FEP Educational Publishing Group welcomes Ethical Guidelines on the Use of AI and Data in Teaching and Learning

In October 2022, the European Commission published a set of Ethical Guidelines on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data in Teaching and Learning, drafted by an ad hoc Expert Group on artificial intelligence and data in education and training. The document (available here) identifies a series of principles by which the use of AI in education should abide and offers teachers and schools a sort of checklist to ensure their application of AI complies with those principles. The Guidelines are in fact – as the Commission states – “designed to help educators understand the potential that the applications of AI and data usage can have in education and to raise awareness of the possible risks so that they are able to engage positively, critically and ethically with AI systems and exploit their full potential.” The requirements they set out address concerns, such as the risk of bias or error affecting educational outcomes, in the areas of Human agency and oversight; Transparency; Diversity, non-discrimination, and fairness; Societal and environmental wellbeing; Privacy and data governance; Technical robustness and safety; Accountability. This type of document has probably no equal in the world, and it reflects the approach and aspirations of educational publishers across Europe towards the establishment of a level playing field in the EdTech sector. The FEP Educational Publishing Group has therefore agreed to endorse the Guidelines and to encourage their dissemination and use by educational institutions and authorities in the EU Member States and beyond.