With the introduction of artificial intelligence or AI, the whole world is asking the same question in a different manner. “Should humans be replaced by AI robots?”
Many are actually seeing this happening in near future where others are still freaking out at Facebook AI robots incident.
Facebook had to shut down an experiment when two bots developed their own language and started talking to each other.
While some people and scientists are still iffy on the subject, people are all set to welcome AI at schools.
So now we have a new debate in our hands, should teachers be replaced by AI robots or not? Let’s discuss the positives first.
Positives/ Should
• Bots Are Way More Efficient Than Humans
This is sort of given; robots will always be much more proficient than an average human teacher could ever be. On the one hand, we have a human teacher who when and if pays attention to specific students could be labelled biased.
We can expect from robots that they could pay extra attention to those weak students who need it the most and no will bat an eye.
• Better Analysis Than Humans
There is no argument against it if loaded by perfectly good working software; there is no match in analytics of robots.
Where going with the idiom “to err, is to human”, humans are anticipated to make mistakes and when it is a matter of our children’s future, should we be taking chances?
Robots can make learning fun by analysing student response to various topics and styles and developing new techniques on the basis of results.
• It Can Take The Extra Burden Off Teachers’ Shoulder
More often than not, teachers complain about being overburdened due to a large number of students in one class. That day can be predicted even today when robots will teach an entire class alone. However, what can be expected is, bots playing as wingmen of teachers in the classroom.
Whether it is a nature’s call or an emergency call or checking tests, AI robots would help the teacher out in any of the classroom chores. This extra help will provide teachers with a much-needed sigh of relief and tutors could be able to pay extra attention to students.
As per a study conducted by IEEE, many teachers were surprised by the how much helpful AI Robots can prove to be in the classrooms.
• Robots Can Do Clerical Chores Quicker And Better
When a person adopts teaching, the person knows that s/he is expected to do the cleric errands of the organisation too. Robots can not only take over these nominal tasks but will do them with higher accuracy and quicker than an average human.
It will cut the educator a slack and educator will be able to concentrate on the job, s/he was hired for, teaching!
• Better Results
When education will be based on pure numbers and analysis, the results will surely get better. The teacher will be able to plan ahead for each student, their strengths, weakness and their field of interest.
Negatives/ Shouldn’t
• No Job Will Be Safe
So, by being practical, for instance just assume, we have replaced all the teachers from elementary and other schools, what’s next? Whose job is safe then? Plus, what will happen to all those unemployed teachers?
As reported by International Labour Organization (ILO), in the year 2018, world unemployment rate is set to fall by 1% after seeing a rise in previous three years.
Are we willing to let this growth slip once again, by replacing human teachers with AI robots?
• In What World Robots Will Be Mentors?
Teachers’ job is not limited just to the teaching. A teacher’s job is also playing a mentor’s role in students’ life.
Teachers share an informal, sacred bond with their students, where they help their pupils in releasing psychological pressure, by talking to them, time to time. The emotional support providing by a teacher will ever not be replaced by a programmed machine.
How we will expect a robot to handle a child who is being bullied as well as the child who is bullying the child? The emotional comfort will be ripped off the students.
We have a whole blog written on the subject of bullying if you are interesting, read it here.
• It Will Be Pushing Our Children Too Deep Into Virtual World
We are already surrounded by a black hole of virtual world which is sucking the real life out of our society, atom by atom.
If we will replace our teachers with the robots too, the future no doubt will be bright, it will only be virtual not a real one.
We have virtual societies, virtual money, virtual pets and now virtual lives; can we afford to have virtual children too?
• One Malfunction And Results Will Be Devastating
It is now a fact that children’s mind are like sponge, they absorb very quickly. When we are replacing teachers with artificial intelligence loaded robots, we are exposing our children to machines, which can make major blunders, just because of one little bug in the system.
Any terrorist organization or anti-social group can hack these machines and can load as much nonsense in their minds as they can, should be play a hand that big?
• Handling A Classroom
Yes, robots will be a huge success in teaching certain lessons, but how will they cope up when a five year old Susanne will start crying in middle of the class, because she thinks her hands are too small? How the robots will handle a physical fit between a Ronnie and a Ronald over a cupcake?
Scientists can program all they want but running a class is not everyone’s cup of tea. It is funny that even many humans are not able to handle the pressure of a classroom as per figures released by the Government of England, one third of teachers leave their jobs within five years of qualifying for it.
Bottom Line
Truth is, technology is bliss and can be used to increase the student safety in schools for now. However, replacing teachers with robots will not be in the picture for next fifty years.
