Quebec will create consultation body to study AI in higher education

Quebec has plans to set up a “national consultation body” to address issues related to the use of artificial intelligence in higher education as new tools raise concerns in the academic world.

The group will consist of representatives from schools, student associations and unions, as well as AI experts.

The objectives that will guide its work include “developing a common vision and defining basic guiding principles with regard to the responsible, ethical, sustainable and secure use of AI in higher education.”

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Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry said that since new technologies related to artificial and generative intelligence “are here to stay” and “evolve very quickly,” the government must stay on top of the latest trends.

“That’s why the creation of a national consultation body on AI seems essential to us today, in particular to better understand the educational and ethical issues linked to (its use) and to guide us in the direction to take as a result of this new reality,” she said in a statement.

Although AI isn’t new, tools that have appeared relatively recently, including ChatGPT and Gemini, have raised concerns in the education sector.

They can, among other things, “produce short essays, take exams, develop lesson plans, correct copy, answer questions, generate computer code, summarize texts, create new images or synthesize music,” according to a recent report by the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation and the Commission de l’éthique en science et en technologie.

These abilities have led to fears among experts over dangers related to misinformation, discriminatory bias, data opacity, risks for accessibility to psychosocial services and concerns about the protection of privacy.

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The report recommended creation of a consultation body that could “formulate guidelines concerning the use of generative AI.”

The new group must also “contribute to establishing strategic priorities,” “facilitate exchanges between the ministry and its network” and “contribute, through its expertise, to the development and implementation of certain AI-related initiatives targeted by the ministry.”

In response to the creation of the new group, the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec said it was satisfied that Déry followed up on the report on AI, which was the result of extensive consultations.

The FECQ said it hopes the higher education network will adopt a common vision on AI-related issues, since opinions on the use of the tools vary between establishments.

“It is inconsistent that in one CEGEP we’re taught the ethical use of ChatGPT while in another, the tool is referred to as ‘he who shall not be named,’ ” said FECQ president Antoine Dervieux.

The federation has already presented the demands it plans to make to the new body, including that establishments won’t systematically ban the use of AI by students.

In addition to wanting more cohesion surrounding policies between establishments, the federation wants students to be trained to ensure the ethical and honest use of AI and to ensure tools don’t become vehicles of disinformation.

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