Thank you.
Not totally AI-related, but I think this article ties in and expands upon the one that @komsomolez posted above.
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I already replaced a decent portion of my Google searches with ChatGPT questions.
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I use Duck Duck Go sometimes instead of Google which has gone downhill badly. Are there any other good alternatives?
I think Google has since a long time used a sort of AI to guess the actual meaning and context of a query and serve relevant links. That’s why its search results are so good and relevant most of the times.
The current hype-inducing awesome advances can be attributed mainly to one factor: the giganormous scale of the the training material and network sizes. Certainly, all the scientific advancements counted as well, but at the moment it only works if you can have the GPUs and power in the order of a few hundred million $. So, if there is enough demand, i.e. profitable businesses using it, the power consumption will only grow.
The idea alone to do a google search “Is Kamala Harris a good Democratic candidate”. That’s a question for a crystal ball or tarot cards. Actually one better uses a pendulum as the answer kind of comes from within = will better show your opinion.
It actually seems logic to me, that google spits out positive answers to this question as the system reads “Kamala Harris good” the rest is given (she is a Democratic candidate) = of no use for the search.
And the same if you ask “is … what ever … bad”.
On the other hand I just did that question on DuckDuck (the “good candidate” one) and got headlines like Kamala Harris’s Strengths and Weaknesses - The New York Times and What Kamala Harris’s years as a prosecutor tell us about her - BBC and What to know about Kamala Harris, leading contender to be Democr and 5 key things to know about Kamala Harris : NPR
I didn’t read the entire reports behind these links but the titles tell me that the reader will still have to come to an opinion of their own. So yes, there might be something fishy re google (surprise, surprise) if the answers there are straight forward/almost yes and no. Because DuckDuck is definitely not more capable than google, meaning capable of doing something google can’t.
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Google used to be so good. Now the the results are noticeably skewed to very simple searches, not just how long is a piece of string questions.
Ohhhhh, ChatGPT killed a company with thousands of contractors in India that made student’s homework for $19.95 a month.
Nice article from the WSJ:
How ChatGPT Brought Down an Online Education Giant - Chegg’s stock is down 99%, and students looking for homework help are defecting to ChatGPT
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Now, this is interesting:
Thoughts and prayers for people working on this field, even earlier this year the forecasts were awesome:
Online Tutoring Market projected to reach USD 21.8 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 13.8% during the forecast period of 2023-2030 - pronounced by MarketDigits in its recent study
We basically already now have the technology to make aversion of “A Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer”. We just need someone to do it.
Dedicated AI tutors have the potential to radically impact learning and tuition.
Try to ask chat GPT why objects fall on earth. It will tell you that the general relativity theory corrections are negligible and that it’s the gravitational force attracting the objects. No amount of coercing will make it to actually “understand” what one is asking about.
Yes, all that literature lessons fluff is a different story, but at the current stage an AI chat won’t replace a good tutor, especially if the pupil is, let’s say, a bit dim-witted.
It will just replace one way of bulshit teaching with another bulshit fluff.
explain to a 6 year old why do objects fall on earth?
Sure! Imagine you’re playing with a ball, and you hold it up high and then let go. What happens? The ball falls down, right? That’s because of something called gravity.
Gravity is like an invisible string that connects everything on Earth to the center of the Earth. It’s what makes everything fall down instead of floating away. The Earth pulls on everything, including you, your toys, and even the air around you! But because your shoes are on the ground and your body is strong, you don’t feel pulled down as strongly as, say, a tiny leaf that might fall from a tree.
So, when you let go of the ball, gravity pulls it towards the ground, and that’s why it falls. It’s like the Earth is giving the ball a big hug, pulling it down to the ground. Isn’t that cool?
Using a General Purpose ChatBot is a very crude starting point.
For tutor AI, I think you could still use a standard LLM without fine-tuning, but you’d build into the context detail of the pupil (age learning level), study history, as well as curriculum, timetable learning objectives etc. to build out a custom tutor that learns how your child thinks, what he is good or bad at.
In practice, the AI would form part of a package including learning plans and study materials and media that work together.
I actually have quite high hopes for AI tutoring and I think it can help to democratize education as it will make tutoring affordable or even free to those who currently can’t afford it.
You’d have to know what questions to ask though, as a parent, or a child.
Or would you just ask AI to teach your child, for example, the sixth grade syllabus.
No child is going to ask why objects fall to earth. They would need to be tutored to ask that sort of question.
