The coordinator of the Organising Committee of the VI International Congress of Pedagogy, which is taking place at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences (FFCS) of the Portuguese Catholic University in Braga, defended the need to regulate Artificial Intelligence (AI).
At the opening session of the congress, whose theme is ‘Education in the Digital Age: subjectivities, nomadism and powers,’ José Manuel Martins Lopes, SJ, argued that we must be aware that ‘AI can hinder or even oppose human development and the common good, prolonging situations of marginalisation and discrimination, creating new forms of poverty, widening the digital divide and exacerbating social inequalities’. For the coordinator, AI can even ‘manipulate consciences and manipulate the democratic process for the benefit of a few.’ ‘Added to this is the risk that AI will promote the so-called technocratic paradigm that seeks to lead everyone to believe that all the world's problems can be solved solely through technological means,’ he added. For José Manuel Martins Lopes, SJ, ‘we can only talk about real progress if the improvement in quality of life achieved through technological advances reaches all of humanity and never exacerbates inequalities and conflicts.’ In his opinion, if AI is used prudently, ‘it can be a valuable educational reinforcement in the teaching and learning process.’ As he emphasised, ‘discernment and transparency in the use of data collected on the web, the promotion of critical thinking, and the deepening of problems through serious and honest reflection in the context of relationships with people is one of the essential tasks of education’ in today's technology-driven world.
The use of AI cannot distance or isolate its users from this purpose in the educational process, and cannot lead to social disintegration, misinformation, the legitimisation of “fake news” or cases of AI hallucination," he stressed. And while AI can generate fictitious content, for José Manuel Martins Lopes, SJ, there is a more worrying problem. ‘Its intentional use for manipulation purposes.’ For all these reasons, ‘very strict regulation’ of AI is required, he argued. In this opening session, the Vice-Chancellor of UCP Braga, Paulo Dias, argued that, while on the one hand technology broadens horizons and democratises access to knowledge, it also creates new vulnerabilities, such as the erosion of privacy and dependence on algorithms.
The director of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, Bruno Nobre, recalled that Ignatian pedagogy offers resources for thinking about the challenge of education.
