I wouldn't be surprised if some form of automated education becomes a big thing in the future, but this is just a shit idea right now meant to keep costs low and profits up.
this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2023
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I don't know about 'automated' education, but we 100% SHOULD have been using technology as an education AMPLIFIER for a long time already. No AI needed for that.
My wife is in education and spent over a decade teaching science at an alternative public school (the "You've fallen behind due to illness, pregnancy, or family issues, so come here to catch up" type, NOT the "You're a total delinquent, here's a 'prison classroom'" type) that did self-paced learning.
She had recorded a ton videos of herself teaching all of the various concepts/standards that were required by the state for her subjects. She also had assignments ready for the entire course, and labs which could mostly be done by the students with minimal direct interaction by the teacher.
So the kids would come in, check in with her on what was the next thing they needed to work on, then would watch the video on their Chromebook and then do the assignment or lab. She'd be there for them to ask her about anything they didn't understand, or for whatever help they needed.
There were of course some labs and assignments that they would schedule to be done by the whole class at a given time, when it was necessary, or made more sense.
So the kids who picked it up quickly could finish a semester worth of work and learning within a month or two, leaving her more time to spend helping the kids who were struggling with a given concept.
It also gave opportunities for the kids who had mastered a concept to be able to help those who hadn't.
I see no reason similar methodologies and technologies couldn't be employed at regular schools to amplify the ability of teachers to educate students and give the teachers more time to help the ones who weren't picking things up as quickly, without holding back the students who were.
I won't be surprised if what you are describing becomes how education is handled going forward for high school and college, but I don't think it will be a blanket solution for everyone.
I also think that the implementation of the technology will likely be done to reduce the reliance on qualified teaching staff rather than to free up their time.
Even as it is now, I could see it being good for some kids.
I certainly could’ve benefitted from a guided, fully-self-paced curriculum. I was bored off my ass in high school.
Like this, you could teach an entire high school and have a teacher:student ratio of like 1:200. Really just need SMEs annd a big computer lab, and that’s it.
But it’s definitely not for everyone. Most kids need more hands-on, especially with new topics. And there has to be human oversight (humans writing exams/quizzes and intervening if the AI is incorrect or ineffective).
The issue isn't the approach, it's the accuracy. AI are statistical models. They're not designed to give right answers. They're designed to give believable answers, which area occasionally correct.
So who knows what these kids are learning. It could be ridiculous inaccuracies like Columbus peacefully discovering America.
Or that the Civil War was fought over states rights. To do what, AI? The right to do what?
The same could really be said about human teachers as well, though. An AI is frequently confidently wrong but so was my history teacher.
Don't get me wrong, I think this is a terrible idea. But we were already vulnerable to misinformation with classical schooling. To use your example, we WERE taught that Colombus discovered the Americas peacefully. It wasn't until I reached college that I learned the truth behind the discovery and colonization of the Americas, and I only even learned it then by doing my own history reading. Up until that point I had been taught that Thanksgiving was celebrated in memory of the happy-fun-get-along-times that were had between the settlers and the natives.
Kids are already taught ridiculous inaccuracies on purpose and while I hardly think an idea like this would improve that situation, I have to point out that at least accidental misinformation would be less objectively evil than what we already misinform kids about.
Your history teacher is sometimes confidently wrong because they are subject to the biases of their time and culture. AI is sometimes confidently wrong because it literally is incapable of evaluating information to assess its factuality. I know which one I think should be in charge of teaching children.
have you asked an AI how to bake a cake?
It’s a piece of cake to bake a pretty cake.
You gotta do the cooking by-the-book.
WHAT?! YEAHHHH SKEET SKEET
hold on, i gotta pick up some fear and a few bowls of unmarked cubes first
No, the value of a computer based education is that you don't need SME's on site. Instead, you could get away with one home office developing the lesson plans, then distributing their work across a state. Specialty graders could be hired to handle anything that the computer can't grade.
The schools themselves would just have enough teachers that are the equivalent of substitute teachers keeping order.
