[40th Anniversary Seminar Series]
“AI is developing at a phenomenal speed. What is AI literacy and how can it be learnt?” by Professor Nancy Law

The captioned seminar, as part of the Faculty’s 40^th Anniversary Seminar Series, was delivered by Professor Nancy Law, Associate Dean (Research) of the Faculty, on October 31, 2024. It attracted over 300 participants from various countries and backgrounds joining online and offline, including educators, students, and community members.

Professor Lo Yuen Yi, Associate Dean (Learning & Teaching) of the Faculty, commenced the seminar by welcoming attendees and giving an overview of the Faculty’s long history and contribution to education.

In this seminar, Professor Nancy Law reviewed the evolution of internet search technologies. She emphasised the importance of AI literacy in education and advocated that AI literacy should be learned through authentic inquiry integrated across the curriculum, but not as a stand-alone subject. Professor Law discussed how technological advancements have historically shaped literacy requirements, and urged educators to adopt curricula that reflect these shifts. Additionally, she commented that the current top-down curriculum model limits integration across subjects and restricts the creativity of teachers and students. To foster innovation and adapt to the dynamic nature of technology-related curricula, Professor Law suggested that a more flexible model is needed.

Following the presentation, Professor Gary Wong, Associate Professor of the Faculty’s Academic Unit of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, moderated the Q&A session. The audience raised thought-provoking questions, including concerns about the potential for AI to replace teachers. Professor Law stressed the importance of teachers as learning designers who should create environments that facilitate student learning. She expressed the view that any job, whether in teaching or other professions, which can be clearly specified in terms of contextual settings and the sequence of actions, will be replaced by machines sooner or later.  She suggested that teachers should seek ways to delegate to AI or teaching robots tasks that machines can accomplish, thereby enabling the teachers to serve as coaches, supporting students in excelling and performing better. Additionally, she underscored the significance of humanity in education, emphasising that machines should complement and enhance human capabilities rather than supplant them.

The video recording of this seminar is now available on our website: https://web.edu.hku.hk/event/detail-page/seminar-series-Oct2024.