OPINION: Is Ireland’s education system ready for the AI revolution?

With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) systems like Google’s Gemini and ChatGPT, should educators be concerned about students relying too heavily on these technologies when completing their coursework?

While AI systems have advanced greatly over the past few years, many fear that policy has not caught up with its meteoric rise.

Once upon a time it was possible for educators to clearly see if an essay was written by AI, clearly spotting that a computer and not a human had written the piece.

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Alas, those days are gone as these systems mimic students' writing better and now it does have an overall feel that a human has written whatever it churns out.

The overall worry of educators is that with continuous assessment it will be hard to spot work generated by AI models and thus lower the educational level of students, and in some cases allowing them to graduate on work that is not their own.

The Irish government has been warned by experts that they must establish clear guidelines when it comes to AI and its use in education.

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In April 2024, then Minister for Education Norma Foley, pledged a commitment to establishing guidelines on the use of AI in education.

In a statement made by the government they said that: “The department is actively monitoring developments in AI and the impact it may have in education and assessment settings, including through discussions at EU level and with other Member States with regard to their experience and expertise.”

These guidelines have not been published yet, but it is clear that they are needed to ensure that educators know how to deal with this growing technology.

Without clear guidance, AI produced work could go unsuspected through Irish colleges and schools, threatening the standard of education we are providing in the country.