What young humans can do that AI can't
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at
[email protected] or filling in
this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification
Advertisement
I refer to your report, 'Hong Kong schools don't have enough teachers trained in AI, sector veterans say' (
March 16 ), which underscores the need for a new workforce to educate students about the use and potential abuse of artificial intelligence. One of the experts cited rightly points out that we must first train the moral and ethical cores of our youngsters before exposing them to a potentially harmful technology.
But ethical training is not enough. A recent study reports that about 40 per cent of secondary school students admit to using AI to cheat. The actual number is almost certainly higher. It is naive to expect that an honour code alone will dissuade students from such rampant improper applications of the internet.
Instead, society's modes of teaching, learning and assessing learning need to change fundamentally. Teachers must study what skills artificial intelligence (AI) makes redundant and then alter, evolve or otherwise eliminate their pedagogy in these areas. We must likewise focus attention on the skills that large language models lack.
AI is not omnipotent – far from it. ChatGPT struggles to form value judgments (good and bad, better and worse) that it is willing to defend. When asked about the pros and cons of allowing the use of AI in English classrooms, for example, ChatGPT cautioned me that the issue was 'complex' before producing a judicious analysis of costs and benefits.
Advertisement
At the end of the response, the tool offered a 'possible middle ground': teaching students to use technology moderately. I then prompted the bot to evaluate which of its arguments was 'the best'. Here was its final answer: 'Rather than taking a strict 'for' or 'against' stance, the strongest position is a balanced approach. Students should be taught to use AI as a tool. Schools should emphasise AI literacy.'
This 'balanced approach' is typical of artificial reasoning. ChatGPT cannot make exclusive binary decisions in which, like the choice faced by poet Robert Frost's speaker in The Road Not Taken, following one path means rejecting another. This failure is likely due to the fact that AI is unwilling to be wrong or to accept responsibility for being wrong.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
6 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Huawei's AI semiconductor output limited to 200,000 in 2025, US commerce official says
Huawei Technologies is expected to ship no more than 200,000 of its advanced artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductors this year, according to a senior Trump administration official overseeing US export controls, who estimated that 'most or all of' those chips would be supplied to enterprises within China. That figure would pale in comparison to the more than 1 million China-specific H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) produced by Nvidia in the last nine months of 2024, according to a January report from US research firm SemiAnalysis. Washington in April added the H20 to tightened tech export restrictions on China. At a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing on Thursday, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Jeffrey Kessler told lawmakers that the US government should not 'take too much comfort from' Huawei's estimated 2025 Ascend chip production capacity being 'at or below 200,000' units. He did not elaborate on the source of that assessment. 'China is investing huge amounts to increase its AI chip production, as well as the capabilities of the chips it produces,' Kessler said. 'So it's critical for us not to have a false sense of security to understand that China is catching up quickly.' At the congressional hearing, Kessler called for increased funding for US export control measures under the Bureau of Industry and Security. This marked the first time a US government official publicly provided an estimate of Huawei's AI chip output, as the US-sanctioned Chinese firm closely guards details of its Ascend semiconductor technology, development and production.
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
In Hong Kong and globally, AI is not a job and wage killer, PwC says
Jobs requiring artificial intelligence (AI) skills are on the rise in Hong Kong as more businesses find practical use for the technology, but rather than replacing human ingenuity, AI is being combined with it to deliver productivity gains, according to PwC. The proportion of job postings in Hong Kong seeking AI skills rose to 1.9 per cent in 2024 from 1.6 per cent in 2021, according to the consultancy's 'Global AI Jobs Barometer' report published on Friday. In the information and communications sector, roles seeking AI skills increased to 7.2 per cent of the total in 2024 from 6.4 per cent in 2021, said the report, which analysed nearly 1 billion job ads and thousands of financial reports from around the world. Across all industries in the city, demand grew for roles that 'collate AI with human expertise', PwC said. 'The report underscores that rather than acting as a replacement for human creativity, AI is optimally deployed as a transformative 'enhancer', pushing boundaries [and] amplifying capabilities to drive greater efficiency and productivity across industries,' said Wilson Chow, PwC's global leader for technology, media and telecommunications and leader for China AI. Jobs involving AI augmentation increased by 6 per cent in Hong Kong, while fully automated roles decreased by around 7 per cent, according to the report. The increase was more pronounced in certain sectors – above 50 per cent in public administration and above 30 per cent in the energy and water-supply sectors since 2021, it added. The adoption rate of generative AI in Hong Kong increased to 62.1 per cent in 2024 from 56.3 per cent in 2023, indicating that AI applications in the workplace had entered the practical stage, according to IDC data. 'As a global hub of ingenuity, Hong Kong is uniquely positioned to unlock the redefined employment opportunities emerging from an AI-enabled work landscape,' Chow said.
South China Morning Post
11 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Apple targets spring 2026 for release of delayed Siri AI upgrade
Apple has set an internal release target of spring 2026 for its delayed upgrade of Siri, marking a key step in its artificial intelligence turnaround effort. The company's Siri team is aiming to bring the revamped voice assistant to market as part of an iOS 26.4 software update, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The long-promised changes will allow Siri to tap into consumers' personal data and on-screen activities to better fulfil queries. Apple's '.4' updates – known as 'E' on the company's internal software development schedule – are typically released in March. That was the case with iOS 18.4 this year and iOS 17.4 in 2024. But an exact date has not been set internally for the software, beyond a spring time frame, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the work is private. Apple, in response to a request for comment, said it has not announced exact timing for the new Siri features. It reiterated earlier statements that the upgrades are planned for the 'coming year'. The timeline could still shift depending on whether new snags emerge. If the next several weeks of development work proves promising, the company could consider giving a preview of the features when it launches the next iPhones in the fall, one of the people said, though no final decisions have been made. The upgrade has been a long time coming. Apple originally introduced the next-generation Siri features at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June of last year. The idea was to modernise the voice assistant – first introduced in 2011 – which has not kept pace with chatbots and other AI tools.
