Your robot teacher of the future
未来的机器人老师
你能想象让高效率的机器人教师指导你在区区六个月内读完整个本科学位吗？虽然听上去有些不着边际，但一位未来学家认为，这个猜想会变为现实。欢迎来到机器人老师的世界，和《随身英语》一起探讨未来教育和科技之间的紧密关系。
Will your job be done by a robot in the future? Bank of England economists predict that almost half of all UK jobs are under threat of automation. Those most at risk involve repetetive manual labour, such as factory positions. But could even the venerable profession of teaching soon have to compete against powerful electronic educators?
你的工作将来会由机器人来做吗？英国央行经济学家预测，英国近一半的就业岗位面临自动化的威胁。其中最有可能被取代的工作包含重复性体力劳动，比如工厂岗位。但是，即使是受人尊敬的教学行业，很快也要面临强大的电子教育者的竞争吗？
At first glance, teaching might seem impervious to replacement by robots. Teachers use a range of soft skills that machines find hard to replicate. They gauge pupils' needs and tailor feedback accordingly. They adapt materials to make them more engaging and effective. And they provide pastoral care: looking out for students who lag behind or disrupt the class.
乍一看，教学似乎不受机器人替代的影响。教师拥有一系列机器难以复制的软技能。他们评估学生的需求，并相应地调整反馈。他们调整课件，使之更吸引人、更有效。他们还提供精神关怀：照顾那些落后或扰乱课堂秩序的学生。
Nonetheless, some believe the future of education will be technological. In an interview with Business Insider magazine, futurist Thomas Frey predicts that "by 2030 the largest company on the internet is going to be an education-based company that we haven't heard of yet."
尽管如此，一些人认为教育的未来将由技术引领。未来学家托马斯·弗雷在接受《商业内幕》杂志采访时预测，“到2030年，互联网上最大的公司将是一家我们还没听说过的教育公司。”
He thinks that 'bots' - online robot teachers - will make education so efficient that students will be able to compress an entire undergraduate degree into six months of learning. A bot learns what your "idiosyncrasies" "interests" and "reference points" are, "and it figures out how to teach you in a faster and faster way over time," according to Frey.
他认为，“机器人”——在线机器人教师——将使教育变得高效，学生能够将整个本科学位的学习时间压缩为6个月。弗雷说，机器人知道你的“特质”、“兴趣”和“参照点”，“随着时间的推移，它会以越来越快的速度教你。”
Whether or not such incredible speeds will be reached, over the last decade there has been a huge increase in online learning platforms. Companies such as Udemy and Khan Academy produce courses that allow millions to learn at home for free, at their own pace. But there are limitations. Without the face-to-face stimulation of a classroom environment, the overwhelming majority of students fail to complete online courses. How to sustain motivation to learn is one more skill that online teachers will need to master.
不管这种令人难以置信的速度能否达到，在过去的十年里，在线学习平台有了巨大的增长。戴维森和可汗学院等公司提供的课程，可以让数百万人按照自己的节奏在家里免费学习。但这也有局限性。没有面对面的课堂环境的刺激，绝大多数学生无法完成在线课程。如何保持学生的学习动机是网络教师需要掌握的另一项技能。
Indeed, Frey admits there is some way to go: "Nobody has quite cracked the code for the future of education." What do teachers themselves think about this? Professor Donald Clark from Derby University in the UK thinks that we should embrace change, even though people will lose their jobs.
的确，弗雷承认这离成功还有一段距离：“没有人能完全破解未来教育的密码。”老师们自己是怎么想的呢？英国德比大学的唐纳德·克拉克教授认为，我们应该拥抱变革，即使人们将失去工作。
Artificial intelligence will destroy jobs - so why not use it for a social good such as learning? he asked.
他问道：“人工智能会毁掉人类的工作——那么为什么不把它用于学习等社会公益呢？”
词汇表
automation
自动化
at risk
面临风险
manual labour
体力劳动
position
工作，职位
profession
（需专业知识技能的）职业
impervious
不受影响的
soft skill
软技能，如与人相处的能力和沟通能力等
to gauge
判断（人的感受）
to tailor
（根据需要）调整
feedback
反馈意见
to lag behind
落后
to compress
压缩、缩短
idiosyncrasy
个人特征、习性
overwhelming majority
压倒性多数，绝大多数
to master
掌握
to crack (a) code
找到解决问题的办法
to embrace change
积极接受改变
artificial intelligence
人工智能