Alison has worked in the Early Years for 40 years, as a nursery manager, early years teacher, and even an Early Years Development Officer for a Local Authority. Nowadays, she’s a procedure and policy genius, helping settings navigate everything from Ofsted, the EYFS, and safeguarding, to schemas, and behaviour and wellbeing. Alison even sat on the panel to award our first children’s champion winner.
AI, or artificial intelligence, is technology with the ability to ‘think’ and learn for itself. Very simply, AI-driven technology can complete tasks, make decisions, and improve over time without needing new programming or human input.
Traditional AI can make decisions within a set of rules. Traditional AI cannot create anything new, or ‘think’ outside the lines of the rules programmed into it by a human.
Generative AI can learn and use information and data from humans, and also create texts, images, and other content. Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, are the ones that Alison thinks could help us out the most.
Alison explains that utilising new and unfamiliar technology, like AI systems, can be overwhelming for some people, especially for those of us in the Early Years sector.
Alison offers this interactive learning experience when going into Early Years settings to support. As Alison shows the team how to use AI in early education, educators can see the potential benefits before they have a go themselves.
"We sit side by side at the computer," explains Alison, "We open ChatGPT first and people are absolutely blown away, once they're in."
And, if you're not sure where to start, you can have a go at many AI-powered platforms for free. "I would definitely recommend the free version before you get the paid versions," advises Alison.
However, there are limitations to how much you can rely on AI. Alison explains that AI like ChatGPT is trained on older information, so it might not be completely up-to-date in terms of policies and procedures or current data-driven insights.
Security should also be top of mind when experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI). Tools like Famly's Sidekick utilise AI in a secure environment, essential for protecting data about children.
If you're looking for a deeper dive into AI in the Early Years, check out our free guide.
"I would not be a fan of bringing AI into toys," says Alison.
As much as Alison is a fan of how AI assists adults, real-life play is essential for how we support children. Human interactions are key to personal, social, and language development for young children in a way that AI just cannot replicate.
While AI has the potential to streamline some of the more administrative tasks in Early Years, the high-quality education and care of the youngest children is best left to humans. The sweet spots for AI are in the office - nothing replaces a skilled, qualified educator in the classroom.
"Nobody's going to replace us," reassures Alison. "There's never going to be robots looking after children."
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