PUBLISHED ONSeptember 08, 2023 10:14 AMByVenkat Gunasellan Artificial intelligence (AI) is here, whether we like it or not. On the surface it might seem like our lives will be made easier with AI.
But hold onto that thought.
In Japan, researchers are in the process of coming up with a system, using AI and thermal imaging, that helps to detect students dozing off in class.
As reported by the South China Morning Post, Kansai Denki Kogyo, an energy company based in Higashiosaka, is working with scientists from Osaka Kyoiku University to develop an equipment that would alert teachers when students fall asleep during class.
How does the system work, you ask?
Using images of people standing, sitting, sleeping on a chair and in other situations, the developers from the university's Centre for Education Innovation Design then submit the image data into an AI system.
By analysing the thermal imprints associated with each of these activities, the technology successfully recognises and categorises similar activities occurring in real-life situations.
The developers also claimed that the "system had an accuracy of more than 90 per cent".
During a recent demonstration, Professor Fumio Nakaya mentioned that objective observation and recording is needed to improve the quality of education. "Until now, humans have taken on this task, although the workload has become too heavy. My motivation for starting this research was to utilise modern technology to support those processes."
Researchers also mentioned that this new system will allow teachers to fully dedicate their attention to teaching, all the while engaging directly with sleepy students and motivating them to actively participate in the classroom activities.
Additionally, the system hopes to "visualise" what pupils are doing rather than to "monitor".
However, a professor of the sociology of culture at Chuo University and a member of the Japan Youth Study Group, Izumi Tsuji, is sceptical about said system.
"My first reaction when I saw this news was that it's a terrible idea," he said.
"This is the kind of technology that is only designed to control human beings, and I do not see any ways in which it would help teachers do a better job with their pupils.
"They say it is designed to help the teacher be better at keeping the pupils alert, but I do not believe that," he added.
"I am also concerned with how the system will be used, and there needs to be clear regulations on its application. If there are no rules on when, where and how it is used, then it can only be harmful to the children."
ChatGPT made headlines in December 2022 when a student from South Carolina university was allegedly caught by his professor for using the chat bot to write a 500-word essay on philosopher David Hume and the paradox of horror.
ChatGPT can produce essays and solve mathematical equations in mere seconds.
When media law professor Mark Cenite from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) took to ChatGPT to write an essay for and against capital punishment, in the style of Shakespeare's poetry - it did just that.
"It instantly generated the usual arguments in clear sentences woven together with introductions, conclusions and transitions," said Dr Cenite.
To mitigate students from cheating, he suggested challenging them through application and critical thinking.
"For example, instead of an assignment requiring arguments for and against capital punishment, we could ask our students to apply the arguments in a particular case. AI can't do something that original yet," he said.
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