AI Policy Discussion at the European Commission Adult Learning Work Group

ALL DIGITAL is happy to share some actual developments about the use of emerging technologies in adult learning: European Commission’s Adult Learning Work Group organised a webinar on generative AI systems in adult learning and skills on 6 July 2023, where ALL DIGITAL were among the participants.

The webinar was an occasion to go through the current AI policy framework at the EU level, including the Ethical guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence and data in teaching and learning for educators.

The participants discovered a number of other projects working on developing new materials and guidelines that can be used by policy makers in the future:

• OECD shared information about the Education and Innovation Practice Community (EIPC), an action of the New European Innovation Agenda of the European Commission (designed in partnership with the OECD).The EIPC will promote the competencies needed to drive deep-tech innovation and successfully navigate the green and digital transitions.
• The ETF Digital Education Reform Framework, developed within the Creating New Learning initiative, aims to support policy makers, in ETF Partner Countries and beyond, to design, implement and monitor effective and equitable digital education policies that are tailored to the dynamics and characteristics of contemporary digital ecosystems.
• EAEA presented the AI4AL project, which is preparing an engagement kit with a methodological guide for educators in the adult learning sector and an AI-based matching tool for basic digital skills development and corresponding micro-credentials.
• Visegrad 4 countries are collaborating within the D-ILA project – Digital Individual Learning Account in the Visegrad countries that aims to match learning offer based on the profile of the individual using machine learning.

There are also some country-specific materials published in relation to the use of AI in education:

• A document produced by the French Ministry of National Education and Youth in April 2023 offers an inventory of the contributions of research and the guidelines of international institutions on the artificial intelligence (AI) and education: diversity of definitions and approaches, issues for public policies, ethical issues, fields of application, avenues for training and teaching, perspectives with the current turn of generative AI and large language models.
• The Spanish Strategy for Artificial Intelligence mentions education – all the levels including education for adults – as one of the main fields for AI.

The main takeaway of the exchanges was that the countries and organisations are currently at the stage of exploring the situation, data gathering and analysis, while a policy intervention will be built upon the needs identified during this stage.

Biggest potential of AI in adult learning seems to be the deployment of personalised learning at scale, while for the future of work AI has the potential to reshape the experience of the employee at the workplace.

Next meeting of the Adult Learning WG will be organised during the Employment and Social Rights Forum on 16-17 November 2023 in Brussels.