Japanese schools to limit use of artificial intelligence

OpenAI's ChatGPT tool icon

Schools could use these tools for a number of purposes, such as brainstorming ideas for classroom discussions. The draft also encourages the use of generative AI to reduce the workload of teachers, such as planning sports days, writing exam questions, or writing notices to parents. However, even in those cases, teachers would need to edit and proofread the content.

The ministry will not allow the tool to be used indiscriminately. The draft notes that generative AI should not be used in exams to assess student learning outcomes or should not be used freely by students without being aware of the trends and limitations of this technology. The draft also suggests that generative AI should not be used to write poetry or conduct artistic activities without careful consideration.

The draft stresses the importance of promoting the prudent use of AI, noting that the technology could have negative impacts on students’ critical thinking skills and creativity, as well as risks of personal data leakage and copyright infringement. Teachers should instruct students that they will be considered cheating if they submit work generated by AI for classwork or competitions.

The draft states that teachers and students should not enter personal or confidential data into generative AI programs, and should be cautious about copyright infringement risks if texts or images are made public outside the classroom, such as on school websites.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology is expected to issue guidelines as early as July after hearing opinions from stakeholders and making necessary revisions.

ChatGPT and other generative AI programs are trained using massive amounts of data from the Internet and can process and simulate human-like conversations with users or generate images based on user instructions.

According to VNA