On May 16, the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Education, jointly sponsored by China and UNESCO, opened in Beijing. Government representatives from more than 110 countries and officials and scholars from various international organizations, education, and research institutions gathered to explore the planning of education in the artificial intelligence era.

At the conference, the International AI and Education Exhibition showcased the latest products of "AI + Education" such as "WISROOM XueErSi Smart Classroom Solution," "XueErSi Online AI Teacher," and "Paper and Pen Smart Classroom," receiving praise from participants.

XueErSi's founder and CEO Zhang Bangxin attended the conference and delivered a keynote speech on "providing the most suitable education for every child."

CCTV News Channel "24 Hours" footage: Zhang Bangxin, founder and CEO of XueErSi, delivers a keynote speech

Key points:

XueErSi has always adhered to two educational concepts: from a macro perspective, it insists on helping to promote "fairer and higher quality education," and from a micro perspective, it upholds the fundamental aspect of moral upbringing in education and provides the most suitable education for each child.

AI technology offers new possibilities to deconstruct "teaching" and "education" around the core principle of "student-centered" to realize each child's maximum value to society. 

XueErSi has achieved progress in three areas: Classroom Revolution with large-scale personalized teaching driven by holographic data; Dual-Teacher Education through the integration of online and offline resources; and Joyful Learning using interest-oriented educational models.

Looking to the future, XueErSi has three suggestions for the education industry: open cooperation; ethical considerations; and focus on the essence.

The future of education still requires the combination of "artificial intelligence + human wisdom." The essence of education is love, not technology; emotional communication, the transmission of love, and the collision of souls are not things that AI can change.
 

The following is the transcript of the speech:

Respected leaders, guests, good afternoon!

In the era of artificial intelligence, profound changes are taking place in all fields of the economy and society. In the field of education, the content of courses, teaching methods, teacher-student relationships, and school forms are undergoing profound changes. In such an era, as a company that has always had the mission of "using technology to promote educational progress," we deeply feel the opportunities and challenges.

We are deeply aware that only by striving to use technology to provide wings for education, can we cover more high-quality educational resources to a broader area. Nevertheless, we also know that no matter how technology changes, the nature of education does not change. The mission of education to inherit culture, create knowledge, and cultivate talents will not change.

Allow me to report on XueErSi's thinking and practices:

1. XueErSi has always adhered to two educational concepts

Idea 1: From a macro perspective, it insists on helping to promote "fairer and higher quality education."

The report of the 19th National Congress pointed out, "Strive to ensure that every child can enjoy fairer and higher quality education," and one of the United Nations' sustainable development goals is to "provide inclusive and equitable quality education." Equitability needs to minimize differences in location, wealth, and other factors in order for children to have an equal and homogeneous educational opportunity. Quality needs to make children more efficient and better in terms of literacy and learning to relieve the burden of learning.

Idea 2: From a micro perspective, it insists on moral upbringing and provides the most suitable education for each child.

AI can better deconstruct "teaching" and "education" around the core principle of "student-centered." Specifically, "(teaching + education) x AI." Where "teaching" is about imparting knowledge, delegated to AI; and "education" is about cultivating character, assisted by AI. "Teaching" is the foundation, and "education" is the goal; "teaching" is the path, and "education" is the target.

2. XueErSi's three practices

1. Classroom Revolution: large-scale personalized teaching driven by holographic data

Big data and AI help us open the "black box" of the learning process. Through the analysis and processing of student learning data, a digital image is formed, greatly enhancing the accuracy, scientific nature, and applicability of learning evaluations.

In 2018, XueErSi collaborated with the Shanghai Education Commission to pilot a project at the Luyuan Primary School in Shanghai. Through paper and pen classroom tools, student behavioral tracks were restored, and student behaviors were accurately recorded. Based on this data, we can not only understand in real time what students have learned and how well, but also discover students' abilities and shortcomings to help them discover their potential, laying a solid foundation for large-scale personalized teaching using data. Using data to promote personalized teaching is the direction of educational development.

2. Dual-Teacher Education: integration of online and offline resources for sharing high-quality educational resources

XueErSi hopes to realize large-scale, low-cost, high-quality teaching services through science and technology, truly promoting educational equity and accessibility, benefiting more people.

In regions such as the Ningxia "Internet + Education" demonstration area, XueErSi utilizes the WISROOM teaching system to provide AI foreign teachers to teach and solve problems like a lack of English teachers and inaccurate pronunciation. In the past year, through methods such as dual-teacher live broadcasts and AI teachers, 14,000 students and 4,000 teachers in 8 impoverished counties in 4 provinces have benefited. Not only can children in the mountains enjoy high-quality educational resources and services like those in Beijing and Shanghai, but their teachers can also receive remote teaching and research and guidance, fundamentally solving the problem of uneven distribution of educational resources.

3. Joyful Learning: interest-oriented educational models

In the future, education is a way for people to find happiness and joy.

XueErSi has opened up WISROOM to dozens of training schools. They can use our AI course services for their students. Data tells us that students who take AI classes have higher engagement, satisfaction, and lower refund rates, and enjoy learning and attending classes more.

Education in the industrial age often leaves people feeling frustrated because teachers cannot remember all the data about every child and tend to interact more with a few students in the classroom. AI classrooms motivate students; oral expression duration is greatly improved, which is more conducive to nurturing children's confidence and engagement.

The goal of our education when we were young was "education changes destiny," but the future goal of education is more about "education finds happiness." Whether you want to find happiness or change the world, education is the best path.

Three suggestions from us

First is open cooperation. Today's education progress is not only the responsibility of teachers or educators. Internally, thousands of teachers, teaching research and content development staff from XueErSi, along with thousands of product technology researchers and scientists, are collaborating. Externally, XueErSi has already established joint laboratories with domestic and foreign universities such as Tsinghua University, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Stanford University to explore the application of technology in educational settings. XueErSi is also willing to share its educational achievements and scenes with more educators and researchers to create better science and education products together.

We call for people's satisfaction with education, and the best way is for the people to participate in it. Good education is not just the responsibility of the government, but also the common goal of the whole society. Future education should not distinguish between internal and external systems, between public and private systems, between online and offline, between domestic and international. Educators, scientists, entrepreneurs, and people from all walks of life around the world can work together to create a balanced and equitable future-oriented education.

Second is ethical considerations. XueErSi is collaborating with UNESCO to initiate a research project on technology ethics, aimed at exploring the deep reasons for the conflict between new technology and traditional education, and attempting to propose positive solutions. We also call on society to be more tolerant of new things and give more time to consider ethical issues from the perspective of the nature and development goals of education.

Third is to focus on the essence. The future of education still requires the combination of "artificial intelligence + human wisdom." AI is not meant to replace humans but should be combined with humans to empower education. The essence of education is love, not technology, and education always involves emotional communication between people, the collision of souls, and the transmission of love.

Four, adhering to the original intention, creating a better future for everyone

Adhering to the original intention of moral upbringing, driving large-scale personalized teaching with data, and using AI technology to discover students' potential, stimulate their interest, cultivate their habits, and realize their value, striving to create a better future for everyone is our goal.

Under the framework of an agreement signed with UNESCO, XueErSi has pledged to use AI technology to open some courses to impoverished children, disabled children, and refugees around the world in the next few years, fully assisting global educational equity. Additionally, XueErSi will jointly research with UNESCO on how to scientifically evaluate student learning outcomes and comprehensive abilities using AI technology.

Finally, thank you to UNESCO, the Chinese Ministry of Education, and the Beijing government for your concern and guidance in the development of XueErSi. Thank you all!