From Homo Sapiens to Homo Digitalis: How Machines Are Teaching Us
Graphics/Elín Edda
Digital technology has become integral to modern life and is transforming many aspects of our daily experience. In examining human-computer interactions, MIT Professor of Sociology Sherry Turkle has observed that the computer is not just a tool anymore: it has begun affecting our identity and perception of self [1].
In his Critique of Pure Reason, philosopher Immanuel Kant eulogized the role our minds play in structuring reality, coming up with a “Copernican revolution” in the theory of knowledge. He stated that the subject is central to knowledge and not the object like his predecessors had thought. Kant had been seduced by the idea that our mind has pre-built lenses (categories) with which it filters our sense experience. Nowadays, our knowledge about the phenomenal realm is sifted by algorithms. Our technologies are molding our experience of the physical world and we are obliged to adapt to them. Our daily moments are permeated by algorithms. We live in the so-called “infosphere,” a neologism used by Luciano Floridi [2] to denote the whole sphere of informational entities around us.
Ranking algorithms in Google’s search engine decide which information we should see according to our query. Bayesian learning algorithms (Bayesian classifiers) filter the emails that we receive, deciding which emails we should open and which ones are spam. Matching algorithms and machine learning in some dating apps decide who is our potential match. Netflix uses a learning algorithm to suggest which movie we should watch next. The CheXpert machine learning tool can analyze a chest X-ray in 10 seconds and determine if someone has pneumonia [3]. Machine learning is an application of Artificial intelligence (AI).
AI allows us to work more efficiently. Microsoft’s Office365 package uses AI to scan files and generate tables from images, translate content, and make suggestions for redundant words. The “Presentation Translator for PowerPoint” tool is capable of providing a simultaneous translation with live subtitles during a presentation. The new AI-powered PowerPoint tool, called Presentation Coach [4], trains us to improve our presentation and public speaking skills by giving us feedback on our word choice and pacing. AI is continuously ameliorating our learning experiences and is making its way into classrooms, which will engender better academic outcomes. According to one study [5], 34 hours on the Duolingo app are equivalent to a full university semester of language education. Our education is getting sifted by algorithms.
In the 1960s, the first tutoring system computer program, Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations (PLATO), started running on the University of Illinois’ ILLIAC I computer [6]. For four decades, it offered coursework in a range of subjects from Latin to mathematics. Nowadays, researchers are trying to humanize virtual lessons using AI. It will behoove students to be able to converse with a human-like interface when they are studying with learning apps and online courses, as they would with a teacher, but at this stage, it’s difficult to pinpoint the limits of this technology. Furthermore, it will be necessary to make new policies to control the use of AI technology in education [7]. These policies must ensure inclusion, educational equity, and quality. AI systems can track students’ progress and identify weaknesses. People learn at different rates and in different ways, and AI can help us develop a custom learning path for each student.
Will robots replace human teachers in the future? At the moment, there is a wide consensus that AI will not supersede teachers. It’s mostly perceived as a tool to incorporate in the classroom.
References
[1] Sherry Turkle, Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet, London: Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1996), 347pp. ISBN 0 297 81514 8
[2] Floridi Luciano, The fourth revolution: How the infosphere is changing human reality, Oxford University Press, Janauary 2014, ISBN 0199606722.
[3] https://healthitanalytics.com/news/artificial-intelligence-system-analyzes-chest-x-rays-in-10-seconds
[5] https://s3.amazonaws.com/duolingo-papers/other/vesselinov-grego.duolingo12.pdf
[6] CSL Quarterly Report for June, July, August 1960 (Report). Coordinated Science Laboratory, University of Illinois. September 1960.
[7] Pedró Francesc , Subosa Miguel, Rivas Axel, Valverde Paula, Artificial intelligence in education: challenges and opportunities for sustainable development, UNESCO Digital Library