'Inspirational' robots to begin replacing teachers within 10 years

Eilzel wrote:God awful idea.

Eilzel wrote:Seriously? As if a manchine could honestly fully replicate human interaction? You might like the idea of people being robotic didge but not others.

Eilzel wrote:Not really, it's a private language school not a state school.

In defense of UK teachers thougg, nicko, they work bloody hard, having to plan and mark homework all night as well as teaching often the worst gob shite kids.

And didge, the idea is terrible at its core. And harping on about biased leftism doesn't alter that. Children should be taught be a human teacher at all times, not a machine no matter how good it is.

Eilzel wrote:Is a few instances it might work. But the teacher would still need to be there, as the article makes clear, and for sake of social skills and interaction it is still massively important that a child has that adult interaction and the being around many children their age. Kids these days are getting bad enough as it is constantly hooked up to phones, computers etc. At least let them be unplugged for 5-6 hours a day.

Thorin wrote:

Eilzel wrote:Seriously? As if a manchine could honestly fully replicate human interaction? You might like the idea of people being robotic didge but not others.

Well cannot be any worse than a bias leftist teacher.

Again its not going to be all  teachers are rid of either, which shows you never read the article.

Again, no more stupid strikes else well.

Its a win, win all round

You also clearly do not understand the advances in machinery.

Many robots are being algorithms of human emotions to understand them.

Thorin wrote:

Eilzel wrote:Not really, it's a private language school not a state school.

In defense of UK teachers thougg, nicko, they work bloody hard, having to plan and mark homework all night as well as teaching often the worst gob shite kids.

And didge, the idea is terrible at its core. And harping on about biased leftism doesn't alter that. Children should be taught be a human teacher at all times, not a machine no matter how good it is.

So your reason against is simple a weird bias against machines now.
You offer no valid reason to say children has to be taught by a human teacher at all times.
If a child is going to have one to one time learning, that is miles better than being one of 30 being taught by one teacher.

Its simple to see what is easily better.

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

Thorin wrote:


So your reason against is simple a weird bias against machines now.
You offer no valid reason to say children has to be taught by a human teacher at all times.
If a child is going to have one to one time learning, that is miles better than being one of 30 being taught by one teacher.

Its simple to see what is easily better.

Isn't it more likely that robots would be teaching alongside regular human-type teachers over the coming decades, rather than replacing them outright  ???

So that it's more likely the humble Teachers Aides/Ass'ts whose jobs would be threatened first..

Hopefully these robots would also be programmed to detect and correct bad handwriting and grammar, too  ?        

"You'll still have the humans there walking around during school time, but in fact the inspiration in terms of intellectual excitement will come from the lighting-up of the brain which the machines will be superbly well-geared for.

"The machines will know what it is that most excites you and gives you a natural level of challenge that is not too hard or too easy, but just right for you."

He expected the National Union of Teachers to be "very alarmed" by the prospect.

"The technology's already beginning to arrive," he said. "It's already there on the west coast of the US and it's already beginning to transform schools.

"I'm expecting this to happen in the next 10 years.

WhoseYourWolfie wrote:

"Inspiration" from an unfeeling and emotionless robot...

What a crock..

The negative effects from introducing children to tablets and computers too early,  and too often, is already apparent with the inadequacies in young people today, isn't it  ?

Poor handwriting
Shaky arithmetic
Lack of comprehension
Can't read maps
Lack of critical thinking

Throwing too many in the deep end, without getting the basics down pat first..

And how will these robots improve the situation,  rather than making things worse  ???        

Eilzel wrote:Seriously? As if a manchine could honestly fully replicate human interaction? You might like the idea of people being robotic didge but not others.

Syl wrote:

Eilzel wrote:Seriously? As if a manchine could honestly fully replicate human interaction? You might like the idea of people being robotic didge but not others.

I agree with you.
Teachers can be inspirational, machines cant.
I bet many people remember the names of the teachers who helped them, listened to them and encouraged them to aim higher than they would have without the human touch.

