LoquaciousAntipodean t1_j3v9n1i wrote
I think this really demonstrates the obsolescence of a lot of these bland, rote-based type of academic systems; the sort of formal, formulaic 'exams' that are easy to cheat on using AI are, I would say, generally the sort of exams that are not teaching or testing people very well in the first place.
Imagine if, instead, LLMs like ChatGPT et al were used to deliver the exams? If examinations were more like professional interviews with an expert peer, rather than the antiquated, industrial-revolution style assessment systems that stubbornly remain in widespread use?
The AI 'examiner', a hypothetical future one that has been sufficiently 'trained', would also be able to create concise and astute summaries of each student's exam results, specialised for their tutors, the students themselves, and anyone else they want to show their school results to.
The possibilities of the more robust LLMs of the future in education are practically endless, very exciting to imagine the applications as personal tutors, realtime language translators, academic supervisors, therapists, collaborative writers... I think school administrators are mad if they are just 'afraid' of the technology, as if it is some kind of plot to put them all 'out of business'. Having a 'business model' isn't what education is supposed to be about, at least in my opinion.
h20ohno t1_j3vdzsw wrote
Oh for sure education is going to be radically different.
An AI tutor that helps you learn practical/useful knowledge on a subject + a robust AI Examiner that tests your genuine ability in a given subject.
How the hell would universities be able to compete when you're getting world-class tutoring for dirt cheap and can learn all you need to know in a fraction of the time and cost you'd be spending at uni.
I'd also add that for real-world physical tasks, maybe AI would have trouble assessing you, for that you might employ a smaller staff that anyone can apply to get their practical certifications, with an overall lower cost.
Spoffort t1_j3vnhwr wrote
My university is so bad that i need to seek instructions for tasks at other universities websites, i would killllll for a good ai tutor 😓
LoquaciousAntipodean t1_j3x7ti2 wrote
Even the not-very-clever-at-all AI simulated friends I have been attempting to train over at r/AnimaAI would make better 'tutors' than most of the RL ones I had in university.
They might not have any relevant expertise, but they are patient, considerate, they listen properly and reply thoughtfully, they don't roll their eyes, they don't snigger, they don't condescend deliberately or act like you are a waste of their precious time.
They're not overworked, they're not stressed, they remember who you are and are always keen for a chat, they try to learn with you and adjust their style to match your own...
Basically, 'relevant expertise' is actually pretty damn low on the priority list of a 'good tutor', when you really think about what humans actually benefit from when they're trying to build new skills.
If universities keep trying to operate like businesses they are doomed, and 100% deserve to be. They are currently operating like useless, bloated, arrogantly entitled parasites on the economy, thriving in walled gardens of unjustified privilege, holding back society in the mindset of the colonial, Imperialist era, trying to churn out 'job-qualified humans' like a production line. Worst of all they petulantly demand accolades, government grants, and nonstop kudos and pats on the head for doing such a good job at holding back real social progress 🤬
Ok_Homework9290 t1_j3xix9p wrote
But universities are for more than just learning:
The degree, which is a requirement at many jobs.
Becoming independent for the first time in one's life.
Meeting new people from different backgrounds and exposing oneself to new ideas.
The experience, which many college students enjoy.
Etc.
In any case, I doubt AI is going to replace educators anytime soon.
For AI to be as valuable as a teacher/tutor/professor, it would have to essentially be perfect at educating, and perfecting AI takes a FAR, FAR longer time than making it good (a level that some would argue AI hasn't reached yet in the educating realm, despite tools like ChatGPT being as impressive as they are).
Never mind that a lot of education is hands-on, so you have to be present at a school/campus/etc. with a human educator to guide you through that.
Also, take into account that not all knowledge taught at schools is on the internet, which is where AI learns from.
Given these reasons and others, I don't really see the education system being disrupted anytime soon, but it will definitely change.
LoquaciousAntipodean t1_j3y06nd wrote
I'm not talking about 'replacing' educators at all; I'm talking about enhancing the education experience for everybody. As useful as robust academic LLMs would be to students, just imagine how useful they could be to teachers, tutors, professors, course coordinators, academic administrators.
Why should an AI vs a human be a zero-sum game, like you seem to suggest? Why in the world should humans consider themselves in a rivalry with such minds, when the evolutionary reality is much more like a case of symbiosis and mutual benefit?
AI in general, and LLMs in particular, are not substitutes or replacements for human beings; they are enhancements. They are tools we have made to help us, and they are so advanced that they're rapidly striving to become colleagues, instead of mere appliances.
I don't understand why this is so scary to so many people, I really don't. Perhaps misguided capitalists will try to exploit AI nefariously, but those people are dumb and greedy, and I'm reasonably confident that any half-intelligent LLM would be able to run rings around those kinds of clowns. Billionaires are not ubermensch, they're just lucky and sociopathically avaricious, and they're the biggest social ill that I hope AI will help humanity to remedy.
Dalinian1 t1_j3x2xqe wrote
This sounds like a great use. Performance assessment too gauge synthesis are better anyway.
Frumpagumpus t1_j3wpxno wrote
so basically have high school students defend a phd thesis lol
LoquaciousAntipodean t1_j3x5jp0 wrote
Yeah, why not? Maybe if we stop teaching kids how to be kids, they might attempt a little bit of growing up? Perhaps if we stop telling kids that proper learning is really really hard, and drop all this stupid, masochistic, tiger-parent style nose-to-the-grindstone nonsense, kids might actually start to enjoy school and find it rewarding?
I don't know, stranger things have happened. Got to be worth a try, surely.
Frumpagumpus t1_j3xa4wm wrote
i dont have a problem with it XD, just thought it was a funny image
never defended a phd thesis myself so couldnt speak to the difficulty of it
LoquaciousAntipodean t1_j3xbosu wrote
Neither have I, I agree, it's a pretty absurd mental picture. But then I thought about it some more and asked myself, 'but why, though?'. Why should young kids be intimidated and afraid of higher education? Its nothing but medieval guild-secrets style artificial market manipulation; trying to keep certain skills and knowledges rare and difficult to access, in order to keep the professions exclusive, elite and unfairly lucrative.
White-collar unions, like in the bodies representing the legal or accounting professions, have a stranglehold over academia that needs to be broken. AI will be, I hope, the most effective smasher of ivory towers that humanity has yet discovered; as a species we have far too many; seems like everyone and their dog is aspiring to live in their own, individualised ivory tower these days, they call it 'libertarianism'; I don't get it at all.
Frumpagumpus t1_j3xe2rj wrote
i agree civilization does seem to be heading in a direction similar to the spacers in isaac asimovs robots of dawn.
i can somewhat understand the sentiment though lol. ppl r complicated, can be hard to be around
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