AI Appreciation Day: Transforming Learning

Raghav Gupta, Managing Director, India and APAC, Coursera

At the Global INDIAai Summit 2024, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in addressing various problems, particularly in education. Generative AI's capabilities democratize access to quality education and future jobs, solving India's challenges at scale. On AI Appreciation Day, Vaishnaw highlighted four areas where AI can level the playing field for learning and work, fostering an inclusive future.

Access to learning with the world

Machine Learning (ML) has significantly reduced the cost and time required to translate course material, from lakhs of rupees and months to less than Rs 5,000 in just a few days. This technology allows learners, even those not proficient in English, to build skills online for digital jobs. In India, the highest enrollments are seen for digital courses in Hindi, such as AI for Everyone, HTML, CSS, Javascript and Python. This breakthrough comes when internet penetration is growing in rural India, with nearly 90 per cent of Indian youth having a smartphone at home and two-thirds using it for their studies. As the digital divide narrows, AI can catalyse new opportunities to scale high-quality, relevant learning for all Indians.

The next frontier of personalised and interactive learning

Indian students can soon have their own GenAI personal coach, offering personalised study tips, explanations before exams and teaching modules in their native language. GenAI can make personalised coaching accessible and economical at scale, without time or location constraints. This individualised learning can improve learning outcomes for learners in different contexts, from those falling behind academically to those in backward regions. Indian students surveyed said it reduced the cost of extra tutoring (44 per cent) and helped them overcome learning differences (39 per cent). GenAI's conversational abilities can be used for various applications, such as debate opponents and project-based learning. According to UNESCO, GenAI can facilitate inquiry or project-based learning, similar to a research advisor.

Classroom aid: How AI can augment teaching 

The University Grants Commission (UGC) chairman, M Jagadesh Kumar, has highlighted faculty shortages in higher education as a significant challenge to implementing the National Education Policy. He suggests that AI could help free up teachers, save time and improve student outcomes. GenAI can scale practice assessments, generate multiple question paper variants and streamline grading by suggesting scores and feedback. Faculty can also auto-generate courses in just a few hours, blending external and internal content. GenAI can also craft personalised instructions for multilingual classes, a feature useful in India's linguistic diversity.

Future-ready Workforce 

India has the highest enrollments for GenAI courses on Coursera, surpassing the US. Enrollments have quadrupled from 2023 to 2024, with people enrolling in GenAI content daily. Courses like Google Cloud's Introduction to Generative AI and Vanderbilt University's Prompt Engineering for ChatGPT have seen a surge in demand. Microsoft-LinkedIn research shows 80 per cent of Indian leaders are willing to hire less experienced AI candidates.

GenAI is not expected to replace jobs, but it is becoming increasingly important for workers to upskill and remain relevant in their jobs and the market. High GenAI enrollments in Indian enterprises indicate that even employed individuals are upskilling to remain employable and productive. Online learning can promote equal access to in-demand AI skills, with public and private institutions playing a key role in mass AI skilling and reskilling programmes. Democraticising access to AI skills, aligned with the government's "AI for All" vision, can connect more Indians to booming AI jobs and remote AI roles globally, thereby realising India's demographic dividend.

The AI revolution can create more equal opportunities for all Indians. Harnessing its potential in education, especially to narrow the opportunity gap, will ensure equitable outcomes in an AI world.