Imagine stepping into the classroom of the future. Each desk has a large computer screen, a brand-new touchpad, and the latest VRVirtual reality. A simulation of a 3D environment. It can be interacted with in a way that feels real. headset. But there is no whiteboard, no textbooks, and no printouts either. In fact, there is not even a teacher.

The future is already here at one London private schoolA school that pupils must pay to go to. . David Game College has just launched a teaching programme for those retaking GCSEsNational exams taken by 15 and 16-year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. . They use an AIA computer programme that has been designed to think. -powered learning programme, which means pupils do not waste time on material they already know.

Teachers have been replaced by learning coaches, who circle the classroom helping pupils with any problems. They also help ensure discipline and teach softer skills such as public speaking or art. But, for core subjects such as English, maths and science, everything is on computer.

According to the school's headteacher, John Dalton, AI allows students to master maths and science subjects "much more effectively and efficiently than they would in a normal classroom".¹

Many schools have already started to incorporateInclude. Add something in as part of a whole. AI into classrooms. Most education experts agree the technology will change how lessons are taught. But David Game College is the first to replace teachers completely.

Some people fear this will make teaching worse. For instance, respected education advisor Chris McGovern believes that pupils need interaction with teachers and peers. But robot teachers will dehumanise the process of learning: "It's a soulless and bleak future," he says.²

Others warn that computers can be unreliable teachers. For example, generative AI programmes have been shown to make things up and present information with obvious biasesBeliefs that systematically and unfairly distort a person's decisions, in favour or against one group or another. . As two academics from New Zealand argue, AI classrooms raise many "concerns about fairness".³

But others think that AI will actually make things fairer. At the moment, only the children of wealthy parents can afford private tutors who design classes to target their students' areas of weakness. But, with AI, every pupil can have lessons tailor-made for their abilities.

One of the supporters of AI in education is Bill Gates, the billionaire founder of MicrosoftAn American company, and the largest seller of computer software in the world.. He recently visited a school with AI incorporated into teaching and was "blown away by how creatively the teachers were using the tools".⁴ For instance, they were editing AI exercises to match their classes' interests, and accessing dashboards to get a quick summary of pupils' progress.

Even Bill Gates does not think that teachers should be replaced by robots though. "At the end of the day, teachers know best," he concludes.⁵ Similarly, the UK Department for Education believes that teachers are "irreplaceable".⁶ So maybe the future of education will not mean deciding between teachers or robots, but finding ways for them to work together.

How people feel about this debate also depends on what they think is the purpose of education. If it is simply about learning facts and passing exams, AI has an important role to play. But if it is about learning to become an adult human, this is a lesson robots will struggle to teach.

Will robo-teachers be better than humans?

Yes: AI can design personalised classes for every single pupil. This means they can target the weak spots in their understanding more accurately than any human teacher.

No: At the moment AI has biases and blind spots in its understanding. And it will never be able to provide the human interaction that is a vital part of learning.

Or... In the future, the best teachers will be able to incorporate AI into classes, so that learning is personalised but soft skills are not neglected either.