Special report | Technology

Will artificial intelligence transform school?

The boldest visions for AI in classrooms misunderstand much about education

Illustration of an open book with an electronic chip embedded on one of its pages, set against a green background.
Illustration: Giacomo Bagnara

“Books will soon be obsolete in schools,” opined Thomas Edison in 1913. He believed the motion picture would replace texts and teachers as means of instruction, and that it would happen within a decade. A century later, Mr Edison is unwilling to admit error, no matter how hard your correspondent probes. He insists his prediction was “not entirely incorrect”, and that he got it “both right and wrong”. The best he will offer is that it was “perhaps a bit premature”.

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This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline “What will AI mean for school?”

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From the July 13th 2024 edition

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