To say that artificial intelligence has upended the world of education would be an understatement. Tools like ChatGPT have sparked conversation and worry among leading technology experts, including Bill Gates and Elon Musk. One in particular says we may soon see the end of traditional instruction and fewer teachers.
In an interview with The Guardian, the University of California professor and computer scientist Stuart Russell said tools like ChatGPT could result in fewer teachers being employed. He said generative AI has immense potential to serve as a personalized tutor for students.
“Education is the biggest benefit that we can look for in the next few years,” he said. “It ought to be possible within a few years, maybe by the end of this decade, to be delivering a pretty high quality of education to every child in the world. That’s potentially transformative.”
His remarks come at a time when researchers are constantly studying students’ use of AI in and outside of the classroom. For instance, a recent survey from Intelligent asked K12 and college students how they’re leveraging ChatGPT for homework help. According to the data, nine in 10 said they preferred studying with the tool than with a tutor.
“As a current college student using ChatGPT, I have found it to be a helpful and convenient tool for studying,” one survey respondent said. “Unlike seeing a tutor, ChatGPT is available 24/7 and can answer my questions immediately.”
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Russell also referenced several studies that shed light on the power of one-to-one teaching and how it can be two to three times more effective than traditional classroom instruction, pointing to the potential advantage generative AI has over teachers.
“Oxford and Cambridge don’t really use a traditional classroom… they use tutors, presumably because it’s more effective,” he told The Guardian. “It’s literally infeasible to do that for every child in the world. There aren’t enough adults to go around.”
AI is already being used in homework help education technology. For instance, Khan Academy recently announced its partnership with OpenAI, ChatGPT’s creator, to create a new virtual tutor called Khanmigo. But this is where curiosity turns to worry for Russell.
Such innovations could result in “fewer teachers being employed—possibly even none,” he said. “We haven’t done the experiments so we don’t know whether an AI system is going to be enough for a child. There’s motivation, there’s learning to collaborate; it’s not just ‘Can I do the sums?’ It will be essential to ensure that the social aspects of childhood are preserved and improved.”
