Leading public school launches ‘AI constitution’ to protect pupils
A LEADING public school has become one of the first in the UK to launch an “Artificial Intelligence Constitution” to guide and protect pupils in its use.
Alleyn’s School has drawn up the rules and guidelines and sent them to parents ahead of introducing artificial intelligence (AI) to its curriculum this September.
Jane Lunnon, head of the south London school, said its “AIQ” department will look at what happens when traditional intelligence meets AI and what effects it will have on developing brains.
Ms Lunnon said: “The constitution will go hand in hand with our new curriculum and set out clearly what students can and can’t do with AI.
“It’s about looking at what the age restrictions are around AI tools, how to use those tools in the right way and in the right environment and alongside our school values.”
She added: “It will bring a real parity for pupils and for teachers and parents. In a sense, it’s a refinement of the traditional school rules and we are making sure that everyone knows what they are.
“Many schools are talking about AI and what to do with it. What we are doing is trying to put something concrete behind those conversations.”
As part of the school’s development of the new constitution, Ms Lunnon said, parents and pupils were surveyed about the impact of AI on their lives.
She added: “Ninety per cent of parents agreed that AI would have a fundamental impact on their child’s future. As educators, we are constantly having to look at what the next thing is in education and where you want to position yourself. We do not feel that the answers to the challenges presented by AI are to pretend it’s not happening or to bury your head in the sand.”
Ms Lunnon said she believed all schools need to proactively study and embrace AI while learning from the mistakes that were made when children adopted social media.
She said: “There’s a strong message on social media, which is only being heard now, that we all missed a trick as country, a nation and a world. It rewired our children’s childhoods.”
Lessons in AI will be tailored to each age group and children as young as four will be among the first cohorts studying AI, said Ms Lunnon.
The school is also in discussions with leading worldwide institutions including MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) who are interested in the impact of the school’s approach to AI.