When I read that a network of schools “without teachers” and that teach mainly with artificial intelligence (AI) just opened its doors in Miami, I immediately contacted its directors.
I was curious to know if these schools are something revolutionary or a fad.
Before pointing out what their critics say, let’s look at what these new educational institutions, called Alpha schools, say.
According to their website, they are private primary and secondary schools where children learn basic skills such as mathematics and language in just two hours in the mornings, and dedicate the afternoons to workshops where they develop “life skills.”
They do not have teachers, but rather “guides”, who are adults who supervise the learning with AI and teach the workshops on public speaking, financial education, programming and entrepreneurship.
Tasha Arnoldthe director of Alpha schools, explained to me that “the guides do not teach in the traditional way. They use their knowledge of psychology, motivation models and other tools to help children find their passion in the workshops.”
A preschool classroom in Catalonia.
When I asked him how children can learn math, English and other basic subjects with just two hours a day, he told me that AI allows education to be personalized for each child, and that allows students to learn much faster.
In addition, children cannot concentrate more than one or two hours a day on these subjects, he added. Better to spend the rest of the day in workshops that teach life skills, he said.
But if kids learn with AI, aren’t they going to copy and paste what they find on ChatGPT? I asked. Aren’t we going to produce young people who don’t use their heads, and who will become more and more stupid? I insisted.
A recent MIT study found that the use of ChatGPT and other chatbots probably reduces students’ cognitive abilities.
In other words, The brain is like a muscle: if it is not used, it atrophies.
Arnold responded that Alpha schools do not allow students to use ChatGPT or any other chatbotprecisely to prevent them from copying and pasting their answers. Instead, children study with an AI learning program specially designed for schools, who asks them questions until they find the correct answershe explained.
As for the academic performance of Alpha schools, Arnold told me that they do very well on standardized tests.
Skeptics warn that this could be because many of its students come from wealthy and highly educated families. Tuition for these schools is $40,000 annually or more, depending on the city.
Many experts warn that although educational AI programs can be excellent tools for helping children with their homework after school, the “two-hour learning” method is not proven to work.
First, it may work for students whose parents are highly educated, and help them with their homework. But it probably won’t work as well in low-income families..
Emiliana Vegasa professor of education at Harvard, told me that students at Alpha schools “are clearly very different from most children who go to public schools.”
Second, even if children are taught educational AI programs, if they have access to ChatGPT, they will use ChatGPT.
Third, learning with AI can increase screen addiction in children and harm their emotional well-being, several studies say.
Since I wrote a book a few years ago called Enough of stories Regarding new trends in education, I was always a great defender of the use of technology in the classrooms.
And I still am, but more cautiously.
I am concerned, among other things, that schools that teach with AI spend too much time developing skills for the world of work, and too little to teach moral values, empathy and civility.
Alpha schools may be the trend of the future.
But we have to be careful not to end up producing generations of young people obsessed with economic success, heartless and robotic.