Artificial Intelligence and the Impact of Computing

1 Explain what is meant by machine learning. 3

One mark for each of the following, to a maximum of 3.

• The system is given a large amount of example data
• It finds patterns in that data rather than following rules written by a programmer
• It can then apply what it has learned to new data it has not seen before

Model answer. Machine learning is an approach to artificial intelligence in which a system is given a very large amount of example data rather than being given rules by a programmer. The system adjusts its internal values so that it becomes better at producing the correct answer for those examples, effectively finding statistical patterns in the data by itself. Once trained, it can apply those patterns to new data it has never seen before, for example classifying a photograph it was not trained on. Importantly, it has no understanding of what it is looking at, only patterns that correlate with the right answer.

2 Explain why an artificial intelligence system might produce biased results. 4

One mark for each of the following, to a maximum of 4.

• The system learns from training data
• If that data is unrepresentative or reflects past unfairness, the system learns that
• The system reproduces those patterns in its output
• This happens without anyone intending it, and the output looks objective

Model answer. An AI system does not have rules written for it. Instead it learns patterns from its training data, so whatever is in that data shapes how it behaves. If the training data is unrepresentative, for example a facial recognition system trained mostly on light skinned faces, the system will simply be less accurate on the groups that were underrepresented. If the training data reflects past human decisions that were unfair, such as years of recruitment decisions at a company, the system learns those patterns too and continues to apply them. What makes this particularly dangerous is that nobody has to intend it: the bias arrives through the data rather than through anyone's prejudice, and because the output comes from a computer it can appear objective and mathematical, so it is trusted more than a human decision would be.

3 Give one advantage and one disadvantage of using AI to mark student work. 4

One mark for each of the following, to a maximum of 4.

• Advantage: marking is much faster
• Advantage explained, such as students getting feedback sooner or teachers having more time
• Disadvantage: it may not understand an unusual but correct answer
• Disadvantage explained, such as unfair marks or students learning to write for the machine

Model answer. An advantage is speed. An AI system can mark thousands of pieces of work in the time it takes a teacher to mark a handful, which means students receive feedback while the work is still fresh in their minds rather than a fortnight later, and it frees a great deal of teacher time for actual teaching. A disadvantage is that the system does not understand the subject, it recognises patterns, so an answer that is correct but phrased in an unusual or original way may be marked down simply because it does not match what the system learned to expect. Over time this risks teaching students to write for the marking system rather than to think clearly, which is the opposite of what education is for.

4 Discuss the impact of increased automation on employment. 8

One mark for each of the following, to a maximum of 8.

• Automation removes some existing jobs
• Gives a specific example such as checkout staff or warehouse workers
• Automation also creates new jobs
• Gives examples such as maintenance, programming or data roles
• The new jobs often need different skills from the jobs lost
• The people who lose out are often not the people who benefit
• Considers benefits such as lower prices, safer work or higher productivity
• Reaches a supported conclusion with a suggestion such as retraining or support

Model answer. Increased automation clearly removes some existing jobs. Self service checkouts have reduced the number of cashiers needed in supermarkets, warehouse robots have replaced pickers, and automated systems have taken over much routine work in factories and call centres. At the same time automation creates new roles, including engineers who design and build the systems, technicians who maintain them, programmers who develop the software and analysts who work with the data they produce. The overall number of jobs in an economy has historically not collapsed because of automation. The real difficulty is that the jobs created are not the same jobs, do not need the same skills and are frequently not in the same places. A supermarket cashier made redundant in a small town does not simply become a robotics technician, because that requires qualifications, training and often relocation, and the areas that lose the most routine work are often those with fewest alternative employers. So the costs fall on specific people who did nothing wrong, while the benefits go to shareholders and to consumers generally. Those benefits are genuine: automation lowers prices, increases productivity and removes people from work that is dangerous, repetitive or damaging to health, and few would argue for putting humans back into the most hazardous factory roles. Overall, automation should not be resisted, because the productivity and safety gains are real and the alternative is simply falling behind. However, it cannot be treated as automatically fine either. Governments and employers have a responsibility to fund retraining, to give reasonable notice, and to support the regions most affected, because otherwise the pattern is that society as a whole gains while a specific and largely powerless group pays for it.

5 Explain why an AI system that generates written answers should not be relied on as a source of factual information. 3

One mark for each of the following, to a maximum of 3.

• It produces text that is statistically likely rather than verified as true
• It can therefore state incorrect information confidently
• Answers should be checked against a reliable source

Model answer. A text generating AI produces each part of its answer because it is statistically likely to follow what came before, based on patterns learned from enormous amounts of text. It has no mechanism for checking whether what it is producing is actually true, and it does not know what it does or does not know. As a result it can state completely incorrect information, including invented statistics, references and quotations, in exactly the same fluent and confident tone it uses for correct information, which makes errors very hard to spot. Anything important that comes from such a system therefore has to be checked against a reliable independent source before it is used or repeated.