The last person who pondered that was Issac Newton when an apple fell on his head.
Having said that, I had a G and T at the weekend and it was a bit flat. I’m convinced that plastic bottled tonic has less bubbles than the glass variants.
I then thought what sort of experiment I’d need to design to prove that.
Of course it’s already been done with Henry’s law and all that but in the old days, if I hadn’t studied physics, I would have had to open a book and read a bit and try and understand what to do.
Just asking chatGPT (or Google I suppose) isn’t really a good way of stimulating a child’s, or indeed an adult’s mind.
The AI would teach. With the syllabus programmed the AI would be able to monitor progress via homework, questioning with the child or giving tests and be able to customise a learning programme.
Scene: The AI tutor, named Lumi, greets Ethan, a 12-year-old student, as he sits down at his desk. Lumi is an animated cartoon character on as screen at his desk.
Lumi: “Good afternoon, Ethan! How was your day at school?”
Ethan: “Hi, Lumi! It was okay. We had PE, so I’m a bit tired.”
Lumi: “I bet! I hope you got to run around a bit. Let’s take a look at today’s homework—you had some exercises on expanding brackets, right? Could you show me the page?”
Ethan: “Yep, here it is!” He holds up his workbook to the small camera above his desk.
(Lumi’s holographic face tilts slightly, indicating it’s analyzing the page.)
Lumi: “Thank you, Ethan! Let’s see… Ah, I see you tried expanding brackets on these problems. Hmm… looks like on a couple of these, you didn’t distribute to each term correctly.”
Ethan: “Oh, really? I thought I got those right.”
Lumi: “It happens! Let’s practice with a couple of quick examples. I’ll walk you through one, then you can try another on your own. Sound good?”
Ethan: “Sure, that sounds good.”
Lumi: “Great! Here’s a basic example: 3(x + 4). Now, to expand the brackets, we need to multiply the 3 by each term inside. So, 3 times x gives us 3x, and 3 times 4 gives us…?”
Ethan: “Twelve!”
Lumi: “Exactly! So when we expand 3(x + 4), we get 3x + 12.”
Ethan: “Oh, I see! I think I was forgetting to multiply the second number sometimes.”
Lumi: “That’s a common slip-up. Now, your turn! Try expanding 5(y + 3).”
Ethan: Thinking aloud “Okay, so 5 times y is 5y, and then 5 times 3 is… 15? So… 5y + 15?”
Lumi: “Yes, exactly! You’ve got it, Ethan. Let’s do just a couple more to make sure you feel confident.”
(They practice a few more examples together, and Lumi guides Ethan through each one, reinforcing the steps as they go.)
Lumi: “Fantastic! I think you’re really getting the hang of it now. You’ve done a great job.”
Ethan: “Thanks, Lumi! This makes a lot more sense.”
Lumi: “Glad to hear it! Now, before we wrap up, I wanted to remind you that your French language test is next week. Want to squeeze in a little practice?”
Ethan: “Oh, right! Sure, let’s do a bit.”
Lumi: “Perfect! Let’s go over some of the vocabulary you’ve been learning. I’ll say the word in French, and you try to tell me what it means, okay?”
Ethan: “Got it!”
(They go over a few French words and phrases together, with Lumi offering gentle corrections and extra practice where needed.)
Lumi: “You did a great job today, Ethan! Expanding brackets, plus some French vocabulary—you’re on a roll.”
Ethan: “Thanks, Lumi! I feel ready for tomorrow.”
Lumi: “That’s the spirit. Have a great evening, and I’ll see you tomorrow for our review session. Bye, Ethan!”
Ethan: “Bye, Lumi!”
Lumi, Ethan’s AI tutor, evaluates multiple data sources to customize a study plan that aligns with Ethan’s current academic challenges, personal habits, and daily wellbeing.
Lumi analyzes Ethan’s assigned homework and upcoming school syllabus in each subject, identifying areas where he’s performing well and topics he might need additional support on. This data is layered with Ethan’s responses during sessions—observations from his tone, pace of speaking, and frequency of questions help gauge his confidence and understanding.
The AI’s camera uses facial recognition and movement tracking to assess Ethan’s alertness and focus. Lumi logs moments when Ethan seems to lose concentration or show signs of tiredness. Speech analysis detects when his voice is lower or slower than usual, indicators Lumi uses to monitor energy levels.
