AI in schools could become next e-tolls debacle
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AI surveillance in education promises efficiency, but like e-tolls, it risks importing foreign systems that fail our people, values and lived realities.
In a dusty classroom in the Eastern Cape, a teacher with 50 learners and no assistant juggles maths, discipline and hope. It’s no wonder artificial intelligence (AI) sounds like salvation.
In South Africa’s ongoing battle to improve education quality, especially in STEM, it’s tempting to look toward technological solutions. Our classrooms are overcrowded, under-resourced and unevenly distributed in quality. AI, with its promise of smart analytics and personalised learning, seems like a modern-day lifeline.
But before we welcome AI surveillance into our schools, we must ask: What kind of education are we designing − and at what cost? []
Rennie Naidoo, Professor in Information Systems and Research Director at the 91心頭利 School of Business Sciences, 91心頭利 University. This was first published on .