Thorin wrote:

Syl wrote:
I agree with you.
Teachers can be inspirational, machines cant.
I bet many people remember the names of the teachers who helped them, listened to them and encouraged them to aim higher than they would have without the human touch.

Teachers can also be useless, machines will not be and again many children already use early leaning gadgets to learn and do so very well. Its generally when they reach school, that they can loose interest as they grow older, because a teacher cannot give one to one with everyone all the time. Or they are struggling and the teacher simple cannot give them the time they need with help, a machine will fix that issue. This is something which will encourage and adapt for each student dependent on their level of learning.

Syl wrote:

Thorin wrote:


Teachers can also be useless, machines will not be and again many children already use early leaning gadgets to learn and do so very well. Its generally when they reach school, that they can loose interest as they grow older, because a teacher cannot give one to one with everyone all the time. Or they are struggling and the teacher simple cannot give them the time they need with help, a machine will fix that issue. This is something which will encourage and adapt for each student dependent on their level of learning.

I should have said "good" teachers are inspirational, not all teachers are good sadly.

But if you get one who is, they make every lesson interesting. One teacher like that can teach a whole class and hold their interest, and if a person is interested everything sinks in.

I do see the benefits of machines...my grandson has done a lot of his uni work sat in front of a computer rather than going to lectures...its worked well for him so far.

Syl wrote:I still remember two brilliant teachers, Miss Davenport and Mrs Lakeland, they inspired me and loads of other kids to do well...better than any machine could.

Soon all contact with other human beings will be cut down to a minimum....learning, socialising, shopping and dating all done online.
Wonder how long it'll be before robots can impregnate women??

eddie wrote:My son, currently doing A levels after some fantastic GSCE results, just said:

"No way. You can use technology to teach but you can't replace a teacher using only technology"

He's been texting his English Lit teacher on and off all night about a book he's reading. Those replies are personal and witty and human.

You can't get that kind of teaching from a robot.

eddie wrote:You can't beat human interaction.

eddie wrote:My son, currently doing A levels after some fantastic GSCE results, just said:

"No way. You can use technology to teach but you can't replace a teacher using only technology"

He's been texting his English Lit teacher on and off all night about a book he's reading. Those replies are personal and witty and human.

You can't get that kind of teaching from a robot.

eddie wrote:You know what small children do? They mimic and mold themselves on their favourite adult - which can be a teacher.

Need I say more?

A world full of emotionless people who were raised by a robot.

eddie wrote:You know what small children do? They mimic and mold themselves on their favourite adult - which can be a teacher.

Need I say more?

A world full of emotionless people who were raised by a robot.

Syl wrote:

eddie wrote:You know what small children do? They mimic and mold themselves on their favourite adult - which can be a teacher.

Need I say more?

A world full of emotionless people who were raised by a robot.

I can see a future where this could happen.

More and more I see parents not engaging with their children because they are glued to their techie contraptions. Kids eventually give up trying to interact with their parents (usually mothers ) they just sit quietly....no doubt waiting for the day they will be given a similar little hand held gadget so they can ignore the rest of the world too.

Thorin wrote:

Syl wrote:

I can see a future where this could happen.

More and more I see parents not engaging with their children because they are glued to their techie contraptions. Kids eventually give up trying to interact with their parents (usually mothers ) they just sit quietly....no doubt waiting for the day they will be given a similar little hand held gadget so they can ignore the rest of the world too.

Well then those parents are to blame

You cannot blame the robot for teaching at school, when parents fail to spend quality time with their children.

Syl wrote:

Thorin wrote:


Well then those parents are to blame

You cannot blame the robot for teaching at school, when parents fail to spend quality time with their children.

Yes the parents are to blame...but its people in general who seem to be more accepting of this withdrawing of human contact. Do you ever see couples and families out eating together, totally concentrating on their i phones and completely ignoring the people they are actually sat with?

We had a thread about driverless cars last week.
Robotic teaching is just another nail in the coffin for human contact.

Thorin wrote:

Syl wrote:

Yes the parents are to blame...but its people in general who seem to be more accepting of this withdrawing of human contact. Do you ever see couples and families out eating together, totally concentrating on their i phones and completely ignoring the people they are actually sat with?

We had a thread about driverless cars last week.
Robotic teaching is just another nail in the coffin for human contact.

Robotic teaching is not a nail in the coffin, but a major plus for children to have one to one learning for a few hours a day. Something normally only the rich can afford. You are conflating other issues, ignoring the more important fact on how this will help children in their education. Where many already struggle in big classes. Due to the fact they all have different levels of learning. 

So no its not a nail in the coffin at all and people are being over-dramatic on this.
I speak daily with people at work, friends and family when I see them. For years before people had mobiles, people sent loads of their time phoning each other on the phone. People made the same silly views as they do now. Yes people should be more responsible when out, that they do not continually play with their i-phones etc. That does not mean human contact will go away, all that is happening is the means to communicate are changing in certain aspects.

Syl wrote:

Thorin wrote:


Robotic teaching is not a nail in the coffin, but a major plus for children to have one to one learning for a few hours a day. Something normally only the rich can afford. You are conflating other issues, ignoring the more important fact on how this will help children in their education. Where many already struggle in big classes. Due to the fact they all have different levels of learning. 

So no its not a nail in the coffin at all and people are being over-dramatic on this.
I speak daily with people at work, friends and family when I see them. For years before people had mobiles, people sent loads of their time phoning each other on the phone. People made the same silly views as they do now. Yes people should be more responsible when out, that they do not continually play with their i-phones etc. That does not mean human contact will go away, all that is happening is the means to communicate are changing in certain aspects.

I'm not saying technology is bad, that machines don't have a place...of course they do.
I am saying that they are intruding in peoples lives too much. They may be advantageous in some ways, but the cost is people will lose the ability to socialise....many already have.

So yes, this is another nail in the coffin....and No, its not being over dramatic to point out future generations will be more comfortable communicating with machines rather than people.

Thorin wrote:

Syl wrote:

I'm not saying technology is bad, that machines don't have a place...of course they do.
I am saying that they are intruding in peoples lives too much. They may be advantageous in some ways, but the cost is people will lose the ability to socialise....many already have.

So yes, this is another nail in the coffin....and No, its not being over dramatic to point out future generations will be more comfortable communicating with machines rather than people.

They are not intruding on anyone's lives. They distract people, because people allow them to distract them. Which is the main problem here. Where peoples train of though of conversation can be distracted by for example, someone else messaging them. Something said on social media etc. So its not the gadgets themselves, but the many distractions like social media, games, shopping etc. All at the touch of a button. Which means the problem is again with the human themselves

What that means is you are being utterly a drama queen. As its not a nail in the coffin. You are just one in a long line of cultural pessimists that have been over the ages. It has occurred with books, to music, to the advent of the TV etc. The lists are endless to where people spelled doom over changes. Only to later see with the younger generation, that this is not the problem. Its the older generation to stubborn to move with the times. This happened when you were a child and did move with the times and those older did not.

Cultural pessimism has been around as long as culture. Pessimistic attacks have been leveled for
centuries, although the target has changed frequently. Many moralists and philosophers,
including Plato, criticized theater and poetry for their corrupting influence. Books became a
target after the onset of publishing. Eighteenth-century pessimists accused novels of preventing
readers from thinking, preaching disobedience to parents (note the contradictory charges),
undermining women’s sense of subservience, breaking down class distinctions, and making
readers sick. Libraries, especially privately run circulating libraries, were another target.
Edward Mangin remarked in 1808, ‘There is scarcely a street of the metropolis, or a village in
the country, in which a circulating library may not be found: nor is there a corner of the
empire, where the English language is understood, that has not suffered from the effects of this
institution’.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the targets included epistolary romances, newspapers, opera,
the music hall, photography, and instrumental virtuosi, such as Liszt and Paganini. The 20th
century brought the scapegoats of radio, movies, modern art, professional sports, the
automobile, television, rhythm and blues, rock ‘n’ roll, comic books, MTV music videos, and
rap music. Each new medium or genre has been accused of corrupting youth and promoting
excess sensuality, political subversion, and moral relativism.