Great! So this year’s tuition is $29.99 right? RIGHT?!
Tuition is $40,000 a year. Price said about 75% of their students are on some form of financial aid.
Sounds like a scam.
It's a headline, or soundbite.
"We don't have teachers," said Alpha private school cofounder MacKenzie Price. "Now, what we do have is a lot of adults who are in the room engaging with these kids, working as coaches. So they're helping the kids get clear on what are some goals that they're working on, what are they doing academically? What are they interested in? How can we really turn on that spark for learning?"
So they have teachers, they just aren't calling them that. Maybe they're not specialized or have the proper training, but they're still acting as teachers. Probably trying to fuck over the trained teachers though. That's our national sport.
Probably don't need to pay them as well because they aren't considered teachers.
I thought teachers aren't paid well in the US? Aren't most people complaining that they get far too little money?
Yes and the bit here is that they'd be getting paid even less after losing the 'teacher' designation.
They are paid more than zero, therefore this is an opportunity to pay them less I suppose ha ha. Capitalism.
Yes, exactly. So even less than that.
So just like Mal-Wart. No cashiers except the ones hanging around to fix the self-checkouts.
I dunno. I asked gpt4 if this was OK and:
"AI is a powerful technology that can enhance the learning experience for school children, but it cannot replace teachers entirely. AI can help with some aspects of teaching, such as personalizing instruction, providing feedback, creating content, and analyzing data. However, AI cannot provide the human touch that teachers can, such as mentoring, facilitating, empathizing, and inspiring students. Teachers are also essential for teaching students how to use AI responsibly and ethically, and how to think critically about its impact on society.
Therefore, the answer to your question is no, AI cannot teach school children without teachers. AI can be a useful tool for teachers and students, but it cannot substitute for the human element that is vital for education. Teachers and AI can work together to create a better learning environment for school children."
That's one way to cut costs and scam people out of money.
It's like 21st century fish oil
What could go wrong.
Absolutely nothing... according to the AI teacher - excuse me "guides"
Even the AI says this is a bad idea lol
ITT some people saying how good this could be.
Will they be the same people wondering where all the jobs are? How AI gets tweaked to offer a slanted instead of a factual and historically correct education?
Not saying im pro AI teachers, but don't curriculums in many place teach a slanted view already?
They absolutely do. However, humans aren’t monolithic, and there will be those that make some effort to be more accurate even when surrounded by those with an opposing agenda.
A single AI will likely be monolithic and can be reprogrammed if it shows any signs of dissent.
E:typo
And it won't turn whistle-blower when the state unilaterally changes curriculum when no one is looking.
Is this like one of those fake schools kinda like how Kanye West had a school?
This is horrible
Alpha private school leaders believe
they will make lots of money
So the premise of the Dune series is the Butlerian Jihad, where humans destroyed all "thinking machines" and declared that no machine would ever be made in the likeness of a human mind again. That's why everything's analogue, humans that can do computing in their head, etc.
But unlike what one might think, they didn't destroy thinking machines because AI robots had taken over (though his son Brian Herbert missed that memo). They destroyed thinking machines because, after humans had created AI, they were happy to offload any and all responsibilities and decisions. Humans turned to AI to make any decision, and at a certain point AI ran the galaxy, not because it had taken over, but because humans couldn't be bothered. They stopped learning, they stopped innovating, they stopped doing the things core to being humans.
So as I watch humans hand over more and more tasks and control to AI, apparently including teaching their children, I expect we're heading to the same crossroads at some point.
Are they going to teach them how many countries in Africa start with the letter K?
It's actually none. The closest is Kenya.
The Fun They Had got here a lot earlier than I expected.
Computers make excellent servants, they take orders well and do exactly what they're told to do. I can't even imagine how it could possibly "teach" anyone anything.
You can program AI you see, not as simple programing real flesh and blood human beings who care about education as they're the only ones stupid enough to accept the meager pay, stress, and vilification needed to survive in that field.