UK high school to replace teachers with AI tools
David Game College will launch a pilot program on September 20, 2024, that will replace teachers with AI tools like ChatGPT.
Students around 15 years of age will use artificial intelligence for a year before taking their General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams.
READ: More schools promote learning with ChatGPT
Article continues after this advertisementJohn Dalton, co-principal of the fee-paying school, told Business Insider that AI-enabled learning will give students more time to master topics. Soon, more countries will likely test this system, so it’s wise to see its potential.
Can modern AI replace teachers?
A school in London is launching the first #AI-driven 'teacherless' classroom. What do people think? I am a bit dubious if I am being honest, and will be watching with interest to see how it unfolds ⬇️https://t.co/nRSaYM59Y0#AINews #EdTech #edutwitter
— Emma Cate Stokes (@emmccatt) August 12, 2024
“Students will benefit enormously from AI-powered adaptive learning,” Dalton claimed. They will spend afternoons in a “diverse support curriculum” with the following courses:
- Learning how to debate
- Starting a business
- Developing entrepreneurial skills
- Exploring artificial intelligence
- Gaining financial literacy
- Participating in creative activities like painting and cooking
The co-principal said that David Game College has “humanized the AI learning process by creating a holistic and engaging educational experience.”
Article continues after this advertisementStudents can continue interacting with teachers, and the system does not judge them. “Instead, it allows them to learn at their own pace in a safe environment,” Dalton stated.
“We also strongly believe that this approach will enhance student confidence as they achieve subject mastery, which in turn will improve their mental health,” he added.
However, other educational experts shared the technology’s limitations in education.
“While AI can be a valuable supplement to live teachers, it cannot replace them entirely,” Hadida Grabow, a director at the educational consultancy Higher Learning Group.
She admitted there are “promising examples” of AI-powered learning tools, like Google’s Socratic. However, “We are not seeing anything that could replace a quality educator.”
Karl Knapp, dean of the business school at the University of Indianapolis said AI systems can “hallucinate.” In other words, artificial intelligence programs can fabricate information that students are unlikely to “fact-check every utterance.”
Moreover, AI systems can’t judge a student’s tone of voice or facial expressions, which Knapp said were “key indicators of student understanding when teaching.”
Nevertheless, the AI scheme to replace teachers will start next month. More importantly, people outside the United Kingdom should prepare for this technology entering their school systems.
