2019 Artificial Intelligence & Global Education Report

HolonIQ’s Annual Report on the State of Artificial Intelligence in Global Education

24 May 2019

AI is the fastest growing advanced technology segment in education globally. Our annual deep-dive is 88 pages of AI market data from Pre-K to Lifelong Learning.

Set for Growth and Impact.

AI adoption in education will explode over the next five years and is expected to reach global expenditure of $6b by 2025. Much of the growth will come from China followed by the USA, together accounting for over half of global AI education spend.

5 core applications underpin uses of AI in student acquisition and support through to assessment, learning and job placement. We see strong growth in some of these applications with key players growing within and across markets as education institutions adopt AI driven services and report positive impact from adoption.

AI Adoption Hotspots.

HolonIQ analysts have sifted through the thousands of companies reporting the use of artificial intelligence in their services, identifying 400+ organisations that have AI applications at the core of their offering in the education and talent market.

Hotspots of AI use in education are in the Knowledge cluster, where AI is supporting both personalised knowledge finding and knowledge creation processes. There is deep use of AI in specific areas of learning process – particularly games and simulation, voice recognition, robotics and STEM education. Language Learning, testing and student acquisition have historical strength in AI use, while talent acquisition and performance management areas are seeing increased uptake and impact from AI applications.

5 Core Applications.

Vision-based AI applications, such as facial, gesture and gait recognition, are being used in everything from identifying learner engagement to campus security and access.
Voice recognition sees uses from pre-k reading support, voice-based classroom helpers to language learning and chat-bot solutions for Q&A.
NLP is embedded into language learning solutions and moving into core academic and assessment processes given the volumes of text-based material. Interesting developments in assessment feedback processes using AI are likely to move mainstream.
Algorithms are being used in personalised learning solutions which are becoming standard, especially in online learning contexts.
Hardware-based AI includes robotics, smart devices on campus, in labs and classrooms, connecting the physical and digital environments in new and smart ways.

On the Institutional Radar.

Just over half of educational institutions are planning or have already adopted artificial intelligence solutions in their organisation. Results from HolonIQ’s Global Executive Panel show that the vast majority of leaders from pre-k, K12 and vocational and higher education institutions are either actively watching or actively pursuing AI initiatives.

Of those that have deployed AI solutions, value is being created predominately in learning processes followed by student support and identity/security. The full report – 2019 Artificial Intelligence & Global Education – identifies the market map of AI solutions across each of these areas of impact.

AI Ecosystem Growth.

Use of AI in education is part of the broader development of artificial intelligence use in most industries.
We see a significant growth in AI ecosystem activity including – AI job openings, AI patents, AI mentions on earnings calls, AI-related academic research publications (particularly vision and pattern recognition), AI conference attendance and AI related undergraduate and post-graduate enrolments.

While AI patent activity has been on the rise for the last 15+ years, the majority of other activity has seen significant upswing since 2015, breaking through into social consciousness over the last 3-4 years when AI visibly reached consumer applications.

Govt. Policy Moves.

McKinsey estimates that AI has the potential to deliver additional global economic activity of around $13 trillion by 2030, or about 16% higher cumulative GDP compared with today. Securing this economic growth, combined with the soft power an AI leadership role will bring any nation, makes it a major social and economic policy priority.

Governments around the world have identified the potential for AI as a competitive element for their future workforce and economy. As part of the report – 2019 Artificial Intelligence & Global Education – we have surfaced 35 countries’ AI strategies from around the world representing 90%+ of Global GDP to provide context for how education provides the engine for AI research and training.

Related Research

Education-as-Usual. Likely but not preferred.

6 June 2019.

Of the 5 Scenarios for Education in 2030, Education-as-Usual is least preferred but most likely according to 5000+ educators, entrepreneurs, leaders and investors from 30+ countries who have contributed to the Education in 2030 Project.