The pressure on educators to provide diverse, up-to-date, and engaging learning materials is immense. This isn’t new for teachers and one of the main reasons why my district joined the #GoOpen movement many years ago. But, creating and updating OER has been time and resource-intensive. But no more, thanks to artificial intelligence(AI).

AI's capability to generate educational content is nothing short of revolutionary. AI systems can already create textbooks, lessons, and activities tailored to specific curriculum guidelines and learning objectives. This new technology has significantly expanded the availability of OER, and has provided teachers and students with unprecedented access to customized learning materials.

Beyond content creation, AI can also play a crucial role in curating and recommending OERs. By analyzing a student’s performance data and interests, AI can suggest resources that are most likely to be beneficial. This personalized approach not only enhances the learning experience but also ensures that each student receives the most relevant and effective educational materials.

The Evolving Landscape of AI and Intellectual Property

While the potential of AI in education is immense, it's crucial to acknowledge the complexities involved. One significant concern is the lack of accountability in AI contributions. Unlike human authors, AI cannot be credited, critiqued, or engage in scholarly discourse. This raises questions about how to attribute credit, especially when AI-generated content is based on data derived from human-authored texts.

In light of these considerations, it's more accurate to view AI as a tool aiding the research and writing process rather than a collaborator or co-author. When using AI in scholarly work, it's essential to acknowledge its role, but this doesn’t typically translate into listing AI as a co-author. This perspective aligns with the current norms and practices in AI and data science.

The legal and ethical landscape surrounding AI and intellectual property is still developing. Governments and courts worldwide are grappling with how to regulate AI and apply existing laws to this new technology. In this context, educators and creators using AI for generating educational content need to stay informed about the best practices and guidelines.

One of the questions often asked is, what copyright or Creative Commons license do I use when creating materials using AI?

The following is taken directly from the Creative Commons website:

In the current context of rapidly developing AI technologies and practices, governments scrambling to regulate AI, and courts hearing cases regarding the application of existing law, our intent is to give our community the best guidance available right now. If you create works using generative AI, you can still apply CC licenses to the work you create with the use of those tools and share your work in the ways that you wish. The CC license you choose will apply to the creative work that you contribute to the final product, even if the portion produced by the generative AI system itself may be uncopyrightable. We encourage the use of CC0 for those works that do not involve a significant degree of human creativity, to clarify the intellectual property status of the work and to ensure the public domain grows and thrives.

CC0 indicates that the person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

It's worth noting that these norms and practices can, and most likely will, change over time. As AI becomes more sophisticated, we will certainly need to rethink some of these conventions. But for now, I believe AI can have an incredible impact on the way teachers create and curate personalized learning materials for their students. I also believe AI will continue to revolutionize the way teachers leverage OER in their schools.