By VINCENT OWINO

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Millions of African children without access to the internet are missing out on growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education to boost learning.

And this may widen an inequality that is already stemming out of the technology’s proliferation globally.

A host of studies conducted across the globe reveal that AI can improve learning outcomes in several ways, but as it stands, not every child is able to access such tools even as more innovators deploy them across the globe.

As more innovations that apply AI in education crop almost every day, African children who can barely access the internet may remain at a disadvantage, even as pupils from wealthy families and countries use it to improve their performance.

A new survey by London-based policy consultancy Public First reveals that students in international baccalaureate (IB) curriculum schools are mostly aware of AI and a majority use them frequently, including in their schoolwork.

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Based on the findings of the study, which polled over 10,000 students aged 13 to 18 across the globe, including in Africa, 82 percent of teenagers know what AI is and can define it, and 77 percent have used the technology including in their daily academic work.

A majority of the young have positive opinion of AI use in education and believe that it can be a force for good both in their studies and general lives.

However, the study shows, even in such schools that cost an arm and a leg in fees, this positive opinion dwindles in less developed countries compared as students in countries with higher human development index (HDI) show more optimism in AI use compared to those in low-HDI.

Yet, the children in low-HDI countries are more likely to agree that AI use would enhance their education compared to those in more developed nations. Experts contend that children in less developed parts of the world such as East Africa have more to gain from AI deployment in education than those in developed parts of the globe.

“The biggest opportunity that AI presents right now is in reaching the very many children whom we are not able to reach with sufficient teachers and teaching material,” said Emmanuel Manyasa, executive director at Nairobi-based education policy thinktank Usawa Agenda.

But with millions of children in the region unable to access the internet gains from AI use in education will remain a pipe dream to them and their families. According to Dr Manyasa, this is proving to be one of the greatest drawbacks to using AI tools in education.

“To the extent that AI will improve learning, it will also widen the gap between those who can access it and those who can’t. That is a significant negative of AI as currently deployed and used in education,” he told The EastAfrican.

East Africa currently has some of the world’s largest proportions of population without access to internet, putting such AI tools out of reach for the many children in the region.

In Burundi, 88 percent of the population has no access to the internet, while in South Sudan, 87 percent are unconnected, according to the latest statistics published by US-based digital media monitoring firm Meltwater.

Uganda has 73 percent of its population unconnected to the internet, DRC 72 percent, Tanzania 68 percent, and Kenya 60 percent.

In a recent study, the International Monetary Fund said the low AI readiness which is attributed to the lack of adequate requisite infrastructure, knowhow, and awareness in low and middle-income countries, is likely to widen global income inequality as higher-income countries benefit more from AI proliferation across the globe.