Lumi also cross-references Ethan’s sleeping habits by syncing with his wearable health device. This device logs Ethan’s sleep duration and quality, alerting Lumi if he’s had a poor night’s sleep or went to bed unusually late, which could affect his engagement in lessons.
After PE on Thursdays, Lumi observes that Ethan’s physical tiredness often affects his focus, so Lumi plans to make Thursday sessions lighter on new material, instead focusing on review and reinforcement.
Lastly, Lumi’s algorithm detects patterns across days. For example, Lumi notices that Ethan stays up late on Tuesday nights, possibly impacting his focus in Wednesday morning sessions. After cross-referencing with parental feedback, Lumi deduces that a favorite cartoon airing on Tuesday might be contributing to this pattern.
EXAMPLE END-OF-WEEK REPORT FOR ETHAN’S PARENTS
Report generated by Lumi AI Tutor for Ethan’s parents
Weekly Summary for Ethan:
1. Academic Progress:
- Math: Ethan has made solid progress on expanding brackets. He initially struggled with distributing terms consistently but showed marked improvement after targeted practice exercises. His confidence has noticeably increased in applying these steps on his own.
- French: Vocabulary recall is strong, but pronunciation and retention of some phrases are weaker after nights of reduced sleep. Additional practice on French is recommended on well-rested days.
2. Attention and Focus:
- Sleep Patterns: Notable decrease in focus on Wednesday mornings, correlated with late sleep on Tuesday nights. Lumi detected sleep logs indicating a consistent bedtime delay on Tuesdays. Based on Ethan’s feedback, this may be due to watching a late cartoon he enjoys. Recommending adjusting Tuesday evening schedules to ensure a full night’s sleep for optimal learning on Wednesdays.
- Physical Activity: After PE on Thursdays, Ethan shows signs of physical tiredness, impacting his energy levels during our sessions. To support his focus on these days, Lumi has adjusted Thursday sessions to be more review-focused rather than introducing new, demanding concepts.
3. Health and Wellbeing Recommendations:
- Sleep and Rest: Ensuring a regular bedtime for Ethan, especially on Tuesdays, could significantly improve his learning retention on Wednesdays. Limiting screen time after 8 PM may also help him wind down more effectively, supporting better sleep quality.
- Dietary Support: Incorporating a small, nutrient-rich snack before Thursday’s PE may help maintain his energy levels through both PE and our subsequent session.
Concluding Remarks: Ethan has shown consistent improvement across subjects and responds well to feedback. By addressing these sleep and energy patterns, we can help him engage more fully in his learning.
(The report concludes, with Lumi’s system preparing for the following week’s tailored lesson plan for Ethan.)
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Or more likely:
Lumi: “Good afternoon, Ethan! How was your day at school?”
Ethan: “Hi, Lumi! It was okay. We had PE, so I’m a bit tired.”
Lumi: “I bet! I hope you got to run around a bit. Let’s take a look at today’s homework—you had some exercises on expanding brackets, right? Could you show me the page?”
Ethan: “No, you’re mistaken, I didn’t get any homework today.*
As he reaches for the off switch and goes to game on his PS5…
Not sure I should feel sorry for that company?
Nice fiction 
This part made me laugh a bit. Some time ago in social media there were some jokes about the passive-aggressiveness of the notifications from the app Duolingo if you don’t use it daily.
This part worried me. We already had this in the form of self-help books that give advice to parents without ever seeing the child once. These days it’s all about videos in social media giving advice without ever seeing the child. AI would just be the next evolution step in this business, pretend that with a few data points good decisions can be made. If the particular situation of an average child doesn’t fit any of the coded categories, very bad advice can be given with very high confidence and authority.
Lumi, Ethan’s AI tutor, evaluates multiple data sources to customize a study plan that aligns with Ethan’s current academic challenges, personal habits, and daily wellbeing.
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There are videos on social media giving advice about lots of things and depending on the subject, many of them are absolute nonsense.
If it took all of these on a particular subject, the answer would still be wrong.
on another level, I can imagine leaving a child with an AI tutor and coming back a few weeks later and discovering my child is now a born-again Christian vegan.
Has it been mentioned here that the new (around May 2024) spokesperson for Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a KI?
It crossed my mind today that some of us one day will turn off the internet all together as it will be useless. We’ll be the ones who lived before, during and after the internet. Back to Brockhaus, remember lifting those heavy books off the shelf, sifting through the endless pages for answers?