"Alert! Alert! Discipline breach!" The pupils look up in alarm as a metallic voice rings out across the classroom and their teacher glides towards them on rubber wheels. "Mobile phone usage detected! Ben Elliot, prepare for detention!" Ben tries to dodge, but in vain: a steel arm shoots out and grabs him by the collar. Before he knows it, he is being carried helplessly out into the corridor.

Writers for comics like the Beano have often had fun with the idea of robot teachers. But now what used to be fantasy is starting to come true.

A British independent school for children aged four to 13 has appointed a robot called Abigail Bailey as "principal headteacher".¹ It works in a similar way to ChatGPTAn Artificial Intelligence chatbot released in November 2022. and will advise the headmaster, Tom Rogerson, on everything from writing school rules to helping pupils with ADHDAttention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a mental health condition that can cause above-normal levels of energetic and impulsive behaviours..

Rogerson says² that because being a headmaster is a very lonely job, "It's nice to think that someone who is unbelievably well trained is there to help you make decisions.

"It doesn't mean you don't ever also seek counsel from humans... It's just very calming and reassuring knowing that you don't have to call anybody up, bother someone, you don't have to wait around for an answer."

Abigail Bailey is not the school's first robot member of staff. Earlier this year Cottesmore School appointed a robot called Jamie Rainer as its head of AI. Its role is to fit technology into the curriculum and advise teachers on how to reduce their workload.

If the job had gone to a human, Rogerson explains, he or she would have had to be able to take lessons, teach sport and oversee hobbies as well as being an AI expert:  "It was a tall order to fulfil all of those remitsAreas of responsibility or requirements. ."

Last month Cottesmore held a free AI "masterclass festival" to show teachers from both independent and state schools how the latest technology could be used in the classroom.

In a recent podcast, Bill GatesFounder and former CEO of Microsoft, the company responsible for popularising household computers in the 80s (and still one of the major global tech companies). His house on the shores of Lake Washington is called Xanadu 2.0. It took seven years to build and is seen as an early example of a smart home. forecast that AI chatbots would soon be able to give helpful feedback on essays "like a great high-school teacher". He was talking to Sal Khan, the head of a charity which has been developing an AI tutor called Khanmigo.

Gates did not suggest that robots could replace human teachers: "We all know teachers are heroic - one of the most important, hardest jobs in the world." Khan said that instead they would act as "an army of teaching assistants for every teacher".

Khan admits, however, that chatbots still regularly make mistakes. And some teachers argue that Khanmigo is too quick to provide answers instead of helping to solve problems. Pupils using AI to cheat is another worry.

But according to one expert, Professor Stuart Russell:³ "It ought to be possible within a few years, maybe by the end of this decade, to be delivering a pretty high quality of education to every child in the world."

His main anxiety is that the robots could be used for indoctrinationRepeating an idea to someone until they accept it without challenging it. : "I'm sure the Chinese government hopes [the technology] is more effective at inculcatingInstilling an idea in someone by repeating it over and over again. loyalty to the state."

Yes: Research shows that one-to-one teaching is two to three times more effective than classroom teaching. Since there are not enough human teachers to provide that, robots must be the answer.

No: Teaching is not just about imparting information. Teachers need to have empathy with their students, understand what their strengths and weaknesses are, and give them encouragement and inspiration.   

Or... Robots could never replace teachers, but they could be very helpful to them. Most teachers are overworked and could do with help in preparing lesson plans or marking exam papers.