In countries like the US, artificial intelligence is already being used at a large scale to evaluate student essays, saving educational institutes money and time. According to reports, at least 21 states in America have deployed some type of automated scoring, from middle school to college level. Students are being graded on their essays using such AI systems designed by different vendors for highly important tests like the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE). While educators in the US say they are not going back to using human teachers for essay grading, it has received major backlash from parents particularly those from state school systems. But, it's not all great when it comes to automated grading.

Teachers are not ends-in-themselves, they are always a means to an end - improvements in the learner. Given this premise, could it be possible to eventually replace teachers with AI technology? This may not happen soon but let's, as a thought experiment, ask whether it could. Obvious points are that AI is 24/7, fast, scalable and cheaper. This gives it a head start.