Today, it's hard to name an industry that isn't affected by artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, and education is no exception.
From personalized learning to graded assistance and generative lessons, AI technologies, including generative AI, NLP, and robotics, are rapidly advancing education. These innovations, and many others, are driving the growth of AI in the education market, which is expected to be worth more than $80 billion in less than a decade. Although driven in part by the pandemic, advances in AI in education have also been driven by investments in edtech, digital transformation, and the future to ensure the employability of the next generation. In such an era of vigorous development of artificial intelligence technology, where will education go in the future?
In 2022, AI was valued at $2.5 billion in the education market and is expected to reach $88.2 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 43.3%.
Thirty-seven percent of men and 27 percent of women believe that the impact of AI on education is at least somewhat positive. As of March 2024, a large percentage of men and women (53% of men and 51% of women) believe that schools should teach children how to use AI.
The market for AI in personalized learning is expected to grow at a CAGR of 44.3% to reach $48.7 billion by 2030, up from $5.2 billion in 2022. AI helped 73% of students understand learning material better, enabling 63% to study more effectively.
As mentioned earlier, the use of AI in education spans many areas, including: personalized learning, automated assessment and planning, learning aids, and AI skills, including natural language processing (NLP), generative AI, machine learning (ML), and deep learning. This market was worth $2.5 billion in 2022. It is expected to reach $88.2 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 43.3%. A report by Allied Market Research states that the AI services segment of the market will show a faster CAGR of 45.6%, mainly due to the large amount of data and patterns collected. Deep learning and machine learning, the artificial intelligence technologies, are expected to grow the fastest in education and are expected to dominate by 2032, thanks to a focus on personalization and adaptability. However, NLP will grow at the fastest CAGR of 46.6%.
K-12 will also grow at a CAGR of 46.5%. As for the different market audiences, higher education accounted for two-fifths of the AI education market in 2022. The industry is also expected to dominate over the next decade. It's no surprise that statistics show that generative AI has the greatest impact in terms of automation possibilities for careers that require master's and doctoral degrees.
Given the growing popularity of AI in education, and the many news reports about ChatGPT being used for writing exams, it's no surprise that there are strong opinions about it – especially among educators and parents.
Perceptions of AI by different respondents
资料来源：Statista
In the United States, for example, an equal percentage (32-33%) believe that the impact of AI on education is both positive and negative. However, 17% of them believe that the impact on education is very negative. Perceptions of AI in education also vary by age and gender. For example, 37% of men believe that the impact of AI on education is very positive or somewhat positive. For women, the figure is 27%. Thirty-six percent of women believe that the impact of AI on education is negative, even very negative, compared to 29% of men.
Adult perceptions of the impact of artificial intelligence (Al) on education in the United States, by age group, as of March 2024
资料来源：Statista
As for age, Gen Z is the most popular in education, with 46% seeing this as a positive development. As for millennials and Gen Xers, the adoption of AI in education is 41% and 22%, respectively. Among those over 65 years of age, 43% believe that AI is a negative development in education.
Since K-12 education is one of the fastest-growing areas of AI use in the education market, it's important to take special account of people's attitudes toward it. As of March 2024, a large percentage of men and women (53% of men and 51% of women) believe that schools should teach children how to use AI properly.
Adult Perceptions of How U.S. K-12 Schools Should Respond to Al Progress as of March 2024 (by Gender)
资料来源：Statista
However, 19% of men and 23% of women believe that schools should do the opposite and focus on preventing the use of AI in education. Interestingly, the majority of people in every age group (at least 45%) agree that schools should teach students how to use AI instead of focusing on preventing it. However, 23% of Gen Z and 45-64-year-olds disagree.
The market for AI in personalized learning is expected to grow at a CAGR of 44.3% to reach $48.7 billion by 2030, up from $5.2 billion in 2022. This trend is not surprising, as achieving the right level of differentiated learning in large classrooms has always been a challenging task. By leveraging AI, educators are able to analyze each student's strengths and weaknesses and adjust their lesson plans accordingly. In addition, AI can also collect data on each student's learning patterns and overall trends, which can better guide the choice of educational methods.
In many ways, the accessibility of education goes hand in hand with personalized learning, as AI can make learning materials more accessible and understandable to different types of students. For example, text-to-speech AI can help visually impaired or students with learning difficulties. In fact, according to the Quizlet report, 73% of students understand learning material better and 63% learn more effectively because of AI.
As educators become increasingly overwhelmed, so does the pressure on paperwork and administrative tasks, and AI can alleviate this. According to statistics, more than 50% of generative AI has been automated. In addition, in the higher education sector, more than 63% of universities worldwide use AI-powered automation. This shift to automation is not surprising, and reducing the administrative burden on educators allows them to focus more on the educational needs of their students and have more opportunities to develop diverse instructional methods.
In 2023, there is the potential for automation in various industries with generative AI
Generative AI to develop courses has proven to be a popular application, as 38% of teachers report that generating lesson plans is their most important AI use case. 37% of educators also say it's crucial for them to generate tests and assignments with the help of AI.
