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Artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad and rapidly evolving field of computer science, fundamentally focused on creating systems and machines that can perform tasks typically requiring human intelligence. These tasks span a wide spectrum, including complex cognitive functions like understanding spoken language in various accents and contexts, accurately recognising faces in photographs or real-time video, making reasoned decisions based on vast amounts of available information, or solving intricate practical problems in areas like logistics or diagnostics. For instance, when your smartphone’s map application intelligently recalculates your route in real-time due to unexpected traffic, it’s AI at work. Similarly, the AI embedded in your email client diligently filters spam, your word processor corrects spelling and grammar, online shopping sites suggest products you might genuinely like based on your browsing history, and sophisticated search engines can even help you find educational courses precisely tailored to your career aspirations and existing skill set.
In the dynamic world of adult education, AI is no longer a futuristic concept but an increasingly integrated and valuable tool. Many online learning platforms now leverage AI to personalise the educational journey. This includes suggesting courses that align with a learner’s past achievements and future goals, providing targeted support and supplementary materials to learners who might be struggling with specific concepts, and offering interactive exercises and simulations that adapt in difficulty based on each individual’s learning speed and demonstrated progress. In the workplace, AI’s role is also expanding, assisting adults by automating routine and time-consuming tasks, thereby freeing up human workers for more complex and creative endeavours. AI can also help in efficiently sorting and analysing large volumes of information for better decision-making, or offering sophisticated real-time language translation services, which are invaluable for multinational teams collaborating across linguistic divides.
Generative AI (GenAI) stands out as a particularly special and exciting subfield of AI. Its primary and defining purpose is to create new, original content that did not exist before. This generated content can manifest in diverse forms, such as coherent and contextually relevant text, unique and imaginative images, novel musical compositions, or even engaging video clips. Unlike other types of AI that might focus on classifying existing information (like distinguishing between fraudulent and legitimate financial transactions) or performing complex calculations, generative AI makes entirely new things.
For example, by providing a generative AI tool with a concise instruction (often called a “prompt”), you could see it write a fresh paragraph of text for a blog post, create a striking illustration based purely on your verbal description, or even compose a short, original piece of music in a specified style. Popular and widely accessible examples that you might have encountered include ChatGPT (often powered by models like GPT-4o, GPT-4.5 or newer) for its versatile text generation capabilities and tools like DALL-E (integrated within ChatGPT) or Midjourney for their remarkable ability to create images from textual prompts. These sophisticated tools operate by learning intricate patterns and relationships from massive datasets – comprising billions of words, images, and other data points – and then skilfully applying this learned knowledge to generate novel content that aligns with the user’s specific request.
The practical applications of generative AI in adult education are numerous and impactful. Educators can utilise these tools to rapidly draft initial versions of lesson materials, create varied example quiz questions to test understanding, or generate clear and accessible explanations of complex topics, carefully adjusted to suit their learners’ existing knowledge and comprehension levels. Adult learners, in turn, can employ generative AI as a personal study assistant to help them summarise dense study materials into concise notes, rephrase complicated instructions or academic texts into simpler, more understandable language, or create personalised sets of practice questions to rigorously test their own knowledge and identify areas needing further review. For adults returning to formal learning after a significant break, perhaps after many years dedicated to their careers or family responsibilities, these AI tools can offer invaluable personalised support, flexibility in how and when they learn, and a means to bridge potential knowledge gaps more effectively.
It is critically important, however, to remember that AI and generative AI are not infallible or magical solutions. They are sophisticated tools, conceived and built by humans, and trained on data that is itself collected and curated by people. Consequently, their usefulness and reliability are directly dependent on how thoughtfully, critically, and responsibly they are used. Both educators and learners must cultivate the habit of always reviewing content generated by AI, meticulously checking it for accuracy, relevance, potential biases, and overall suitability, especially when this content is intended for important tasks in academic or workplace settings, or when it’s used to support other learners.
