--- title: "High School Starts Replacing Teachers With AI" description: "A high school in London, UK is looking to start replacing educators with AI tools, a move that has garnered plenty of criticism." date: "2024-08-17" modified: "2024-08-17" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/high-school-starts-replacing-teachers-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai chatbots" - "education" - "high school" --- # High School Starts Replacing Teachers With AI ![A high school in London, UK is looking to start replacing educators with AI tools, a move that has garnered plenty of criticism.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* A high school in London, UK will let students around the age of 15 use AI tools before taking standardized exams next year, despite experts warning that they make for a poor replacement for human teachers. As [*Business Insider* reports](), David Game College's pilot project is meant to help students who are struggling to keep up — and also, the students far outpacing the others. "Students will benefit enormously from AI-powered adaptive learning, which allows every student to learn at their own pace rather than having to keep pace with a class," coprincipal John Dalton told *BI*, "which often progresses too quickly for some students and too slowly for others." Beyond the face value here — an eyebrow-raising shoehorning of AI tech into education — it's an arguably dystopian temporary solution for the perpetual state of [teacher shortages]() England has been facing for years. AI hawks will surely promote this as a sign of things soon to come. Yet, given the glaring shortcomings of AI tech and its ever-present [tendency to "hallucinate"]() — a quality that could seriously mess with a student's mind, particularly during their formative years — there's plenty of reason for doubt. Fortunately, the college won't rely entirely on AI tools. Students in the pilot scheme will get the support of three full-time learning coaches. Dalton used already familiar talking points to defend the project, arguing that AI tools will free up teachers and allow students to learn more efficiently. Eerily similar arguments [have been made]() when it comes to companies looking to [replace workers with AI](). David Game College is far from the first to dabble with AI in the classroom. Harvard [introduced an AI instructor]() to teach a popular intro-level coding course. Private school kids in Silicon Valley are also [being taught by an AI-powered tutor](). Meanwhile, both students and teachers alike are making ample use of tools like ChatGPT to [write]() and [grade]() papers respectively. The trend has already left behind a considerable mess, with students [being falsely accused]() of using AI. Besides, the tech is far from perfect and still can't [reliably tell the truth from fiction](), a glaring oversight, especially when it comes to education. Critics of the college's AI teacher pilot say it's a step too far. "While AI can be a valuable supplement to live teachers, it cannot replace them entirely," educational consultancy Higher director Hadida Grabow told *BI*. "We are not seeing anything that could replace a quality educator." "Regrettably, the technology just isn't there yet — we've seen that with the high-profile failure of the Los Angeles Unified School District's AI chatbot," she added. As the [*LA Times* reported last month](), AllHere, the maker behind the chatbot that Grabow referenced, notified schools of its "financial collapse" (despite raking in millions of dollars in public funding). The chatbot, which was introduced in March, had significant limitations, often resorting to telling users to "ask your teacher." In other words, we're skeptical of Dalton's claims that the college has "humanized the AI learning process by creating a holistic and engaging educational experience." "The system does not judge students," he told *BI*. "Instead, it allows them to learn at their own pace in a safe environment." Whether its efforts, however, will pay off, or aggravate an already critical teacher shortage in the UK, remains to be seen. **More on AI:** *[Replika CEO:]() [It's Fine for Lonely People to Marry Their AI Chatbots]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()