SDAIA's Command Engineering Guide to Education: A Roadmap for the Future

The Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), represented by its Artificial Intelligence Studies Center, has launched the third edition of its comprehensive guide, " Command Engineering in Education." This pioneering step aims to create a professional roadmap that integrates technological innovation with ethical values ​​within the Saudi Arabian education system. The guide addresses the rapid advancements in generative artificial intelligence, which began with the GPT-3 model, transforming these technologies into a transformative force capable of understanding natural language and generating creative and analytically accurate texts that support the educational process.

Historical context and digital transformation in Saudi education

This initiative from SDAIA comes within the framework of Saudi Vision 2030, which prioritizes digital transformation and building a knowledge-based economy. Over the past few years, the Kingdom has made rapid strides in integrating emerging technologies into education, from e-learning platforms to the adoption of artificial intelligence tools. The launch of this guide is a direct response to the urgent need to regulate the use of these technologies and ensure their safe and ethical application, guaranteeing that technology's role extends beyond mere instruction to empowering human creativity and developing analytical skills in both students and teachers.

What is command engineering in education and how does it work?

Experts at SDAIA explained that Prompt Engineering is the process of designing and refining the inputs directed at Large Language Models (LLMs), with the aim of guiding their behavior towards generating high-quality and reliable outputs that perfectly align with educational objectives. The mental model for this technique is based on four key principles: defining the objective, designing the command, evaluating responses, and adopting the final result after iteration and refinement.

To ensure that “good policy” is formulated in the educational field, the guide identified three essential pillars that must be present:

• The clear task: to define precisely what is required of artificial intelligence.
• Educational context: Providing a clear background that helps the model understand the targeted educational environment.
• Setting expectations: Establishing precise standards for outputs to ensure they align with the curriculum.

Innovative methodologies for ensuring the quality of smart educational content

The guide outlined six systematic approaches to guiding intelligent models, ranging from direct commands to a "command sequence" that breaks down complex tasks into interconnected steps. The publication also addressed two main methodologies:

First: The “PARTS” methodology: It is a practical strategy for building commands that includes five elements: identifying the persona, the goal, the audience, the tone, and the structure.

Second: The “CLEAR” methodology: which imposes solid standards in formulation, stressing that it should be concise, logical, explicit, adaptive, and reflective to ensure the production of knowledge of real value.

The impact of artificial intelligence on teachers, students, and people with special needs

The application of artificial intelligence tools has a significant local and regional impact on improving the operational efficiency of schools and universities. For teachers, the guide helps alleviate administrative and academic burdens by automating assignment assessment, summaries, and the design of customized activities, allowing them to focus on human aspects such as inspiration and motivation.

Students can use command-line engineering as a smart assistant to summarize complex material, improve academic writing, and generate practice tests for effective revision. The guide also caters to students with special needs, offering the ability to adapt learning materials to different learning styles, convert texts into easy-to-read formats, and provide strategies for managing academic anxiety.

Guidelines for responsible use and combating digital hallucinations

Experts at the Saudi Data & Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) warned of the phenomenon of "hallucination," which can occur in generative models by producing inaccurate data. They emphasized the necessity of rigorous human verification of the outputs. The guide stressed the importance of adhering to the guidelines of the National Center for E-Learning and SDAIA's Personal Data Protection System, along with the requirement to disclose any AI-generated content and to educate students about the dangers of academic plagiarism. The guide concluded with recommendations for building national capacity through intensive training programs for teachers and administrators to ensure they keep pace with international developments in this vital field.