New South Wales high school students are learning from an IT curriculum that was published before Facebook was founded.
The NSW year 7 to 10 Information and Software Technology syllabus was introduced in 2003.
It's the fastest-growing field of education in the country, with data suggesting that in order to meet demand, Australia needs 60,000 extra workers a year over the next five years — a massive increase from the 7,000 students who graduated with an IT degree in 2019.
While the state government has ordered a curriculum review for all subjects, industry leaders say that without rapid and significant investment in education surrounding digital technologies like artificial intelligence, Australia will be in trouble.
"If we don't invest right now and big time, we absolutely risk being left behind here in Australia," CEO of peak body Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering Kylie Walker said.
"We know that there are nations around the world that are pumping a lot of resources into supporting the digital-skilled workforce of the future [and] we need to be part of that in order to be able to exploit those opportunities."
One school working to address the dated curriculum is Plumpton High School in Sydney's western suburbs, where technology is embedded across subject areas.
Students studying Italian learn to code robots to also speak the language.
This month the school hosted a US-designed program teaching students the fundamentals of artificial intelligence, as well as the social and ethical implications of the technology.
They've been taught to recognise digitally altered videos called deepfakes, which have previously been used to alter events including making politicians appear drunk.
"I think it will get to the point where people … don't know what's real, what's fake," year 8 student Ewen Neoh said after the training.
Fellow student Anna Cemone Nashid said: "In the end, I think everything will end up supporting and furthering artificial intelligence."
About 250 schools are signed up for the national The Day of AI program, scheduled for July 27.
While Plumpton High School is at the forefront, IT teacher Sudhir Jaswal said the state's curriculum desperately needed updating.
"The technology after two years is getting old," he said.
"It's in the process but it's [been] in the process for the last four years."
In May 2018, the government announced a comprehensive review of the school curriculum from kindergarten to Year 12.
According to the timeline, the K to 10 syllabuses will be delivered by 2024 and years 11 to 12 by 2025.
Chief Executive Officer of NSW Education Standards Authority Paul Martin said the 2003 IT syllabus incorporated aspects of artificial intelligence but agreed a greater focus was needed.
"The changes that have occurred over the last two decades mean that our syllabuses need to be able to respond appropriately," he said.
"There is contemporary content in those old syllabuses but it's not foregrounded enough, it's not prominent enough, [and] that's why the government has asked us to change them, to make sure that they are current."
