Get comfortable using artificial intelligence, says Graeme Caplen, the CEO of Logan-based innovation enterprise UiLab, even if you don’t like the idea of it.
Because soon it will be “part of life”.
UiLab works closely with the community, specifically Logan schools and key industries like manufacturing and construction, to assess and educate how emerging technologies like AI, automation, and advanced manufacturing will impact the future.
“We’re doing a lot of work with teachers and education,” Mr Caplen said.
“We’ve got a series of sessions or courses that will take a teacher from no knowledge in AI and who may have a bit of anxiety [about AI] to pretty proficient use and a clear understanding of the opportunities of AI.”
These workshops are run at Marsden State High School, where students receive their own UiLab sessions that aim to prepare them for work environments and trades that will use robotics and automation.
“These days, the access to information, the speed at which it can be searched and contextualised, is unreal,” Mr Caplen said.
“If you’re not looking at it quite seriously, and you’re of working age or pre-working age, it’s going to be part of life, whether you like it or not.
“It’s going to it’s impacting every aspect of life, it’s super important to get comfortable with it.”
Mr Caplen said many teachers came into workshops with preconceived ideas and were often guarded about the task, not only learning but understanding these systems.
“The key goal is to get teachers comfortable with it, because often we find that fear of the unknown can hold people back, and teachers are working with students every day who are using these tools.”
“[By the end of the workshop] they realise the power of basic automations of day-to-day life, things that you repeat regularly,” he said.
“The systems are built to do a lot of those things really well, and if you know how to put the right guardrails around it, it can do a lot.”
The next UiLab run workshop, the third in a series of three about AI, will take place on 15 October and is free for any Queensland teacher to attend.
“Now we have a three-part series that goes through the AI basics and prompt engineering, then into ethical and responsible use of AI,” Mr Caplen said. “The third is about how we can help teachers build agents and assistants that give them time back in their week.
“I think teachers get a lot of get a lot of training, that doesn’t quite hit the mark, but we’ve really focused on getting teachers involved.”
