[A new artificially intelligent robot is being used to teach school children in India, as reported is this story by New Indian Express. An excerpt from coverage in Interesting Engineering that follows provides optimistically framed context. The Times of India has a three minute video report (also available on YouTube). For a first-person report from the robot’s creator (and more pictures), see a story in Rediff.com (an excerpt about the origins of the robot’s name and responses to ‘her’ debut is also below). For more on the mentioned AI teacher Beatrice, see a story in Campus Technology. All of this news may remind some of the recent controversy regarding the suggested use of AI during a graduate student strike at Boston University, as reported by GovTech. –Matthew]
[Image: Source: Rediff.com]
Meet Iris, Kerala’s first AI teacher’s class has zero absentees
Named Iris, the creation is a product of Atal Tinkering Lab, MakerLabs and KTCT school.
By Parvana K B
February 21, 2024
KOCHI: Throughout history, teachers have held an important role in moulding individuals, particularly in cultures like India. However, a recent study has brought to light a significant concern that could have far-reaching implications soon: there is a significant global shortage of teachers.
To solve this problem, Otermans Institute in London has introduced an innovative idea to revolutionise education through the merging of human-like qualities with AI. This led to the creation of Beatrice, the world’s first digital human AI Teacher.
Inspired by the idea of using AI in education, the KTCT Higher Secondary School, an educational endeavour of Kaduvayil Thangal Charitable Trust, in collaboration with MakerLabs Edutech Private Limited, introduced Iris, Kerala’s first AI teacher.
It was built as part of the Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL), a 2021 Central Niti Aayog project aimed at promoting students’ extracurricular activities. MakerLabs, one of ATL’s scientific and technical support companies, collaborated with the school to bring the Iris AI teacher to life.
With Iris’s introduction at KTCT School in Kallambalam, Thiruvananthapuram, students found themselves on the edge of a transformative learning experience.
“Atal Tinkering Lab has been very successful in our school. Students have developed many skills through the lab, gaining hands-on workshop experience in various areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and 3D printing. These workshops have helped us realise the vast potential of AI and that prompted us to collaborate with MakersLab. That’s how the Iris teacher came into our school,” says Meera M N, the principal of the HS section.
ChatGPT has been programmed to transition into an artificial intelligence teacher. Voice input is processed and converted into audio using Google Conversion.
Iris motion control is facilitated through Bluetooth. In addition to verbal interaction, Iris will move forward and backwards and even shake hands.
“The possibilities are infinite with AI. When a student asks a question, Iris generates answers that closely resemble human responses” shares Hari Sagar, CEO of MakerLabs.
Iris was instated at the school at a function inaugurated by Dr K Rajeev, Director of the Space Physics Laboratory VSSC, on February 5. It was developed by the team comprising Hari Sagar, Shyam Babu, Amal V Nath and five students from grades 8 and 9 in its creation.
Muhammed Mubarak S, a 9th-grade student and a member of the AI teacher team, says, “Iris is very beneficial for students, especially to improve their English. When communicating with the Iris teacher, it’s important to formulate questions correctly and pronounce them properly. This communication process itself becomes a learning experience.”
With 3,000 students across 57 divisions, nearly every class has had the opportunity to interact with Iris. Looking ahead, the school management, led by chairman A Nahas, with convener U Abdul Kalam and senior principal S Sanjeev, is considering dedicating one period per week to the ATLab and AI teacher starting next year.
While many students said that Iris would be instrumental in extending the boundaries of their thoughts, many expressed delight in the fact that an AI teacher wouldn’t scold them.
MakersLab, under the Startup Mission, is actively working to introduce the AI teacher to other schools in Kerala.
Additionally, they are planning to install an AI camera system. This will enable the AI teacher to recognise individuals standing in front of it, differentiate between students and teachers, and respond accordingly to their queries.
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[From Interesting Engineering]
India’s first sari-donning AI humanoid robot teacher starts teaching
Iris is a multilingual AI instructor aiding interactive learning, providing personalized voice assistance, and answering tough academic inquiries.
By Jijo Malayil
March 7, 2024
[snip]
Benefits of humanoid robots in education
Humanoid robots have been found to enhance learning and engagement in several educational domains. A report by Robotical suggests that they can facilitate the growth of computational thinking in early learners and increase student engagement in a broad range of curriculum disciplines.
Humanoid robots are an excellent teaching tool for kids on the autism spectrum. It has been demonstrated that giving students a human form fosters a deeper sense of connection and ownership; this is particularly true when utilizing “learning by teaching” and caring-giving instructional approaches, according to the firm.
A wide range of disciplines, including reading, writing, languages, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, may be successfully taught by humanoid robots. However, they have also been utilized to impart metacognitive skills like self-assurance, drive, and dedication to work.
As humanoid technology has advanced leaps and bounds in recent years, we hope such general-purpose robots will become a common sight in educational institutions across the globe.
—
[From Rediff.com]
Meet Iris, India’s first AI teacher
By Shobha Warrier
March 13, 2024
[snip]
Shyam Babu narrates his creative journey that culminated in Iris and stresses on the fact that he is more of a creator than an entrepreneur.
[snip]
How the AI teacher became Iris
The school wanted the name Surabhi but I found that she herself mispronounced her name as Surbhi. She also did not respond to the different ways in which the name was pronounced by different people.
That was when I decided to change her name to Iris, a name that is easy to pronounce. And for me, the name Iris is apt as it represents ‘Individual Robotic Intelligent System’.
Though I have currently tuned her to speak in English, Malayalam and Hindi, I will add all the Indian languages soon. Of course, the main language for communication is English.
After choosing a mannequin as the structure, I gave mechanical movements to her hands, head, etc. But there is room for improvement; I have to work a lot more on her movements.
Unprecedented Response
In the early days of February 2024, Iris was taken to school. The children were bowled over but, like I said, she is not perfect yet. In fact, she works like a prototype even now.
I cannot say I am really happy or satisfied with Iris. No creator will be fully satisfied with what they create; you always feel there is room for improvement. I think I may need two-three years of work to improve Iris.
To tell you the truth, we did not expect Iris to make such waves, to get so much attention.
Now, we are getting orders from many schools in India and from many parts of Africa.
We even had an enquiry from a hospital in Sweden who are looking to make Iris into a hospital assistant.
Iris, I would say, is a platform that you can use to create anything — a teacher, a hospital assistant, a legal assistant or an assistant in a car showroom. The possibilities are enormous!
I don’t look at Iris as an idea or initiative to make money as I believe sharing knowledge cannot be and shouldn’t be a money-making business.