NATO DEEP eAcademy has recently launched a controlled testing phase of DEEPAIx with selected users directly on the ILIAS platform. This marks an important step in the development of a context-aware AI assistant intended to make everyday work in the learning management system more intuitive and efficient. Participants will use the assistant in practical platform scenarios and provide feedback on its usefulness, clarity and ease of use.
Unlike a standalone chatbot, DEEPAIx will respond to the place in which assistance is requested. It will take account of the current page or learning object, as well as the user’s role and permissions. The assistant is expected to explain platform functions, recommend relevant next steps and support tasks such as locating resources, organising courses, drafting content pages, and preparing tests or surveys.
For more complex requests, DEEPAIx may prepare a transparent, multi-step plan. Before any changes are made, the proposed actions and their target locations will be presented to the user for review. Execution will require explicit approval, and ILIAS permissions will be checked again at the moment of each action. AI-generated learning materials will remain offline drafts until reviewed and published by an authorised educator.
Safety and maintainability are built into the project’s architecture. The solution combines an ILIAS plugin with a separate AI service without modifying the platform’s core. Only the minimum context required for a task is shared with the assistant, while destructive operations and direct permission changes remain outside the current scope.
The current proof of concept is being tested on ILIAS 11.2. Feedback from selected users will help identify improvements, evaluate the assistant across different roles and educational scenarios, and guide decisions about further development. The project team will also continue expanding the range of supported learning objects and strengthening privacy, monitoring and security controls.
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