Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of using non-deterministic AI in (a) marking, (b) admissions and (c) behaviour prediction on (i) schools and (ii) universities.

The department aims to use evidence-based technology to reduce the time teachers spend marking, planning and form filling so their drive, energy and passion is fully focused on delivering change for children. The department provided £2 million funding to support Oak National Academy to develop artificial intelligence (AI) tools for teachers. Oak has launched an AI assistant called Aila that helps teachers create personalised lesson plans and resources in minutes, saving them hours each week.

In August 2024, the department announced the Education Content Store, a joint pilot with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, aiming to make the underpinning content and data that are needed for great AI tools available to developers. In parallel, the department has launched innovation funding to encourage developers to make use of the content store and stimulate the market to create high-quality marking and feedback tools.

Universities are independent and autonomous bodies responsible for decisions such as admissions, course content, teaching and assessment. They are responsible for designing and implementing their own policies and approaches to the use of AI as well as for taking steps to detect and prevent any form of academic misconduct by students including the misuse of AI, as set out in the Office for Students’ regulatory framework.