26 February 2020 | 11:20 - 11:40 | Reinventing Learning for the Future: A World of Virtual Reality and AI Avatars
The convergence of virtual reality (VR) with artificial intelligence (AI) will have a profound impact on education and society. These new developments are creating extraordinary opportunities to transform learning with innovative virtual simulations and personalized virtual tutors. But they will raise significant challenges, from practical questions of cost and accessibility of immersive technologies to complex ethical issues that come with intensely realistic virtual environments and life-like digital avatars. What digital literacy, media competence, and cognitive skills will our students need to live in a future where the virtual can masquerade as reality? Could AI-driven avatars eventually seem more helpful than humans? More trustworthy? We may not have to answer these questions, but our students will. As educational leaders, how do we reinvent learning to prepare them for a future that is radically different from the world we know today?