The teachers who inspire our children will soon be machines and not humans, according to a leading university vice chancellor. Within 10 years a technological revolution will sweep aside old notions of education and change the world forever, Sir Anthony Seldon says. The vice chancellor of the University of Buckingham believes school teachers will lose their traditional role and effectively one day be little more than classroom assistants. He says they will remain on hand to set up equipment, help children when necessary and maintain discipline. But the essential job of instilling knowledge into young minds will be completely done by artificially intelligent (AI) computers.

How much information can we extract from a five-minute recording of someone talking? Enough to tell whether that individual may be genetically predisposed to some health complications, according to researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's Waisman Center and Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. In a new study published this month in Scientific Reports, the researchers used machine learning to analyze hundreds of voice recordings and accurately identify individuals with a genetic condition known as fragile X premutation, which increases the risk of developing neurodegenerative disorders, infertility or having a child with fragile X syndrome. While fragile X syndrome -- characterized by intellectual disability and behavioral, physical and learning challenges -- is relatively rare, millions of people across the world have fragile X premutations. "But the premutations remain underdiagnosed, and people are often unaware of their increased health risks," says Marsha Mailick, professor of social work and UW –Madison vice chancellor for research and graduate education.