4 ms·
I wonder how aging populations and large-scale language models are going to change the difficulty of this problem. It seems to me that we're just about to unloc
by HDMI_Cable 4y ago
I wonder how aging populations and large-scale language models are going to change the difficulty of this problem. It seems to me that we're just about to unlock 1-to-1 learning, without actually needing 1 teacher per child.
It isn't hard to imagine a language model (or something similar, I'm not in AI myself so I might not have the best idea of the specifics) giving personalized instruction to a student based on a knowledge bank and generative prompts + reinforcement from what the child understands.
Add to that aging populations leading to less children and higher worker-child ratios, + automation in other industries, and its plausible to imagine that there could be a large movement towards training new teachers, thereby reducing class sizes. This could increase feedback between the two, and probably reduce behavioural problems as teachers could address them more easily.
I guess one problem of this approach is that this 'atomizes' the student, where they only engage with their device with the language model, removing some of the collaborative aspects of modern instructional methods. One easy fix to this is to increase the amount of recess or structured play, thereby increasing socialization. This seems to work in Finland [1]. If advances in AI can make learning more efficient, we can increase the amount of time for unstructured play.
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[1]: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/06/how-finland-keeps-kids-focused/373544/ https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/06/how-fi...
- civilized 4y agoIt's a nice dream. I would just caution that we will unlock people claiming that this works and foisting a half-baked version of it on large populations to save money, look modern, and make profits for tech companies... long before we unlock the actually good version.
- ducttapecrown 4y agoAny actually good version of a thing is built on the corpses of the previous bad versions though.
- simonster 4y agoThe bad versions should be developed, but they should not be marketed as a replacement for traditional education.
- civilized 4y agoVolunteer trials, pilot programs, slow rollouts... there are plenty of ways to test a beta version without making the entire population guinea pigs for someone's shower thought. But such careful methods mean the conman might not get his big score. Always watch out for the false sense of urgency. Remember when we had to invade Iraq immediately because weapons inspections weren't working fast enough?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- mercer 4y agoI like how The Diamond Age explored this idea with it's "child alone in the world, but with a magic learning book" story.