Today I was delivering a lecture in a Refresher Course and I was posed with a very relevant question.
‘What is the future of teachers (and teaching as a process) in the age of Artificial Intelligence (AI)?’
I replied him with my understanding and thinking on the issue, which I feel is important for all of us, students and teachers, policy makers and practitioners. Hence I am sharing my detailed reply to him in this post.
In the technologically driven environment it is required that one develops an attitude to embrace change and improve with time. Learning is a permanent change in one’s behaviour. One should respond to the call of time. Man made machine and slowly men are becoming slave of machines. Technology helps in contributing towards making life comfortable but it should not make us inactive and idle. The research shows that inactivity of human beings results in more deaths as compared to smoking.
With the use of predictive analysis and AI one should always keep thinking as to what one is pursuing, whether that is replaceable with machine or not. Whether human intelligence shall be secondary to artificial intelligence.
If one is doing work, performing a task, fulfilling responsibility, solving problems, helping people, building structures, thinking innovatively, and through these activities making living, one has to always keep pondering over whether this particular activity can be mechanized, whether machines can solve problems better than human beings, whether the usual tasks one is performing can be performed by machines. If the answer is yes, one is sure to be out of place and out of job. Teachers being no exception. Teachers need to work hard to learn as per the needs of time and adapt accordingly. The question as to why to work hard should not discourage a teacher to follow shortcuts.
Education is an experience, and not an event. Educational institutions are the place of worship (temples) where students are the Gods and teachers the priest. Education empowers through acquiring knowledge and develops the sensibility to distinguish between good and bad, moral and immoral. If families help students form values, teachers help them cultivate and nurture those values.
One of the participants responded to one of my questions (what is the job of a teacher) – to hold the class and finish the syllabus. If that be so, such teachers are going to go out of job because machines can hold the class and finish the syllabus. We have witnessed over use of PowerPoint Presentations in the class. Recently one of the faculty members teaching in a college in Oman, was astonished seeing some senior teachers not using PPTs and taking the class effectively.
When we over depend on technology and surrender to machines to keep guiding us in delivery of the lecture in the class room, it makes a teacher idle and kills his/her articulative faculty. I had written a piece on PPTisation of education.
The job of a teacher shall never be irrelevant if teacher does not just covers up the syllabus but drives thinking and inspires students to explore themselves. A teacher needs to play a role of a guide and a mentor in order to allow different faculties of a student to get recognized and grow. The role of a teacher is not restricted to the four walls of the classroom. A teacher has to dive into the ocean of knowledge and share the pearls of wisdom with the students. It is more about uncovering the syllabus.
No AI can ever replace a learned and interactive teacher, updated and thinking teacher, innovative and creative teacher. Such teachers shall always be in demand, let there be any kind of technological interventions that attempt to replace human beings from the classrooms.
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You may wish to read –
- 2013 – Teacher, Teaching, and Education
- 2013 – Role of teacher and institutions
- 2014 – Education, Students, and Motivation
16 thoughts on “TEACHERS AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)”
Very good article.It is a mirror for teachers to see his/her real academic faces.Exactly we as a teacher need to share our more experiences, innovative ideas and problem solving skill among our students.Dependence or More dependence on ppt or AI or modern technology are to be used upto certain extent.
It’s a great responsibility on academicians to think and have a debate on this issue.
Salute and congratulations 🎉 to Prof Shrotiya Ji for this great article.
Thanks
The pro & cons, the cause & effect as analysed by Prof. Vijay. K. Shrotryia is ‘Verbatim’ true. The effect of AI on teachers should result in better caliber of teachers, on the same token AI may not have influence on a creative , inspired, & passionate teacher, who always fights a lone battle .
Thanks. Appreciate your response.
Sir, Very well articulated the facts related to nobility of teaching profession, role of teachers and technological menace if not used sparingly.
Thanks.
Sir, Very well articulated the facts related to nobility of teaching profession, role of teachers and technological menace if not used sparingly.
Dear Sir thank you for giving such a thoughtful article. As per my view we should ready to embrace impact of AI in academia, if we fail to do so then we will witness another WhatsApp University like situation.
Well said.I also think that teacher is not only to provide knowledge to students but teacher’s chief respilonsibility is to shape the behaviour and character of students.The best teacher is one who refelcts through students personality.machines can never nurture a student with moral and emotional values.
Excellent and thoughtful article Sir. Congratulations.
Very true sir. The age of AI also leads to the ethical dilemma for a teacher when students do assignments or make projects using Chat GPT. Can that suission be considered their own. I believe that the teacher has to evolve with times and be creative. You rightly said that a teacher and teaching will never be irrelevant provided the teacher stimulates thinking. When students participate in meaningful class discussions the experience becomes enriching and fulfilling both for the teacher and the taught.
Wonderful article. When artificial intelligence overpowers real intelligence, the outcome is artificial in nature. Thus artificial intelligence is better as enabler.
Sir, when I took admission in DSE, I enjoyed the most in your class because of the thoughts/lectures you delivered to us. 🤞 you rightly said that no machine can replace a learned teacher.
Time relevant and very good explanation.
I agree with what you said. There is nothing wrong in accessing predictive technology but one should not end with that. Rather keep on questioning it till you are fully satisfied with the logic produced by it. Good thing is that it is interactive and your approach should be interative and exploratory. Also use existing knowledge and scatch your brain.
Beautifully curated reflection of reality sir . Quite an eye opener for would be and new generation educators .