The growth of generative AI solutions in the country is an indisputable reality. Brazil accounted for 5.16% of ChatGPT’s total traffic, ranking fourth among the nations that use AI the most, according to a Traffic Analytics survey released by the Semrush platform. OpenAI’s artificial intelligence platforms had 2.4 billion visits worldwide in January 2024 alone.

In the context of education, administrators and educators face the challenge of incorporating AI resources into classrooms in a way that is useful for teaching practice, while also learning to navigate this new technology and trying to understand the potential ethical implications regarding the personalization of instruction and the intellectual property rights of work generated by AI tools.

Luciano Meira, Science and Innovation Coordinator at Proz Educação and professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), points out that the use of artificial intelligence in education can help improve educational practices. However, before applying these tools in the classroom, it is important to recognize and understand that this is a time for experimentation.

“Today, large language models—known as LLMs—such as ChatGPT and other similar solutions, are capable of making corrections, including based on criteria that we teach the LLM. There are many interesting things to experiment with and teach these solutions. It’s not just about asking ChatGPT a question; it’s actually about instructing ChatGPT on what kind of response we want and to what degree of accuracy and sophistication,” says Meira.

Tanci Simões, an educational analyst at CESAR School, believes that the adoption of generative AI in the classroom brings about a paradigm shift that places greater emphasis on the process and less on ready-made, definitive answers.

“We know that methodologies such as Problem-Based Learning and Project-Based Learning already reflected these premises; however, tools based on generative AI not only provide well-crafted answers but are also capable of producing prototypes, structuring complex processes in detail, conducting analyses, and generating large volumes of text. Therefore, successful strategies must be more than just new versions of the old ways of doing what we’ve always done—where we simply change the tool while continuing to relegate students to a passive or semi-passive role,” says the educational analyst.

She explains that, in practice, rather than investing all one’s energy in trying to create an educational resource based on generative AI, the ideal approach would be to rethink the strategy so that students can use generative AI to create, analyze, and compare in a critical, intentional, and meaningful way.

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In this regard, Tanci also highlights the need for teacher training, given that there is still a great deal of apprehension about the use of AI in general, including concerns that teachers will be replaced by intelligent tools, as well as concerns related to plagiarism and cheating in schoolwork.

Rafael Ferreira Mello, a senior researcher at CESAR School and professor at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), believes that AI is a tool that can enhance student learning by integrating the teaching practices already used by teachers.

"Artificial Intelligence is emerging as a powerful tool that enhances what teachers already do in the classroom. Historically, classes were smaller, with 30 or 40 students, but today, in online courses, that number can reach 100 or 150. How do teachers manage so many students? AI steps in to analyze data and support the teacher, such as by providing feedback and grading specific questions. It’s an important form of support that gives the teacher autonomy—in other words, it’s not an automated tool that does everything without the teacher being involved in the process,” said Mello.

AI in K-12 Education

The discussion on how to purposefully integrate AI into K-12 education in private and public schools is one of the central themes of the Bett Nordeste Conference, which will take place on September 4 and 5 in Recife. The traveling event, organized by Bett Brasil—Latin America’s largest event for innovation and technology in education—has chosen the following theme to guide its panel discussions: “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Emotional Intelligence (EI) in education: what should we learn?”

Luciano Meira, Tanci Simões, and Rafael Mello are among the event’s guest speakers. The program also features other leading figures in the education sector, such as: Alex Sandro Gomes, full professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE); Pierre Lucena, CEO of Porto Digital; Paula Carneiro Leão, director and partner at Escola Vila Aprendiz; and psychologist André Daconti Menezes.

Also on the list are neuroscientist Carla Andrea Tieppo; Alessandra Borelli, partner and CEO of Opice Blum Academy; Anna Penido, executive director of the Lemann Center for Leadership in Educational Equity; and Rossandro Klinjey, writer and clinical psychologist . Check out the schedule here.

Meira emphasizes the importance of events like the Conference for discussing not only the use of this tool in the classroom, but also how it relates to the emergence of emotionality in schools. “Basically, we’re going to discuss how we can integrate people’s emotional lives—whether they’re students or teachers—with the use of a tool whose algorithm has the power to truly transform schools through the use of an extremely interesting and very powerful digital technology,” he says.

Tanci emphasizes that she has high expectations for her participation in the Bett Nordeste Conference. “I found it particularly sophisticated that the central theme explores intelligence from both human (emotional) and technological (artificial) perspectives. And what makes me not only full of anticipation but also very hopeful is the approach that doesn’t claim to have all the answers: what should we learn?” When new trends emerge, experts quickly appear with their many certainties, promises, and ‘silver bullets,’ arguing about issues we do not yet clearly understand, nor have we identified their ramifications and impacts. So, I’m glad that this is the stance: we’re still learning—come learn with us,” says the educational analyst.

Mello, meanwhile, reveals that this will be his first time speaking at a Bett Brasil event. “It’ll be really cool to sit down and discuss things with people from various fields and different backgrounds. I’m excited and hope to share some of the experiences I’ve seen out there and contribute to the discussion so that we can facilitate the adoption of AI in education without creating too many monsters or unnecessary concerns,” he says.

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