Sanoma Learning celebrates UNESCO’s International Day of Education with interview about AI and education

Today, January 24, we celebrate the International Day of Education.

UNESCO's International Days aim to promote awareness and actions on topics that reflect the organization's mission. This year, Artificial Intelligence and education are at the core of the debate.

In celebration of the International Day of Education, we talked with our Head of Data & Research, Anna Helminen, about the opportunities and challenges around the use of AI in education.

Anna has been working at Sanoma for the past 4 years, making sure that our digital products support teachers and help students reach their learning goals. Her work also involves mapping the opportunities Artificial Intelligence can bring to improve customer-facing applications.

In this conversation, she reinforces Sanoma's view on AI and education and the importance of always being driven by the genuine needs of our teachers and students. Check the interview below!

SL: Why is it fundamental to discuss the relationship between AI and education in the perspective of this year's UNESCO theme "Preserving human agency in a world of automation"?

Anna: There are multiple dimensions and levels to consider. We have human intelligence, and now artificial intelligence, which can complement and enhance it. In the long run, it's interesting to see how the educational landscape will evolve. How will education change as we adapt to this new scenario? I believe there will be global considerations.

AI affects the overall future skills that our students will be learning about. Sanoma Learning wants to ensure that we support and enable positive learning experiences. It is part of our mission. From this perspective, AI brings more possibilities for truly personalised learning. Based on the needs of the students, AI can guide teachers to provide more differentiation in the classroom. AI can be a good assistant, but the teacher is there at the forefront of the relationship with the student.

Teachers have many additional tasks and paperwork to handle. On this area, we can improve efficiency and support them so that they can focus on the important part: having a good relationship with the students. A human contact and connection will always be needed, so it's important that we use the AI systems responsibly, making sure that humans come first, not the technology.

SL: Sanoma has defined ethical principles for using artificial intelligence to ensure the responsible use of AI. Could you tell us a bit more about how those principles are guiding our operations?

Anna: We have established a governance process to ensure we address important points from Sanoma's ethical principles and from the EU AI Act. We aim to create a positive learning impact, which should be the guidance for any AI topics we consider. There will always be oversight on AI operations, whether we use AI solutions internally or if we offer something externally. Humans will always have the final say on what must be done.

It's fundamental to have transparency about how these solutions work and evaluate them from different perspectives, considering the associated impacts on various levels: from students to society. We also have to monitor how these solutions evolve. Thus, it's not just about creating something and letting it go but staying aware and learning from the usage of AI solutions.

SL: How is Sanoma Learning using AI in its products, services, and processes? What are our focus areas and goals?

Anna: In operations, we are analysing and developing the use cases and tasks in which AI can provide impactful support. Some of those tasks might be repetitive, take too much time without creating much value, and are not engaging. AI can facilitate this.

On top of that, content creation is a crucial area at Sanoma Learning. We want to make sure that we are the providers of trustworthy content that is never compromised by any hallucinations, bias or false information caused by mistakes in AI models. That's a core principle for us: we want to keep being a trustworthy partner with high-quality products and services.

However, of course, there are topics AI can enrich and support further. For example, accessibility. From the creation of video subtitles to supporting translations on the go for learners from diverse backgrounds.

When it comes to customer-facing applications, we want to focus on the core needs of the teachers and students. A good example is the Survey Tool we have launched with itslearning. It gives the teacher the opportunity to draft the type of questionnaire they would like to provide to their students with the help of AI. Teachers have then the option to evaluate if the model works for them or use it as an inspiration. The goal is to ease the process of starting from scratch and allow teachers to save valuable time.

SL: Let's talk about the K-12 market. What are the main learning opportunities and challenges associated with new uses of AI in classrooms? How do teachers and students benefit from this technology?

Anna: First, it's important to acknowledge that students, particularly older ones, are already using AI in many ways. So, how can we support their learning and critical thinking? It's necessary to challenge students not only to accept what AI offers but also to take it into consideration: do I agree with this information?

Initially, the first reaction in education was to prevent extensive use of AI by students. Now, we see a change to AI being seen as one of the tools that is here to stay and adapting to it. At Sanoma Learning, we also offer training and information sessions about AI in education for teachers in different markets. It's key to support and share these types of learning.

Linking to our European Teacher Survey, teachers expect that AI is and will be part of the solutions for the future. However, they are still hesitant about how much it can support the learning process and what the full effects will be. We collaborate closely with our valued teachers and students to ensure this area evolves in the best possible way.

SL: You are a woman working in tech. Our products and services reach a quite diverse range of students, with different backgrounds and learning needs. Our teams are spread all over Europe. In this context, what is the importance of taking diversity and inclusion into account when we talk about AI?

Anna: From an accessibility perspective, AI offers many opportunities for improvement compared to the past. A variety of different learning styles can be more easily implemented to adapt to what students truly need, with the guidance of the teachers, of course - important to keep this in mind. Every use case must be connected to our ethical principles and considered from multiple perspectives. I appreciate the international and multi-dimensional working environment at Sanoma Learning, which respects different points of view and diversity. This is a key and valuable asset.

As a woman working in tech, I have been visiting many schools to talk about this topic. I like to emphasize that technology is a means of creating better experiences for us as humans. It shouldn't be a challenge limited to a certain audience but something that all of us can find the angle to feel motivated about. This applies to all careers and people. I hope to diminish silos and make sure that everyone feels included in any topic they're interested in. In the AI and technology field, there is a broad range of what you can actually do. So, there's definitely something for everyone.

AI was used to support the transcription of this interview.