Schools must swot up on AI

Summit told of urgent need to regulate

- BY SEAN MURPHY

IRISH schools face a “homework apocalypse” due to the unregulated nature of AI, a leading expert warns.

Speaking at the Learnovation 2025 Summit in Dublin’s Aviva yesterday, AI expert Rita Bateson said schools here face being overwhelmed if they do not enact policies to govern its use.

She said the world must not “make the same mistakes we did with social media - being so slow to regulate it”.

Separately, it was also claimed that Ireland now has an opportunity to become a global leader in insuring that AI is “implemented thoughtfully and ethically in education”.

In Ms Bateson's keynote talk at the summit, she warned: “We are in a homework apocalypse.

“While AI has many benefits, especially for students with special education needs, it has also created a situation where some teachers are turning away from homework entirely.

“It's now so difficult to detect AI work. You might sense it but if you're going to accuse a child of using AI, especially in a high-stakes assessment, you need to be completely sure.”

Ms Bateson is the cofounder and director of education at Eblana Learning, which provides AI guidance for international schools and teachers.