Hong Kong students from Form One to Form Three will have artificial intelligence as part of their curriculum from the 2023-2024 academic year onwards. It will cover the use of language learning models like ChatGPT and the ethics and social impact of the technology.
According to an Education Bureau memo sent out to public secondary schools earlier this week, teachers are expected to incorporate 10-14 hours of AI education into the Information and Communication Technology subject for junior secondary students, starting this September.
Students will learn basic concepts of AI, computer vision, computer speech and language, robotic reasoning, AI ethical issues, and the resulting social impact. They are also expected to present two group projects on the subject.
The content of the curriculum is based on the AI for the Future Project, an AI education project for secondary students launched in 2019 by the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Students will be taught how to create pictures and write letters using mirror sites of ChatGPT, such as Poe, as the OpenAI chatbot is not available in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong government revealed that it would incorporate AI into the curriculum for junior secondary students in January this year.
“By incorporating (AI) into our education, students will understand the impact of innovation & technology (I&T) in improving daily life and promoting social and economic development,” said Education Bureau Principal Assistant Secretary (Curriculum Support) Edith Tse at the time.
This development comes after the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology created its own version of ChatGPT for all university members to use from June 1.
The University of Hong Kong currently permits only staff to use the chatbot “for work and research-related purposes” on a trial basis until June 30.
Header image credits: urbancow via Canva