I recently had a chance to ask a question to one of the top AI people. At a Q&A session, I raised my hand and asked simply "What is your estimation of the future educational value of AI?"
The response was swift and utterly devastating for those laggards who want to hold back progress. The AI guy said:
Books will soon be obsolete in schools. Scholars will be instructed through AI. It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with AI. Our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years.
We have been working for some time on educational AI. It proves conclusively the worth of AI in chemistry, physics and other branches of study, making the scientific truths, difficult to understand from text books, plain and clear to children.
That's it. We can throw away all those outdated paper books. Children will learn directly from an AI which, coincidentally, is sold by the company. We can trust their studies on such matters and be assured that they have no ulterior motive.
But, ah my friends, I have told a slight untruth. I didn't ask that question. Frederick James Smith asked the question to Thomas Edison in 1913. The question was about the new and exciting world of motion pictures.
You can read the full exchange from The New York Dramatic Mirror.
A hundred-plus years since the great and humble Edison made his prediction and… books are still used in schools! Those of us of a certain age remember a TV occasionally being wheeled in for one lesson or another. Today's kids watch more video content than ever - of mixed quality - but still rely on books and teachers.
Videos are good for some aspects of learning, but woefully inadequate for others.
I'm not trying to say that just because one technology failed, so will all others. But it is amazing how AI-proponents are recycling the same arguments with basically the same timescale. Will AI be part of education? Sure! Just like videos, pocket computers, the Metaverse, and performance enhancing drugs.
Will it be the only tool ever needed for education? I doubt it. Will vested interests and uncritical journalists continue to boost it? You don't need to have read many history books to work out the answer.
Further reading: In the Future All Food Will Be Cooked in a Microwave, and if You Can’t Deal With That Then You Need to Get Out of the Kitchen