Responsible AI in Flemish education. A collaborative process from development to use

Why this vision paper?

Bringing education more into line with the needs of learners, providing feedback faster, automating administrative tasks to some extent: these are just a few of the things that artificial intelligence (AI) makes possible. But if AI is not developed and used responsibly, the technology can have a negative impact on the learning process, the privacy of users and the professional autonomy of teachers. 

Therefore, in order to deploy and use AI responsibly in education, we need to find a balance between the opportunities afforded to us by the technology and the negative impact it can have. 

This vision paper provides a stimulus for this but does not exist in isolation. It is digitalisation in education that makes responsible AI possible. That is why it is important that you look at the paper in the light of that broader digitalisation process and that you take into account the conditions that are needed to digitise education in a good way. The Flemish Education Council, in Dutch: de ‘Vlaamse Onderwijsraad’ (Vlor), among others, describes these conditions in its guidance ‘Onderwijs aan het roer van digitalisering in onderwijs’ (Education at the helm of digitalisation in education).

Structure and objectives 

In this vision paper 

• We define what we understand by responsible AI in education 
• We provide the basic requirements that responsible AI must meet. We develop these requirements into guidelines for education.
• Laying a foundation for responsible AI applications in education
• Creating a common language