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After ChatGPT: will machines make teachers obsolete?
From marking to cheating, from saving time to cutting jobs, secondary school teacher and NEU rep ROBERT POOLE considers the role AI may play in education

NEW technology is always heralded by two contradictory, yet both valid, views. Firstly, it will replace us and lead to mass job losses and secondly, it will free us, allowing us to pursue more leisurely pursuits while robots complete arduous tasks.

The same debate is currently being fought in the sphere of education. The rising popularity of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots such as ChatGTP has led to some denouncing AI and some heralding it as a labour-saving device.

The current Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told an international meeting of international education ministers — not teachers, she won’t talk to us — about her views on the role of AI in education.

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