Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

AI likely to see end to traditional classroom says leading expert

31 replies

noblegiraffe · 07/07/2023 11:22

Reported in the Guardian.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/07/ai-likely-to-spell-end-of-traditional-school-classroom-leading-expert-says

No, no it won't.

I'm not sure what he's a leading expert in, probably trying to flog edtech to schools.

The huge issue that he has not mentioned once in his article is AI can't get the kids to do the fucking work.

So much time and effort is spent in schools setting up routines, rewards, sanctions and behaviour management, in order to get kids to do the fucking work.

Sit a kid in front of a chatGPT computer? A large percentage will piss about and not engage at all.

Teachers - I suspect your job is safe here.

AI likely to spell end of traditional school classroom, leading expert says

Exclusive: Prof Stuart Russell says technology could result in ‘fewer teachers being employed – possibly even none’

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jul/07/ai-likely-to-spell-end-of-traditional-school-classroom-leading-expert-says

OP posts:
Appuskidu · 07/07/2023 11:40

This also would rely on all the children being given a computer that worked well enough to run any sort of AI! After the lockdown laptop debacle where schools were given half the laptops they needed and half of them were faulty or locked and the children under year 3 weren’t given one at all, my hopes are not high.

My school has enough laptops so they can share 1 between two for ONE class at a time (ie 15 laptops). Wi-Fi doesn’t connect on all of them and if they aren’t plugged in, they conk put completely. It’s going to take a shed load of investment to get this up and running and keeping them maintained and will probably be far cheaper to just pay teachers properly.

Squishedstormtrooper · 07/07/2023 11:44

I worry we are getting closer and closer to the movie wall-e. I’m sure if they could pay minimum wage to someone to point masses of kids towards a screen without public outcry they would. Really hope it doesn’t come to this… it’ll get to the point where there’s no point in the qualifications as there’ll be no jobs at the end of it.

MyMachineAndMe · 07/07/2023 11:47

Not to mention of course the kids' emotional needs - those who come from chaotic homes or who have had a whole host of problems and issues and where school is their safe place but they don't have the brain space left over to be able to learn. Ai can't replace the work of a teacher and ta there.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General education
Lonelyplanet · 07/07/2023 11:49

Parents are just going to love this! Homeschooling but no teachers to bash. If it didn't require me loosing my job I'd love to watch from afar...

BallantyneValentine · 07/07/2023 11:54

Hahahahahaha

There was always this possibility discussed in my third level role that online teaching would see the end of in class bums on seat eventually. Then covid hit……. Our senior leadership team couldn’t get those bums back on seats fast enough. It was a disaster with very limited exceptions. AI will not replace face to face learning as so much learning is done between peers and with teachers dynamically responding to individual students needs and creating a circumstance that engenders motivation and opportunity for students to apply themselves to their module.

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 07/07/2023 11:59

MyMachineAndMe · 07/07/2023 11:47

Not to mention of course the kids' emotional needs - those who come from chaotic homes or who have had a whole host of problems and issues and where school is their safe place but they don't have the brain space left over to be able to learn. Ai can't replace the work of a teacher and ta there.

Well yes, indeed. During covid there was lots of talk about how kids needed to be in school for their social and emotional wellbeing, to interact in real life with other kids. Plus all the work that schools do with safeguarding, SEN, SEMH

Techbros now insisting that kids will be learning from their bedrooms are totally ignoring that schools are not just there to beam information into kids' brains.

OP posts:
Thelnebriati · 07/07/2023 12:08

Although I technically had my own room my brother used to trash my stuff, and that's also common for kids in care.

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 07/07/2023 12:10

This also would rely on all the children being given a computer that worked well enough to run any sort of AI!

There are currently trials of online exams being run. Online exams! How the hell do they expect schools to be able to get all of Y11 and 13 online to sit an exam?

OP posts:
Original poster
noblegiraffe · 07/07/2023 12:11

I mean, our school Wi-Fi can't even cope with a class trying to log in at the same time.

