(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Harvard University plans to have Artificial Intelligence robots teach humans how to code in their fall coding courses, Fox News reported.
Professor David Malan, the Harvard University professor overseeing the course, noted that the change from human teaching is simply the “evolution” of “tradition.”
The AI will be used to teach an introduction to coding courses to incoming freshmen students.
Malan also noted that, by making use of AI, real teachers can give more attention to students in a one-on-one setting.
“Our own hope is that, through AI, we can eventually approximate a 1:1 teacher:student ratio for every student in CS50, as by providing them with software-based tools that, 24/7, can support their learning at a pace and in a style that works best for them individually,” he told the school’s newspaper.
He also added that the aim of the AI bot will not be to simply give students answers, but to guide them through a series of questions.
According to Martin Rand, PactumAI co-founder and CEO, however, AI is not capable of providing sufficient classroom instruction for those children who aspire to excellence.
“I would say the dangers are that we have to consider that these are statistical models,” he said in response, noting that the use of AI might perhaps be viable in lower-level settings.
“These will come up with most probable answers and high probability can also mean mediocrity. So professors need to be there to provide exceptionalism, and I think Harvard has taken the right approach in providing this only to introductory courses,” he added.
Alex Banks, CEO of AI company Aloy, said the development offered potential for advancement, but also warned that “AI has its pitfalls.”
Regarding Malan’s advice that students should “always think critically” when presented with information, Banks wrote that, “‘Always think critically’ of AI is akin to the ‘drink responsibly’ of alcohol.”
I feel this is still a shortcoming where a solution is still non-obvious.
Nonetheless, AI for education is going to be as commonplace as using the internet for research.
— Alex Banks (@thealexbanks) June 27, 2023