Eilzel wrote:I can see benefits of maybe 1-2 hours a day where students do solo activities this way. As long as lessons and larger class activities are generally left to human teachers.

Technology should only ever be a supplement to proper human teaching, not a replacement.

Lord Foul wrote:wait untill THAT system gets hit by a solar flare and or hacked

weeks and months of EXPENSIVE replacement/repairs and meanwhile the whole education system is snafu.

Eilzel wrote:Fair point, Vic.

Another thought occurs, and didge I do sympathise with the point on earlier on bad teachers. But, there is simply no way a machine can truly replicate the genuine enthusiasm and passion which some teachers have a share for subject. That enthusiasm can easily translate to a lifelong love of a subject (my history teacher was awesome, even my maths teacher made his subject fun!).

Thorin wrote:

Lord Foul wrote:wait untill THAT system gets hit by a solar flare and or hacked

weeks and months of EXPENSIVE replacement/repairs and meanwhile the whole education system is snafu.

Ever heard of backup systems?

Contingency plans?

Lord Foul wrote:

Thorin wrote:

Ever heard of backup systems?

Contingency plans?

pffft, you have no idea

a flare of sufficient strength would destroy ALL tech not stored in "hardened" storage facilities..it doesnt need to be plugged in or connected.

Eilzel wrote:Not so fast. I didn't say the others were bad. There were other good ones. A few average. A couple not so good. A robot is not going to compete with the best. A robot cannot have serious enthusiasm, and somebody with more experience with kids can correct me if I'm wrong here, but I feel they can sense enthusiasm.

They won't sense anything from a machine.

Thorin wrote:

Thorin wrote:


They are not intruding on anyone's lives. They distract people, because people allow them to distract them. Which is the main problem here. Where peoples train of though of conversation can be distracted by for example, someone else messaging them. Something said on social media etc. So its not the gadgets themselves, but the many distractions like social media, games, shopping etc. All at the touch of a button. Which means the problem is again with the human themselves

What that means is you are being utterly a drama queen. As its not a nail in the coffin. You are just one in a long line of cultural pessimists that have been over the ages. It has occurred with books, to music, to the advent of the TV etc. The lists are endless to where people spelled doom over changes. Only to later see with the younger generation, that this is not the problem. Its the older generation to stubborn to move with the times. This happened when you were a child and did move with the times and those older did not.

To add to this, I have posted this before.

Cultural pessimism has been around as long as culture. Pessimistic attacks have been leveled for
centuries, although the target has changed frequently. Many moralists and philosophers,
including Plato, criticized theater and poetry for their corrupting influence. Books became a
target after the onset of publishing. Eighteenth-century pessimists accused novels of preventing
readers from thinking, preaching disobedience to parents (note the contradictory charges),
undermining women’s sense of subservience, breaking down class distinctions, and making
readers sick. Libraries, especially privately run circulating libraries, were another target.
Edward Mangin remarked in 1808, ‘There is scarcely a street of the metropolis, or a village in
the country, in which a circulating library may not be found: nor is there a corner of the
empire, where the English language is understood, that has not suffered from the effects of this
institution’.

In the 18th and 19th centuries the targets included epistolary romances, newspapers, opera,
the music hall, photography, and instrumental virtuosi, such as Liszt and Paganini. The 20th
century brought the scapegoats of radio, movies, modern art, professional sports, the
automobile, television, rhythm and blues, rock ‘n’ roll, comic books, MTV music videos, and
rap music. Each new medium or genre has been accused of corrupting youth and promoting
excess sensuality, political subversion, and moral relativism.