not get a chance to learn the process of solving it. In contrast, in cognitive scaffolding, AI provides the support the student needs during learning, so that he can gradually learn to solve problems on his own.
What is the role of Fermi AI Tutor?
According to Professor Bhowmick, Fermi AI Tutor works on this second method. It guides students to think in the right direction instead of telling them direct answers. Along with this, students themselves try to understand the question, think of different methods and arrive at a solution. In this process, AI plays the role of assistant, while the responsibility of solving the problem remains with the student. This can promote students’ ability to think and reason independently.
AI is not just a tool, it is a learning partner
Professor Bhowmick said that the special feature of Fermi AI Tutor is its design. It helps students not only as an answering platform but as a learning companion. It aims to motivate students to learn on their own instead of making them completely dependent on AI. According to the institute, students are using this platform and returning again and again for further studies. This makes it clear that AI should not only be used to find answers, but also to learn.
What will be the future of AI in education?
IIT Kharagpur believes that the role of AI in education is not to replace human thinking, but to strengthen it. If AI does everything automatically, students’ learning process may be affected. Therefore, AI should be used in such a way that students ask questions, discover new things and come up with solutions on their own. This method can make technology more useful for education.
