Generative AI empowers the ＂three dimensions＂ of ideological and political work in colleges and universities
□ Jin Xue (teacher of Shanghai Jiaotong University, "National Network Education Master" of the Ministry of Education)
Report to the 20th CPC National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that the comprehensive network management system should be improved to promote the formation of a good network ecology. The rapid development of Internet and media has reshaped college students’ consciousness, information acquisition, lifestyle and communication channels. Generative AI, represented by ChatGPT, has triggered technological changes and spawned new formats and applications. The Internet has become an important position for college students’ ideological and political education. On August 15, 2023, the Interim Measures for the Management of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services jointly issued by the National Internet Information Office and other seven departments was officially implemented, which is also the first normative policy for the generative artificial intelligence industry in China. How to face up to the technical impact, do a good job in value guidance, and explore the application of generative AI artificial intelligence in ideological and political work is an important task facing society and universities.
Generative artificial intelligence uses deep learning, natural language processing, big data, computer vision and other technologies to generate new text, images and other content according to the input data or conditions. It generates massive creative content at an unprecedented scale and speed, helps scientists and researchers discover new patterns and laws from huge data, and provides new possibilities for research and innovation. However, there are some challenges in the application of generative artificial intelligence. For example, because it relies on training data and algorithm models to make decisions and predictions, some unexpected or wrong results may appear. In addition, it is difficult to define the copyright ownership of articles, dialogues or stories generated by language models, and even ideological problems may arise.
Facing the complicated new environment and new technology, as network aborigines, college students have a certain foundation of network media literacy, and there is a circular relationship of mutual promotion between generative AI and ideological and political work in colleges and universities. Through the synergistic effect between them, the personalization, intelligence and effectiveness of ideological and political education can be realized, and the innovative development of talent training in higher education can be promoted.
First, expand the breadth of content support. The network provides more abundant educational resources for ideological and political work in colleges and universities, and obtains massive educational information, including political theory, historical events, cultural knowledge, typical cases, etc. These resources can provide more comprehensive and in-depth support for ideological and political education in colleges and universities. Through practice and innovation, generative AI trains the model in a variety of ways to improve its robustness, which can help college students better perceive and understand the information content in the network media. In addition, traditional ideological and political work is mainly spread through classes, lectures, posters, etc., but it is often limited by time, place, personnel and other factors. AI provides more possibilities for channel diversification and cloud-based scenes. Colleges and universities can use generative AI to build intelligent education system, counseling system, question-and-answer system and social system to improve teaching effect and quality. It can also be combined with virtual reality technology to realize interactive and immersive teaching experience, innovate and optimize the ideological and political work mode, enhance students’ participation and sense of gain, and improve service accuracy.
Second, enrich the depth of the media field. Aiming at college students’ network information search and analysis ability, artificial intelligence can provide personalized media content recommendation according to users’ interests and preferences, which is helpful to improve user experience and reduce the problems of information overload and information island. Strengthen the cultivation of college students’ critical thinking of network behavior, learn to think independently and distinguish the authenticity of information, so as to avoid being influenced by inaccurate or misleading information. With the rapid development of media convergence, using AI’s intelligent recommendation system, natural language processing, intelligent editing and writing, intelligent voice and image processing, intelligent data analysis and prediction, virtual reality and augmented reality, we can realize personalized content recommendation, data analysis and prediction, and create rich media experience, so as to enhance the competitiveness of traditional media and college students’ online media experience. At the same time, relying on the convenience of the network, it can provide more flexible educational forms for the ideological and political work in colleges and universities, such as webcasting, online courses, data cloud library, etc., which is closer to students’ life and study. Generative AI also involves many disciplines, integrating innovation in computer science, psychology, media studies, journalism and linguistics, and colliding with more teaching methods.
Third, improve the validity of educational evaluation. Ideological and political work in colleges and universities refers to the education on ideological and political theory, laws and regulations, morality and ethics, etc. The purpose is to cultivate students’ correct ideological concepts, moral concepts and legal awareness, and improve their comprehensive quality and sense of social responsibility. In today’s complex and changeable social environment, the importance of ideological and political work in colleges and universities is becoming more and more prominent, and the ways of education development are becoming more and more diverse. Exploring its internal relationship and influence mechanism can help college students better adapt to and cope with the challenges of the network media environment, and enhance the times, flexibility and effectiveness of ideological and political education in colleges and universities. In addition, generative AI provides a more convenient and optimized interactive platform and more scientific and efficient learning evaluation for ideological and political work in colleges and universities. Based on data analysis and prediction technology, it can understand students’ personal information, ideological status and behavior performance, quantify and evaluate students’ learning behavior and learning achievements, and generate reports such as ideological status analysis and health management suggestions, which provide scientific basis for the improvement and optimization of ideological and political education in colleges and universities.
With the emergence of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, the media pattern and communication mode have undergone profound changes, and the path of ideological and political work for college students has become more diverse. Generative AI has brought a new track for ideological and political work in colleges and universities, but its development and application are also likely to cause new challenges such as the loss of educational subjectivity, the digitization of educational relations, and the lack of specialized talents. Therefore, colleges and universities should not only actively use the advantages of technology empowerment, but also pay attention to preventing potential risks, and constantly explore new modes of ideological and political work in colleges and universities that meet the requirements of the times. Fully understand and embrace the changes brought by generative AI, gradually integrate new artificial intelligence technologies into practical applications and teaching links, build a safer, better, more effective and richer communication field, and help the high-quality development of ideological and political work in colleges and universities.
This article is a phased achievement of the research project of Shanghai Jiaotong University’s ideological and political innovation and development in 2024, "Research on the influence of generative AI on ideological and political work in colleges and universities" (project number: DFY-SJ-2024003).
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