AI accelerates in K12

Until recently, the quality of classroom instruction relied almost entirely on a teacher's resourcefulness, motivation and intelligence. Soon, it will also depend on artificial intelligence--with lessons based more on what students need to learn than on traditional methods of instruction. "Even with PCs, projectors and the internet, the way students are taught hasn't changed that much in the past 50 years," says Rose Luckin, the chair of learning with digital technologies at University College London's Knowledge Lab. "With artificial intelligence helping the teacher, there will be a revolution in education that addresses many of teaching's shortcomings." Sometimes called "the fourth industrial revolution" (after steam, electricity and computing), artificial intelligence is all around us, from beating people at poker to analyzing mortgage applications and replying to requests on voice-activated phone systems at home or on your phone.