In an age where artificial intelligence has become increasingly prominent in our lives, it is also affecting the lives of children in unprecedented ways.
Strong AI refers to artificial intelligence technology that allows machines to mimic the behaviors and performances of humans, at times surpassing them. The goal of artificial intelligence is to accurately mimic the behavior of humans. Artificial intelligence products are often divided into four categories: adaptable, data, cognitive or accessibility, and generative. There are products for children in all four categories, therefore, they influence our future generation in their developing years.
Adaptable artificial intelligence emphasizes on fitting into an individual person’s context, preferences, and needs. Products in this field include personalized learning tools and advanced supply-demand matching algorithms, which are common for both industries and individuals.
Today, let’s talk about one specific product that is becoming increasingly prominent in classrooms: the Merlyn Origin.
Merlyn Mind was founded in 2018 by Doctor Satya Nitta, the former Global Head of AI Solutions for Learning at International Business Machines (IBM) and other members on his team at IBM.
“We envision that we will live in a world where every learner, educator, and professional will have their own AI assistants that will be capable of remembering their preferences and learning patterns as well as performing related actions within the tools and resources they use,” Nitta said.
Their business model emphasizes not replacing teachers, but instead empowering them with the most optimal tools so they can demonstrate their best performance.
By Spring of 2024, Merlyn Origins was launched. Merlyn Origins, a software-based AI voice assistant for teachers, is accessible through computers and other forms of classroom technology. With a remote control, teachers can easily set up classrooms for activities. One notable feature is a chat function specialized for classroom settings, generating K12 appropriate answers complete with visuals, links to educational sources and extra questions for students to ponder. Merlyn Origins additionally includes a Lesson Builder service that generates lesson plans, rubrics, and other academic materials based on the values and visions that the teacher prioritizes.
However, the major concern revolving around this product appears to be the authenticity of the information provided. Henceforth, influencing children from a young age and the threat the teachers face of being replaced by similar products.
Merlyn Minds addresses both these problems.
In regards to accurately portraying information, Merlyn Origins only takes information from educational sources and makes sure it generates age-appropriate material. On the official website, an emphasis is placed on six core values: purpose-built models, safety and security measures, transparent models (with code available for the public), user-protecting systems and unbiased information. Merlyn ensures that they do not overstep into categories that cause AI to replace the roles of teachers. Their functions can not be performed without a human monitor, and they do not plan on developing independent coursework of any type. Nitta has publicly stated that AI would not ever work as a teacher.
Looking into the future, the major foreseeable problem with the product is both its cost and accessibility to the public. Each Merlyn Origins program costs $100 dollars, not accounting other technologies necessary to run the software on. For many schools, this price makes it difficult to equip every classroom in a school with an AI assistant. Given the speed the AI industry is developing at, the current models may need to be replaced every few years, costing a fortune over the long run.
Additionally, AI tends to leave a bad reputation within a school environment. Chat GPT has been used to cheat school systems and often return unreliable and fake information to students, confusing them and reversing the hard work of teachers. Teachers will wonder if introducing another piece of artificial intelligence is the best idea for the current student generation.
Despite challenges, there is no doubt that Merlyn Minds is a versatile and helpfull product that uses ethical AI and can provide teachers a helping hand. Looking to the future, hopefully more artificial intelligence technologies can be involved in bringing positive change to educational systems.
