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The Role of the Teacher and AI in Education

International Perspectives on the Role of Technology in Humanizing Higher Education

ISBN: 978-1-83982-713-6, eISBN: 978-1-83982-712-9

Publication date: 12 November 2020

Abstract

What is it like being a lecturer or teacher? ¹ The classic image is an old, wise, and powerful stoic with oceans of knowledge: a bit like Yoda in Star Wars or Dumbledore in Harry Potter. With the rise of new technology in general and artificial intelligence (AI) in particular, teachers are no longer the sole source of knowledge. Does this mean that the teacher will soon be replaced by technology? Will AI take over?

This chapter considers the risks and benefits of AI in higher education. It argues that AI will not, should not, and, indeed, cannot replace the teacher, because of what is (for now at least) unique to the teacher: namely, her humanity. The idea is simple: to secure good education into the future, one must take advantage of teachers’ uniquely human expertise. State-of-the-art AI applications cannot be bodily present in the same way as human teachers, nor teach existential reflection, norms and values, or a sense of self, history, and society.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgments

I want to thank Joel Parthemore, Andreas Engh Seland, and three anonymous reviewers for valuable feedback.

Citation

Felix, C.V. (2020), "The Role of the Teacher and AI in Education", Sengupta, E., Blessinger, P. and Makhanya, M.S. (Ed.) International Perspectives on the Role of Technology in Humanizing Higher Education (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 33), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 33-48. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120200000033003

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited