Students from Tsinghua University Affiliated Primary School jump rope while artificial intelligence devices analyze their exercise intensity and provide suggestions. (Photo provided to China Daily)
Journalist and biographer Fan Haitao is preparing to release a new book about children in the age of artificial intelligence, although she has not yet decided on a final title.
For the past three years, since her daughter started school, she has been following developments at the centuries-old primary school affiliated with Tsinghua University.
Her project has already attracted the attention of commentators and publishers, thanks to her previous best-selling biographies of influential IT entrepreneurs Lei Jun, Zhou Hongyi and Kai-Fu Lee.
As readers speculate about the next business visionary in China’s current economic climate, Fan has shifted her focus to exploring the AI-driven era.
“I was apprehensive when the AI wave hit and worried about its impact on my daughter and my career. That’s when I decided to look into how the education sector is navigating the AI era,” she said.
Fan shared her insights exclusively with China Daily.
Her story is crafted with professional finesse, weaving her personal research into the prestigious school and presenting the perspectives on AI from several professors at Tsinghua University.
The details of AI implementation in education have yet to be fully explored, but schools are actively experimenting with different approaches.
Her firsthand observations of AI’s impact on education began when she noticed her daughter’s determination to wake up early and practice skipping rope at school.
She was amazed until she discovered the intelligent AI project on the school’s campus, which records the number of jump ropes each child makes and displays the data on an electronic billboard. The database can help students assess their performance independently.
“The overall performance of the class is also shown, and it is fascinating to see how each child competes for the honor of their class, which ultimately improves their physical fitness,” she said.
The school is strengthening its efforts to develop a major language model with thematic teaching, inspired by director Dou Guimei, a nationally recognized top language and literature teacher.
“She hopes that the theme model will benefit current education reforms and be implemented in schools in Lhasa, Xizang Autonomous Region, and Fuzhou, Fujian Province,” Fan said.
In the first chapter of her book, she highlights the school’s dedicated efforts in AI-assisted educational trials and the director’s commitment, which reflects the spirit of inquiry among the Chinese people.
The vivid portrait of the director and the efforts of her team underlines that the primary school affiliated with Tsinghua University is not an isolated case.
Many schools in China are experimenting in this area because, as Fan puts it, “The future of AI development has enormous potential and is showing strong development momentum.”
