AI in Education: A Systematic Literature Review

Introduction

The use of technology in education dates back to the emergence of 1^st generation computers and their subsequent updated versions (Schindler et al., 2017). Teachers were seen using computers in teaching, researching, and recording students’ grades and in doing other things. Similarly, students, among other things, made use of computers in studying, researching, and solving problems. Also, computers have been used as an educational resource (analogous to a library or laboratory), as well as a means for maintaining databases of student information. (Jones, 1985). The use of technology in education is far advanced with the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI); a system where machines are designed to mimic humans. Artificial Intelligence is “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines” or “a machine that behaves in a way that could be considered intelligent if it was a human being.” (Mccarthy, 2007).

This expression Artificial Intelligence (AI) was first coined by John McCarthy at the Dartmouth Artificial intelligence conference in 1956. Leading researchers from different disciplines converged to discuss topics on the abstraction of content from sensory inputs, the relationship of randomness to creative thinking, and others that developed the concept around “thinking machines”. Most participants envisaged the possibility of computers having capabilities to mimic the intelligence of human beings, but their biggest question was how and when it would happen. Currently, Artificial Intelligence is developing and spreading over every part of the world at an alarming rate (Tegmark, 2015). It plays an increasingly important role in our daily life. As the introduction of AI and Machine learning is catching on with many people, its use in different devices, applications, and services are becoming widespread (Zawacki-Richter et al., 2019). Applications such as Google duplex (chat agent that can carry out specific verbal tasks, such as making a reservation or appointment, over the phone) and FaceApp, which uses AI to identify persons that are tagged in other photos in Facebook are some AI applications and services. Other intelligent appliances such as autonomous vacuum cleaners are examples of AI applications. As indicated earlier, the use of AI in education cannot be overemphasized. Yuki and Sophia the humanoid robot are examples of AI applications in education (Retto, 2017).

AI is broadly categorized into two domains: the weak or domain-specific, which focuses on specific problems; and the strong or general with the ability to perform general intelligent actions. (Berker, 2018). Stephen Hawking’s and other researchers have proposed that the use of strong AI may lead to chaos and destruction of mankind, other AI researchers have propounded that the emergence of AI in education might displace teachers. In the context of this paper, we refer to AI as the Soft AI since machines currently have not assumed the capabilities to perform general intelligent actions.

Studies mainly in the Developed Countries have concentrated on challenges in the disruption of AI in Education whiles, the opportunities and benefits of AI in education have received infinitesimal attention. This study is one of the few that provides an integrated overview of the opportunities, benefits, and challenges that Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption presents to the educational discipline. And complementing it with the Technological-Organizational- Environmental (TOE) theoretical framework as a lens in discussing the challenges in AI adoption in Education.

The objective of the study is to analyze the existing state of the art in AI technology in education by investigating the challenges, opportunities, and benefits of adopting AI in education. The study seeks to review relevant studies to understand the current research focus and provide an in-depth understanding of AI technology in education to guide educators and researchers in designing new educational models. The study will also serve as a reference for future research in related works.

This paper is structured as follows: Section 1 presents the introduction and background to the study, followed by section 2 with the state-of-the-art on the types of AI systems in education, the challenges and opportunities, and benefits of AI in education and TOE theoretical framework. Section 3 presents the research methodology for the literature review, then section 4, where discussions of the opportunities, benefit, and challenges of AI adoption based on the literature review will be presented with a discussion of the practical implications of the findings, and finally, section 5, concludes with the future research topic and limitations of the research.