The Aga Khan Economic Planning Board for the United Arab Emirates hosted SkillShift for Teachers and Education Specialists, an interactive series of hands-on workshops designed to support upskilling using artificial intelligence (AI) tools and additional cutting-edge technologies.

Amin Tejpar, Managing Director at Curved Space Data, delivered a workshop to introduce teachers and educators to numerous AI tools, demonstrating the ways in which education can be transformed as certain tasks become automated and in turn, enable teachers to feel more present and successful with valuable, saved time.

Attendees were thrilled to have hands-on experiences as they tested various tools and learned how to use them with their different functionalities and specifications. The participants also had insightful conversations, discussing the pros and cons of using AI in the classrooms. The educators highlighted that AI may still be limited in terms of the emotional intelligence required to create meaningful bonds with students the way humans do. However,  they did agree that AI is a powerful tool that, if and when used correctly, can allow for more learning to take place in the classroom by providing assistance to not just the teachers, but also the students with a more personal learning experience. Traditional classroom teacher to student ratios range from 1:20 to 1:40+. With the assistance of AI, each student may have a 1:1 ratio with feedback, guidance and mentorship through their learning journey. AI opens the doors to new opportunities and new experiences.

“AI won’t replace humans - but humans with AI will replace humans without AI.” 
Karim Lakhani, professor at Harvard Business School, specializing in workplace technology.