A private school in London is opening the UK’s first classroom taught by artificial intelligence instead of human teachers. They say the technology allows for precise, bespoke learning while critics argue AI teaching will lead to a “soulless, bleak future”.
The UK’s first “teacherless” GCSE class, using artificial intelligence instead of human teachers, is about to start lessons.
David Game College, a private school in London, opens its new teacherless course for 20 GCSE students in September.
The students will learn using a mixture of artificial intelligence platforms on their computers and virtual reality headsets.
The platforms learn what the student excels in and what they need more help with, and then adapt their lesson plans for the term.
Strong topics are moved to the end of term so they can be revised, while weak topics will be tackled more immediately, and each student’s lesson plan is bespoke to them.
“There are many excellent teachers out there but we’re all fallible,” said John Dalton, the school’s co-principal.
“I think it’s very difficult to achieve [AI’s] level of precision and accuracy, and also that continuous evaluation.
“Ultimately, if you really want to know exactly why a child is not learning, I think the AI systems can pinpoint that more effectively.”
The 20 students will pay around £27,000 a year.
“A teacher doesn’t really know your flaws because he has so many students,” said Joseph, a GCSE student at David Game College who has been testing the system.
“So he doesn’t know your flaws while the AI will figure out what your flaws are and help you improve.”
The students are not just left to fend for themselves in the classroom; three “learning coaches” will be present to monitor behaviour and give support.
They will also teach the subjects AI currently struggles with, like art and sex education.