Best AI Use Cases for Teachers in 2023
In today's digital age, artificial intelligence has become an important force in the field of education, bringing far-reaching impact and change to education. In this area, the application of AI covers several key areas, including personalized learning, accessibility and adaptability, automation of administrative tasks, and course generation. The development and innovation in these areas not only improves the efficiency and quality of education, but also provides more opportunities and support for students and educators. With the continuous development and maturity of artificial intelligence technology, the future of the education field will be full of more possibilities and hopes.
In recent years, there has been a surge of innovation in the edtech space, with the emergence of edtech companies that are driving the industry forward. In this dynamic environment, AI-focused edtech startups are showing great potential and impact. Here are some of the top edtech AI startups that are changing the way learning and education are being done through innovative technology and forward-thinking vision.
Rites
First, there's Riiid, a South Korean provider of AI edtech solutions. Founded a decade ago, the company surpassed the 1 million user mark in its home market in South Korea in 2017.
The startup's mission is to provide learners with new opportunities that enable them to achieve their goals through a data-driven scientific approach.
Since its inception, it has launched a number of AI edtech products, including R.Inside, an artificial intelligence-as-a-service (AIaaS) platform, and R.Test, an adaptive assessment platform. Riiid raised $256.7 million in funding after closing its last funding round (Series E) in May 2021.
Elsa
Artificial intelligence in language learning platforms is taking off, and this San Francisco-based startup is a great example of this.
In 2015, Elsa's product, Elsa Speak, was founded by Vietnamese immigrant Vu Van to help non-native English speakers speak English with confidence. It uses artificial intelligence technology to correct pronunciation.
Since its launch, Elsa has millions of learners in 195 countries. It recently launched an AI English tutor. In 2023, Elsa raised $23 million in a Series C funding round that will be used to develop and launch B2B products. Overall, Elsa has raised $48.3 million.
Amira
Amira Learning is a relatively young startup. The company's products are billed as "the world's first intelligent reading assistant", recommending appropriately challenging texts and assessing students' fluency and strengths and weaknesses. Its other products, such as dyslexia screeners, are also geared towards adaptability.
Founded in 2018, Amira Learning is used by more than 2 million people in 15 countries and supports students and teachers. The company provides diagnostic data to help educators make the best decisions about their students' needs to improve reading skills. Amira Learning closed its final round of $22 million in 2022 and currently has a total of $40.3 million in funding.
Cognii
Finally, the oldest startup on this list. Cognii was launched in 2013 to provide AI solutions for K-12 and higher education. Its NLP-centric technology provides assessment solutions tailored to open assessment, tutoring solutions, adaptive learning sequences, online course design, and many other aspects of EdTech. Cognii received a total of $1.1 million in funding, and their last funding round was an $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in 2018.
The momentum of AI in education is exciting, showing exciting trends and potential. Immersive learning, data-driven decision-making, and the uptake of AI skills will be key elements in leading the transformation of education. These trends will reshape the face of education, providing students and educators with richer, more personalized learning experiences, smarter, more accurate instruction and decision support. As technology continues to evolve, there will be more innovation in the field of education, pushing the boundaries of learning and development to expand.
First, advances in AI in education will go hand-in-hand with augmented reality and virtual reality (VR) to create seamless, immersive learning opportunities. AI can analyze how students interact with the VR environment and tailor scenarios that address their weaknesses or support their strengths. For example, with machine learning techniques, AI-powered simulations can be adjusted based on student responses. This adaptability can manifest itself in providing challenges that are tailored to their skill level. In addition, this simulation will become more realistic and context-rich thanks to artificial intelligence. From allowing students to experience historical events to allowing them to experiment with scientific phenomena, the future of AI in learning offers countless possibilities.
In addition, the use of AI-driven personalized learning can also lead to better decision-making. AI allows educators to use the data provided to create better lessons, instructional strategies, and resource allocation. By analyzing student performance data, metrics, and demographic trends, AI can identify areas for improvement, predict outcomes, and inform evidence-based interventions that can have a huge impact on students with special needs. AI-driven analytics platforms will become more sophisticated, integrating data from multiple sources and delivering actionable insights in real-time.
Of course, any innovation should be introduced with caution, and the application of AI in education is no exception. As the infographic shows, not everyone agrees that AI skills should be taught to the next generation. However, most people believe that learning AI skills is important for the future. As AI becomes more prevalent in many industries, society will need more experts who can develop, deploy, and manage AI solutions.
Should K-12 students learn AI skills
Therefore, teaching AI skills should be one of the most important use cases for AI in education. To address the AI skills gap, many years of AI training programs have emerged, although they are primarily aimed at adult learners. But this is just one of many trends in AI in education, reflecting a growing recognition of its potential and the need for skilled labor to drive innovation and progress.
With the continuous advancement of science and technology, the application of artificial intelligence in the field of education has shown great potential and continues to promote the development of the education industry. From personalized learning to automated assessments to curriculum generation, AI is changing the way education is done at an astonishing rate. In the future, with the ubiquity of AI immersion learning and data-driven decision-making, education will become more flexible, efficient, and better meet the needs of students. Artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to play a leading role in transforming education, driving humanity towards a smarter, more inclusive, and more innovative future of education.