OP posts:
Beezknees · 07/07/2023 12:13

Absolutely agree. Kids wouldn't behave for an AI teacher! I think Covid has shown how much we value face to face education.

stargirl1701 · 07/07/2023 12:20

We just had a global experiment in online learning a few years ago...it was not a success!

borntobequiet · 07/07/2023 12:46

Hopefully the system, if properly designed, won’t tell a child how to make a bioweapon. I think that’s manageable

That’s a relief.

Flossiemoss · 07/07/2023 12:50

Ha. How’s it going to get them to behave?
think he both over estimated kids capacity to sit and engage as op says and underestimated how resourceful they can be for mischief. Wouldn’t be trusting a group of tech savvy 16 yr olds there.
although ai is creeping in- I have heard of kids trying to use it in exams. (Not sanctioned)

Tsuipen · 07/07/2023 12:53

Given that when you give a Y7 class the instruction ‘Where it says email address you need to put [email protected]’ and write the same thing on the board and they STILL set up accounts with .com or add school to the school name or just spell the name wrong. I don’t have much hope for them coping.

RedToothBrush · 07/07/2023 12:55

The issue here is who has the ear of politicians, who makes money from this and is it cheaper that traditional education?

Not whether it's any good or fit for purpose.

AnOrange · 07/07/2023 12:55

People seem very inclined to move from "we could do this with AI" to "we should do this with AI" without any thought or argument.

PuttingDownRoots · 07/07/2023 12:57

When it snowed last winter DD had a couple of lessons where they were in the classroom with a cover supervisor and teacher was at home... even that wasn't as successful as having the teacher in the classroom!

LacieLane · 07/07/2023 12:57

noblegiraffe · 07/07/2023 12:11

I mean, our school Wi-Fi can't even cope with a class trying to log in at the same time.

And in our rural schools, the head teacher can't even log on...

Rocket1982 · 07/07/2023 12:58

I work at a uni and I think jobs are more at risk from AI in HE than in schools. In HE there's far less behaviour management.

RoyalImpatience · 07/07/2023 13:13

Well unfortunately chat gpt is being used by students and the ai detector doesn't work.

LittleLegsKeepGoing · 07/07/2023 13:16

noblegiraffe · 07/07/2023 12:10

This also would rely on all the children being given a computer that worked well enough to run any sort of AI!

There are currently trials of online exams being run. Online exams! How the hell do they expect schools to be able to get all of Y11 and 13 online to sit an exam?

My daughter did computer science for her GCSE this year and the examination system crashed for 2 hours when they tried to log in.

Even in companies like mine when we do volume testing for mandatory learning our limit is 2,000 simultaneous learners. That's in the private sector and robust server management.

I really can't see the education system upgrading their server capacity to handle this at all. I imagine there were less than 2,000 students trying to sit the WJEC computer science exam this year and it was a clusterfuck, translating that nationwide seems about as probable in terms of success as me being an astronaut.

KatherineofGaunt · 07/07/2023 23:14

They won't be in their rooms at home, but schools will become a set of big halls with children sitting at individual tables like in exams with unqualified supervisors roaming around. All the kids will be plugged into their individual laptops and have the learning adapted for them by the AI.

I can see it coming. Maybe not 10 years from now, but possibly within my lifetime. Where will the money come from? Well, by not requiring qualified teachers, having mega classes of 200 or more in one room with just a few supervisors, not requiring schools to buy books or pencils or other equipment or do photocopying etc.

The thought horrifies me. But I really can see it happening. Already several schools I regularly visit are "teaching" lessons that are little more than children sitting looking at a PowerPoint then going away to work on their individual worksheet.

stbrandonsboat · 07/07/2023 23:52

Ds2 did his entire secondary education online and it was fine. You have to want to learn though. Social opportunities can be found within the community.

Plasmodesmata · 07/07/2023 23:56

Well AI can set the lessons and the kids can get other AI to do the answers and nobody will actually learn anything.
I read that article and thought "there's a man who hasn't been a teacher."

toochesterdraws · 08/07/2023 00:08

If, as we are increasingly told, AI can do everything for us, perhaps some computer somewhere will decide that there's no point in kids learning anything at all.