Capital Radio is the leading radio station in the economy sector, with programs and podcasts about economy, markets, business, and quality of life. The program, with Ramiro Aurín and Almudena Semur, features Mr. Ramón Tamames every Wednesday. On this occasion, the vice-rector of the Universidad Europea del Atlántico (European University of the Atlantic, UNEATLANTICO), Silvia Aparicio, spoke about the university, as well as artificial intelligence applied to higher education.
In the program, the vice-rector of UNEATLANTICO mentioned that the university already trains around 30% of the university students in Cantabria, in a student community characterized by internationalization and complementarity between the offer of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees offered in its Autonomous Community.
Generative artificial intelligence applied to research, text, video, images, 3D, programming, and speeches was discussed. They discussed what artificial intelligence tools do, such as reading and generating text, answering questions, summarizing texts, generating text to speech, to video, and how this influences the development of university students.
“The use of tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Copilot, Google’s Genius, LuzIA via WhatsApp, and Perplexity have disruptively burst in and are changing the way we study and work. We are at the beginning, like when the Internet appeared in 1997, and now we can’t imagine a world without it. With AI, barely two years have passed, and through individualized maching learning, we will be arriving at a scenario of progressive replacement of machines by humans. They will know us better than we know ourselves, that is why I defend random and creative thinking,” said Aparicio.
The pros and cons of AI were also discussed. During the program, it was concluded that this tool generates a clear technological dependency, lack of fairness and equity in the educational process, caused by algorithmic bias, displacement of certain jobs, and endangerment of our privacy and security. However, the lack of ethics in the development and application of artificial intelligence could result in negative consequences, such as discrimination.
Adapting to the future of education
On the other hand, personalization of learning, access to education, along with immediate feedback and automation of administrative tasks, are points in AI’s favor that need to be taken into account.
Overall, the evolving role of AI in education offers both opportunities and challenges for teachers. By being proactive in their approach to this technology, educators can leverage AI to improve student outcomes while preserving the unique role teachers play in fostering the growth, development, and learning of their students.
Aparicio highlighted the educational methodology used by the university when making use of artificial intelligence as a tool, as well as the way to make classes as practical as possible. She also highlighted the European consortia that allow students to enjoy European immersion experiences and European degrees, in which UNEATLANTICO is involved.