CONNECTING AI TO BROADER GOALS: THE HER[AI]TAGE PROJECT
An interesting example of how AI can be harnessed for significant and positive societal goals is the HER[AI]TAGE project. This project thoughtfully aims to utilise AI technologies to help document, preserve, and actively promote Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH). ICH encompasses a wide range of living traditions, expressions, and knowledge passed down through generations, such as traditional stories and oral histories, unique crafts and artisanal skills, and profound local knowledge about nature and the environment – also known as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). The HER[AI]TAGE project places a particular focus on capturing and safeguarding the TEK held by older community members (typically aged 60 and above) concerning local ecosystems, such as the intricate knowledge related to rivers like the Drava, Mura, and Danube.
Imagine the possibilities: using AI to generate vivid illustrations for ancient folk tales that have only existed in oral form, or employing AI voice synthesis technology to create engaging audiobooks where elders share their invaluable memories and practical knowledge about traditional fishing methods, sustainable farming practices, or the historical changes they’ve witnessed in their local environment. Such applications not only help keep this precious heritage alive but also make it accessible and engaging for new generations and a wider global audience.
Employing AI in projects like HER[AI]TAGE also directly aligns with several key priorities of the European Union (EU). These include the promotion of cultural diversity and understanding, support for environmental sustainability (for instance, by using AI to create engaging educational content about pressing environmental issues and conservation efforts), the crucial enhancement of digital skills for all citizens to thrive in a modern economy, and the fostering of greater inclusion by making learning materials and cultural resources more accessible to people of all abilities and backgrounds. The EU AI Act, which entered into force in August 2024, with initial provisions (such as those on prohibited AI practices and the requirement for AI literacy among staff dealing with AI systems) becoming applicable from February 2025, further underscores the EU’s commitment to ensuring AI is developed and used responsibly and ethically. Historically, adult learners have sometimes been an overlooked demographic in broader societal discussions about AI and its transformative potential. This course, alongside inspiring endeavours and projects like the HER[AI]TAGE project, endeavours to rectify this oversight. It aims to showcase practical, effective, and ethical ways AI can be integrated into adult education, thereby empowering both educators to enhance their teaching and learners to achieve their full potential. If adult learners are not actively included and supported in navigating the GenAI revolution, they face a significant risk of being left behind in a rapidly evolving job market and an increasingly digital society, potentially leading to digital and economic exclusion.
PRACTICAL EXAMPLES
- An adult learner preparing for a professional certification exam uses a generative AI tool to create a personalised study schedule. They input their exam date, the topics to be covered, and their available study time per week, and the AI generates a structured plan with suggested daily tasks and revision milestones.
- An adult learner is struggling to understand the complex language and structure of an official government document required for a funding application. They utilise a generative AI chatbot, providing it with the document text and prompting it to produce a concise summary of the main points and requirements in plain, simple language, making the information much more manageable.
- An educator is preparing an engaging workshop on local cultural traditions as part of the HER[AI]TAGE project’s outreach activities. To stimulate thoughtful discussion, they ask an AI tool to generate five open-ended discussion questions exploring the importance of preserving oral histories and the challenges faced in doing so in the modern age.
- A workplace trainer is tasked with improving the conflict resolution skills of a customer service team. They use generative AI to create a diverse set of realistic customer complaint scenarios for role-playing exercises, allowing employees to practice their communication, empathy, and problem-solving skills in a safe environment.
- A language teacher is working with a group of adult learners on appreciating local folklore. They use an AI model to translate a short, culturally significant folk story (perhaps one collected through HER[AI]TAGE interviews) into English. They also prompt the AI to provide simplified explanations for idiomatic expressions or culturally specific vocabulary within the story, thereby supporting learners whose first language is not English and enriching their cultural understanding.
- An adult learning centre implements an AI-powered system within its online learning platform to monitor how learners are progressing in a course focused on environmental awareness and sustainable practices. Based on quiz performance and engagement with materials, the AI recommends supplementary videos, relevant articles, or interactive modules tailored to each individual’s identified needs and interests.
- Within the HER[AI]TAGE project, a key activity involves bringing intangible heritage to life. AI could be employed to create evocative, AI-generated illustrations based on the detailed narratives and descriptions provided by elderly community members about their local river’s history, folklore, and traditional uses, thus creating a visual archive that complements the oral one.