A NEW KIND OF TEACHER. It’s back to school, and you know what that means — time to fire up the computer that teaches you!
That’s what primary school students in New Zealand have to look forward to, anyways. They’ll soon be the first students in the world to learn from an artificially intelligent (AI) digital avatar.
MEET WILL. Auckland energy company Vector teamed up with AI company Soul Machines to create the avatar, which goes by the name Will. The AI is now part of Vector’s Be Sustainable with Energy program, which it offers free-of-charge to schools to which it provides electricity.
Will’s there to teach children about energy use. Students interact with Will — essentially just a face on a screen — via their desktop, tablet, or mobile device. He teaches them about different forms of renewable energy, such solar and wind. Will can then ask the students questions about what they’ve learned to ensure the lessons stick.
According to Vector’s Chief Digital Officer, Nikhil Ravishankar, students seem particularly taken by Will. “What was fascinating to me was the reaction of the children to Will. The way they look at the world is so creative and different, and Will really captured their attention,” he said in a news release.
He went on to add, “Using a digital human is a very compelling method to deliver new information to people, and I have a lot of hope in this technology as a means to deliver cost-effective, rich, educational experiences into the future.”
AN EDUCATION CRISIS. Ravishankar isn’t the only person who thinks robots — in the form of AI software programs like Will, or actual humanoid machines — will soon play a major role in education.
In February 2017, futurist Thomas Frey predicted that learning from bots will be commonplace by 2031. Meanwhile, British education expert Anthony Seldon thinks robots will replace human teachers by 2027.
Even if human teachers get to keep their jobs, working in tandem with robots could solve many of the problems currently facing the world’s education system.
Many nations, particularly in the developing world, don’t have nearly enough teachers. Robots like Will could help fill that gap. Compared to the cost of paying a human teacher, these systems are also far cheaper, and they can adjust to each individual student’s learning style to help them reach their potential.
While digital teachers could provide a host of benefits, they still aren’t as advanced as they need to be. Will is only well-versed on one topic — renewable energy — while quality teachers are typically far more well-rounded. Social interaction between teachers and students is also critical to a quality education, and digital teachers most certainly lag behind their human counterparts in this realm.
Still, Will might be the first digital teacher to hit the classroom, but he almost certainly won’t be the last.
READ MORE: World-First Digital Teacher in NZ Schools [Newsroom]
More on AI teaching: Your Next Teacher Could Be a Robot
The post The World’s First Digital Teacher Just Debuted in New Zealand appeared first on Futurism.
More:
The World’s First Digital Teacher Just Debuted in New Zealand
- Futurist Serata featuring artist Luca Buvoli at Brown (Nov. 20) - November 7th, 2009 [November 7th, 2009]
- FUTUR1SM00GGI - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- ‘Futurism on Film’ Series this month in NYC - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Schedule of Futurist Events in NYC (PERFORMA 09: Nov 1-22) - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- ‘Futurismo/Futurizm: The Futurist Avant-Garde in Italy and Russia’ (Nov. 13 + 14) - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- ‘Beyond Futurism: F.T. Marinetti, Writer’ conference at Columbia (Nov. 12+13) - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Futurism and Cars at the Museo Nicolis - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- MoMA Film Series Marks Centenary of Futurism with Films - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- ‘Bergson+Futurism. Speed in thought’ - Madrid (Nov. 5) - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- ‘The Future in Five Senses: Echoes of Italian Futurism in New York Architecture and Design’ Nov. 16th NYC - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- New World-Wide Climate Treaty in 2010 More Likely - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Tar Sands CCS Myth Shattered - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Smart Grid and Smart Meters Get Big Grants - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Pollution Makes Methane Even More Dangerous - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Climate Change Bill Hearing Video - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- New Satellite to Monitor Water and Plant Growth - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Spiritual Battle Awaits the Deniers and Skeptics - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Effects of Climate Change are Observed World-Wide - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Get Yer Global Warming Science Here - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- TckTckTck Wake up Call — Delay Kills - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Canada’s Awful Gold Rush - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Climate Change Talks Spark Global Backlash by Businesses - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- World May Need Extra Year for Climate Treaty - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Senator Boxer Moves Climate Bill Despite Republican Obstructionism - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Lights out for incandescent lights? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Sutures from Bacteria - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Remote-Controlled Pigeons - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Apple Announces iPhone Release Date - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- UK Government Envisions a Grim Future - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Top Ten Emerging Technologies for the Environment - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- DIY Mobile Networks - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Stem-Cell Treatment Cures Type 1 Diabetes - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Is Tesla Getting the Electric Car Right? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Future of TV News - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Bruce Sterling on Earth-Friendly Pervasive Computing - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- First Step Toward Organ Regeneration in Humans - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- IBM's "Five in Five" - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Outsourced Journalism - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Is True Global Democracy the Next Great Political Movement? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The Risks of Autonomous Robots - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Microsoft Introduces "Tabletop" PC - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Britain Piloting First Biofueled Train - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Self-Healing Plastic - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Bird Population Falls Over Past 40 Years - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The iPhone Revolution? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- The End of "Cheap Food"? - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- How to Stop -- Or Live With -- Global Warming - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- MIT Demonstrates "Wireless Electricity" - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Unintended Consequences of Biofuels - November 8th, 2009 [November 8th, 2009]
- Time to Focus on the Big Picture in Copenhagen - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Protests in Copenhagen - December 12th, 2009 [December 12th, 2009]
- Mario Guido Dal Monte exhibit - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Futurism News Bulletin, xvi - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Viva il Futurismo! (video trailer) - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- 3 exhibits in Gorizia! - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Forthcoming: ‘Antidiets of the Avant-garde’ by Cecilia Novero - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Pubblicità e propaganda. Ceramica e grafica futuriste at the Wolfsoniana - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Balla’s home scheduled to open in 2010 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Futurismo a Savona - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- ‘Zang Sud Sud’, Cosenza - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Conference in Rome (Dec. 10) - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Climate Hackergate: A Well-Orchestrated Campaign of Harassment - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- The Sad Story of Cap and Trade - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- How to Waste Trillions on Capturing Carbon - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Smack the Email Hack Attack - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- EPA About to Declare CO2 a Public Danger - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Copenhagen Summit Starts with Virtually There Media - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Climate Scientist Gets Blunt on Trading Scheme - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- One Climate Change Editorial in 56 Newspapers, 45 Countries - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- This Decade Will be Hottest Ever on Record - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Divide and Conquer - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Leave the Coal in the Hole! - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- COP15: Two Agreements Coming - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Climate and Copenhagen News December 10 - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- Sea Level Already Rising on Atlantic Coast - December 13th, 2009 [December 13th, 2009]
- ‘Umbria Veloce’ in Perugia - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- An Instable CO2-Filled Ocean - December 14th, 2009 [December 14th, 2009]
- ‘Futurismi a Ravenna’ opens Dec. 19 - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- ‘Futurism and the Technological Imagination’ – 30% discount until Jan. 15 - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]
- Protecting Our Lungs at Copenhagen - December 15th, 2009 [December 15th, 2009]