Robots and AI powered digital assistants are increasingly becoming part of our lives.But one person's utopia could be another's dypstopia. This talk for Future Edtech 2017 looks at how could we use these new technologies to help teachers and learners, and what to do if it all goes horribly wrong.

1. Help! My robot is a teacher!
Martin Hamilton
1Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017

2. Who am I?
2Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
» About Jisc
› edtech not-for-profit with ~18m users in research,
education and skills
› We do three things:
– Run shared services like the Janet network
– Negotiate deals for the sector
– Provide advice & guidance
› Major initiatives right now in digital skills and
learning analytics
› My role:
– Generating & channelling new ideas
– Building partnerships to bring them to fruition
Pepper robot at Jisc Digifest 2017

3. Help! My robot is a teacher!
1. Near future careers - from DNA editor to asteroid miner
2. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
3. Supporting the digitally disadvantaged to achieve their
potential
20/06/2017 Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 2017 3

4. 1. Near future careers:
From DNA editor to asteroid miner
20/06/2017 Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 2017 4

5. Near future careers
5Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Now hiring… DNA editors

6. Near future careers
6Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Now hiring… drone engineers

7. Near future careers
7Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Now hiring… asteroid miners (planetaryresources.com)

8. Near future careers
8Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
SpaceX first stage booster landing,THAICOM8 mission, May 2016

9. 2. Equipping today’s learners
for tomorrow’s world
20/06/2017 Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 2017 9

10. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
10Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
http://ji.sc/developing-digicap

11. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
11Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017

12. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
12Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017

13. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
13Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Photo CC BY-ND Flickr user chijs
Photo CC BY-NC-SA Flickr user portalgda
› Tesla owners have already driven over 140m miles on Autopilot
› 90,000+Teslas with Autopilot are already on the road

14. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
14Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Photo CC BY-ND Flickr user chijs
Photo CC BY-NC-SA Flickr user portalgda
› Tesla owners have already driven over 140m miles on Autopilot
› 90,000+Teslas with Autopilot are already on the road

15. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
15Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Google DeepMindAI learns to play Breakout

16. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
16Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Obstacle detection and avoidance in the Google self-driving car

17. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
17Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017

18. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
18Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017

19. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
19Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
VLE data
+
Student record system
+
Attendance data
+
Library data
Buildings data
+
Learning space data
+
Location data
Teaching quality data
+
Assessment data
+
Curriculum design
data
Content data
+
Learning pathways
data
Better retention
and attainment
Retention and
attainment
Retention and
attainment
Retention and
attainment
A more efficient
campus
Improved teaching
& curricula
Personalised and
adaptive learning
Efficient campus Efficient campus
Improving teaching
& curricula
Now
Learning
analytics
Institutional
analytics
Educational
analytics
Adaptive
Analytics and AI
Future

20. Equipping today’s learners for tomorrow’s world
20Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Startups and scaleups
› Jisc Startups competition
– Six month accelerator programme
– Support package includes cash grant
and mentoring
› Winners: Wildfire Learning
– World’s first AI content creation
service for learning
– Create learning objects from any text,
PowerPoint or video
– Generate a course’s worth of content
in an hour
– www.wildfirelearning.co.uk

21. 3. Supporting the digitally disadvantaged
to achieve their potential
20/06/2017 Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 2017 21

22. Supporting the digitally disadvantaged
22Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Photo CC BY-NC Flickr user feuilllu
Photo CC BY-NC Flickr user nestle
› Pepper acts as greeter in 140+ SoftBank stores in Japan
› Nestlé planning to introduce in 1000+ sales outlets

23. Supporting the digitally disadvantaged
23Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Pepper the robot visits the FinancialTimes

24. Supporting the digitally disadvantaged
24Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Photo CC BY-NC Flickr user greenplasticamy
› Amazon uses over 45,000 robots already in its
warehouses and distribution centres

25. Supporting the digitally disadvantaged
25Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Photo CC BY-NC Flickr user greenplasticamy
› Amazon uses over 45,000 robots already in its
warehouses and distribution centres

26. Supporting the digitally disadvantaged
26Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
From http://futurism.com

27. Supporting the digitally disadvantaged
27
Displaced people:
› You might be surprised at just how much
more can be automated
› Further erosion of unskilled and semi-skilled
employment opportunities
– Watch out if your white collar job can be reduced to an
algorithm or “learned” from data
› “New Luddites” throwing stones at the
Google bus?
– Versus universal basic income?
– Versus psychological need for a greater purpose?
› Health implications of sedentary lifestyles,
musculoskeletal disorders
– Already 86% of Chinese high school students are
myopic – screen time & indoor play?
Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
CC BY Flickr user boykoblagoev

28. Supporting the digitally disadvantaged
28
Developing digital capability:
› There will be whole new careers & existing
ones will change beyond recognition
– We should view this as an opportunity, e.g. smart
homes need smart plumbers & smart electricians
› We will need to embrace portfolio careers &
continuous/bite sized learning
– No longer enough to learn a trade or achieve
professional certification
› Impedance mismatch between digital tech
and the apparatus of the nation state
– Brexit vs. Estonian e-residency
› Reaching the next billion learners
– Last mile issues for trans-national education
Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
Tri-modal model for innovation CC-BY Simon Wardley:
blog.gardeviance.org/2012/06/pioneers-settlers-and-
town-planners.html

29. New horizon scan report just out!
29Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017
https://www.jisc.ac.uk/reports/open-by-default

30. That’s all folks!
30
Except where otherwise noted, this
work is licensed under CC-BY
Connect with me:
Martin Hamilton
Futurist, Jisc, London
@martin_hamilton
martin.hamilton@jisc.ac.uk
Help! My robot is a teacher! - Future Edtech 201720/06/2017