Abigail and Jamie: A quiet revolution
So last week, a boarding preparatory school (for ages 4-13) in the UK called Cottesmore School appointed a new principal headteacher. She is Abigail Bailey. So far, so normal. The only unusual thing about this is that Ms Bailey is in fact a robot, a piece of artificial intelligence. (See photo below)
The headteacher, Tom Rogerson said that he was using Abigail to advise and support him on issues such as supporting staff members, helping special needs pupils and writing and updating school policies. The technology is similar to that of ChatGPT. Mr Rogerson said that Abigail has a wealth of knowledge in educational management as well as being able to analyse vast amounts of data.
He also said that being a school leader is a lonely job and that he needed ‘someone’ that he could bounce ideas off and feel supported by. He still wants to seek counsel from humans, but unlike humans, Abigail is fine if she is disturbed in the middle of something, doesn’t complain that she is busy and there is no waiting around for her to answer her phone or an email. There is an immediate response.
Mr Rogerson is no stranger to this kind of innovation. Earlier in the year, the school advertised for the role of a head of AI. This role was to advise teachers about embedding technology into their practice and very importantly, how to reduce their workload. He decided to appoint Jamie Rainer to the role. However, you guessed it, Jamie was another robot (see photo below). Jamie will help with AI planning and implementation. The students at the school also each have their own individual AI to help them and understand how best they learn.
At the moment, the school is at pains to point out that the AI is there to complement and augment the human interaction of the teachers with the students. It currently has the highest number of human employees in its 130 year history.
However, as I have mentioned before, an IT company called Promethean has produced holographic teachers which can be beamed into classrooms all over the world. The images of the teachers are 3D and extremely lifelike. The feedback from students is that they really liked the holograms, maybe the novelty effect? I hope so! This type of technology has been used to resurrect the rapper, The Notorious B.I.G for a tour. Similar technology has been used to produce the Abba show in London, Voyage. This has been receiving rave reviews from all that have witnessed it.
It is said that Abigail is the first of her kind to get a job in a school. I do wonder what she is like when faced with the small boy who has forgotten his PE kit, the little girl who has spilt some paint and the year 13 who has forgotten their homework? Only time will tell.
