On 16 July 2024, University World News published an article focusing on the Higher Education Sustainability Initiative (HESI) Global Forum which took place the previous day in New York on the theme The Future of Higher Education for Sustainable Development.
The article discusses the role of artificial intelligence in advancing the SDGs and higher education. Jonghwi Park (Academic Program Officer, UNU-IAS) provided comments on the opportunities that AI offers for higher education as well as the need to minimize risks and inequality issues it may pose. She stressed the important role higher education should play in informing our society on challenges and potential benefits around these emerging technologies.
Jonghwi Park, head of innovation and education at the Tokyo-based United Nations University Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability (UNU-IAS) warned: “The world is feeling very divided about AI,” including regarding sustainable development. While there is appreciation of how AI can provide personalised tutoring for students and many other functions, there is also concern that such services will focus on students speaking one of the world’s major languages such as Chinese, English, Spanish, Hindi and Arabic. Park warned that this could accelerate “the extinction of minor languages”. She explained: “This is where higher education comes into play with leadership to inform our society on how to maximise the potential of AI by minimising the risks and inequality issues that AI may pose to humanity.”
The full article is available on University World News website.
