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While the start of a new school year is always exciting, this
year was even more so for some elementary school students in Auckland, New
Zealand. They became the world's first kids to be" taught" by a
digital teacher, Will. Will is just an avatar(用户头像)that appears on the student's desktop,
tablet, or smartphone screen, not a human-like robot walking around the
classroom.
Auckland energy company Vector and AI company Soul Machines
worked together to develop Will, which has been modeled after the human brain
and nervous system, allowing it to perform human-like behavior. The digital
teacher is currently assigned to teach Vector's" Be sustainable with
energy, "a free program for Auckland elementary schools.
Just like the humans it replaced, Will is able to instantly
react to the students' responses to the topic. Thanks to a webcam(网络摄像头)and microphone, the avatar not only
responds to questions the kids may have, but also picks up non-verbal cues(非口头提示).For instance, if a student smiles at
Will, he responds by smiling back. This two-way interaction not only helps
capture the students' attention, but also allows the program's developers to
monitor their engagement, and make changes if needed.
Vector's Chief Digital Officer, Nikhil Ravishankar says,"
What was fascinating to me was the reaction of the children to Will. The way
they look at the world is so creative and different, and Will really captured
their attention."
Will, in place since August 2018,has been a great success
thus far. However, regardless of how popular it becomes, Will is unlikely to
replace human educators any time soon .For one, the avatar's knowledge base is
severely restricted. But more importantly, even the smartest digital avatars
could never predict and react to all the unexpected situations that educators
have to deal with on a daily basis. However, it could come in handy as a" personal
tutor", providing kids with one-on-one help on specific subjects or even
topics.