In an interview with The Guardian, AI expert Stuart Russell said the rising use of the new technology that is spreading rampantly could mean the end of teaching as we know it: knowledge delivered by humans.
In the future, there may be fewer teachers, or possibly none at all, employed by schools.
Russell, a computer scientist based at the University of California, Berkeley, speaking in Geneva at the UN’s AI for Good Global Summit, expressed the opinion that AI technology could potentially deliver “most material through to the end of high school.” He added that he thought humans would still play a role, but it probably would not be in front of a roomful of students. More likely, behind the scenes as support.
Even without Russell’s dire predictions, some education departments are already alarmed about the incursion of AI and have banned the use of ChatGPT, citing negative impacts on student learning and misinformation concerns. AI chatbots are known to “hallucinate,” or invent facts; this is especially concerning at a time in history when fighting against “fake news” and “alternative facts” already seems to be a losing battle thanks in large part to a public that is both woefully under-informed and not concerned about truth.
Other higher education institutions have instead adopted a different approach. Realistically aware that there is no putting the genie back in the bottle, they have instead devised ways to control a responsible use of AI and to put it to productive use.
Recently, a group of UK colleges, which include Cambridge and Oxford, issued guidance aimed at allowing students and staff to capitalize on AI. Russell Group drew up the principles with backing from the vice-chancellors of 24 institutions. What’s more, esteemed Research Institutions such as the Australian Research Council, have sent out notices to their assessors instructing them about the acceptable uses of AI in the execution of their assessments and peer reviews.
The moves came after teachers and professors faced widespread instances of hard-to-detect AI cheating, leading some to adjust their curricular selections and assessment methods.
Not everyone agrees with Russell’s dire prediction. According to elearningindustry.com AI cannot replace teachers. But it can support their work in valuable ways: AI will free teachers from administrative burdens, give them insights on student development, and let them focus on what they do best – helping students grow.
Futurist Bernard Marr believes that the pessimistic predictions of a teaching corps without humans will never happen. Far from making humans obsolete in the classroom, as machine learning and AI continue to advance, human interaction will become even more important, he says.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, who instead thinks that “artificial intelligence could spark the greatest positive transformation education has ever seen,” able to potentially provide “a personal AI tutor for every student and an AI teaching assistant for every teacher”.
While that might indeed be a valuable asset in education, it would nevertheless be one that distinctly lacks the human element, and as Marr has stated, “Only teachers can truly understand the nuances of what is happening in their students’ minds in the classrooms.”
