Artificial Intelligence In The Lecture Hall

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is on everyone’s lips. Computers and machines capable of imitating human actions and performing activities on an independent and self-learning basis represent the future. So far the use of Articifial Intelligence in Germany has been limited to individual areas (e.g, medicine, car electronics). This, however, is about to change quickly. Today, robots have not only become a useful tool in financial institutions to support employees in giving advice to clients. Artificial Intelligence is gaining increasing importance at higher-education institutions as well. Exploiting Artificial Intelligence’s education-specific potential has already become a part of the political agenda. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research, for example, is sponsoring the research project “Humanoid Emotional Assistant Robots in Teaching“ (H.E.A.R.T. for short), which is conducted at the Phillips University of Marburg. The vision is to use humanoid robots in lectures in order to ensure best-possible education. Yet, the idea to render Artificial Intelligence useful for the educational sector is not only met with approval. Skeptics fear that the use of Artificial Intelligence might lead to the disappearance of human lecturers.

The research, development and testing of humanoid, i.e. human-like robots spreads across all life areas of society worldwide. Humanoid robots are computer-driven machines that imitate human beings in terms of form, function and behavior in an effort to respond to its environment in a human manner. They resemble human beings with respect to physique (head, arms, legs) and motion properties. A well known example of such a robot is Atlas, the humanoid robot developed by Boston Dynamics.

Humanoid robots must be differentiated from android robots. Although it is true that all android robots are humanoid robots in that they simulate human behavior and appearance, not all humanoid robots are androids. The characteristic feature of androids is that they imitate humans as accurately as possible and that they look remarkably like real people. While the appearance of humanoid robots only vaguely resemble real people, android robots are artifically created people, as it were. In many cases their outward appearance is based on people that actually exist. An android that has caused quite a few headlines is Sophia – product of Hong Kong-based engineering and robotics company Hanson Robotics and as of recently citizen of Saudi Arabia.

Both humanoids and androids have the capacity to imitate emotional states, empathy, and non-verbal communication.

In order for Artificial Intelligence to become operational at higher-education institutions in particular and the education sector in general, the research team of the H.E.A.R.T. project, headed by linguistics professor Jürgen Handke, rely on humanoid robots as well. The researchers work with two humanoid robots of the Japanese company Softbank Robotics: the 120 centimetre goggle-eyed Pepper, and the 50 centimetre Nao. Both robots are social robots that are equipped with interaction and motion sensors. Interaction transpires via apps that have been specifically developed by the research team.

The research project is driven by the question of how intelligent a robot has to be in communicative, cultural and emotional terms to be capable of showing a behavior that is adapted to its environment and interaction partners. The first step is to determine the specific way in which humanoid robots can be integrated into higher-education institutions. Subsequently, the aim is to put the use of robots in lectures to the test and assess its potential benefits.

The prospect of machines being able to replace or even destroy us some day is a concern of many people. Too great is our fear of the unknown, too negative are our connotations of humanoid machines. However, if Handke is right, this concern is unfounded. The Professor rejects those common Hollywood clichés. Robots, he argues, are neither a threat nor rivals to lecturers at higher-education institutions – quite the opposite.

According to Handke, those robots do not pose a threat because they can only do what they are programmed to do. Every word and every emotional behavior relies on input data, Handke contends. In his estimation, the idea of simulating human intelligence a hundred percent is just as unlikely as fully exploring the human mind/brain in the near future. Robots are only intelligent insofar as they respond appropriately in a given situation based on input data. Even so, Handke concedes that the occurrence of certain conflicts cannot be ruled out. As in any social surrounding, misunderstandings and misbehavior can be expected. However, to Handke, this does not qualify as an argument against the use of robots. After all, being systems capable of learning, robots have the capacity to learn from their mistakes.

The idea of robots being potential rivals, on the other hand, contradicts the main purpose of the two robots, according to Handke, i.e. to exert an assistance function by supporting lecturers in their work in order to thus create added value. Although robots are going to be able to assume more and more tasks relating to teaching and student advice as they become increasingly developed, the focus is put on reducing the workload of lecturers during attendance periods so as to create more time available for individual learning support during the digital phase of conveying learning contents. If that can actually be achieved, the use of artificial intelligence at higher-education institutions might prove one of several means to improve the currently catastrophic student-to-staff ratio, among other things. The ultimate goal, the Professor states, is for humanoid robots and (university) lecturers to complement each other in the performance of their tasks some day.

The first steps to achieving this goal have already been taken. Phillips University of Marburg is the first university in Germany to ever have a robot carry out a complete lecture (in English studies) independently. Other higher-education institutions too have ambitions along these lines, and receive support from policymakers. The government of the Free State of Bavaria, for example, is planning to make Bavaria the European leader in terms of Artifical Intelligence by fostering cooperation of Bavarian universities and researchers.