South Korea Introducing Robotic Teachers

dorkygeek writes "The Korean Advanced Intelligent Robot Association (KAIRA) will have 64 educational robots deployed by the end of 2005. Able to read out English stories and correct pronunciation of English words to children, these robots are going to be supplied to apartment complexes in Seoul, Bucheon and Bundang in Gyeonggi province for testing purposes. After testing is complete, the Ministry of Information and Communication and KAIRA plan to commercialize the robots as early as 2006. If there exists sufficient demand, education robots will sport other subjects (as mathematics, etc.) apart from English, as well as also target older students." Update Link removed when host decided to change it to porn. Sorry.

Comments

Mr Explete-o-matic

[St0rmwarden]

"...can connect the robots to the Net, and then download contents of their choice from the ministry's Web site." Can anyone else see where this is going - how long did it take them to hack the PSP? And people thought that teaching furbies to swear was a bad enough influence on children...

Re:Mr Explete-o-matic

[hyu]

And people thought that teaching furbies to swear was a bad enough influence on children...

That's not the only fun you can have with a Furby. If you drop one from a high enough height, and it lands right, it will start going insane, eyes blinking uncontrollably, and making excited little noises. It's actually pretty scary. The only way to make it stop is to open it up and tear out the batteries.

But more to the point, about the hackable robots. Surely this is something we need to expect, is it not? I mean, the more we venture into technology, the more likely we are to find out flaws and exploits, and the more likely it is that someone will abuse something created with good intentions. The reason killer robots are so common in fiction is not just because it makes an interesting story, but because it is a very likely outcome. It's really just a matter of time.

Interesting indeed

[zeridon]

Very interesting. Apart from the impact that this have concerning human mind and perception that is indeed a beautifull invention. I am very interested what algorhytms they have used for voice detection.
Just take in mind that theese metal cans must understand childs, which are so easily distracted and with so many different types of voices and speaches.
Think about the fact that theese robots should have somehow nice look and to be unobtrusive.

Re:What's wrong with people, people?

[PsiPsiStar]

This is to language learning what spellcheck is to essay writing, and long overdue.

The purpose of formal language instruction is to teach rules. The advanced classes can have human teachers.

OMFG, this is the logical next step

[Neo-Rio-101]

Considering English teachers in Japan and Korea are basically treated like human tape recorders (yes, I've been there, and I've done that) I've often felt that we could be replaced by robots.... we've joked about it, and now they've done it!

I'm speechless...

I know Japan keeps complaining that it can't learn English well despite all the teachers, but hell.... this isn't the solution. I dunno about Koreans, but the reason why the Japanese can't learn English is because generally speaking they lack the social skills required to meet foreign people in the first place. The Japanese culture never seems to give them a chance to meet strangers, display self-confidence or exuberance, or speak their minds enough to communicate on a different level othen than their own langauge in their own culture. We could argue all day about how speaking with robots, for anyone of any culture, isn't going to help anyone achieve the goal of improved human interaction skills.

the fun they had

[kae_verens]

http://web.csuchico.edu/~ah24/the_fun.htm

Isaac Asimov story about robotic teachers, and nostalgia for simpler times

Re:Sounds Familiar

[Anonymous Coward]

No, this one speaks proper English. Speak 'n Spell spoke and spelled American.

OK, that's fine, if that's where you are, but they were selling these things in Australia. Thousands of kids with these things wondered why "color" got marked wrong by their teacher.

Re:Don't know Japan, but Korea's biggest problem..

[Neo-Rio-101]

That's not too different to Japan. Firstly, the biggest "eikaiwa" (english conversation) school is run by the yakuza AFAIK. They have a high staff turnover to keep the faces fresh and just-off-the-boat.

The Japanese haven't gone as far as the Koreans in the robot department (yet, but it's only a matter of time), nor are they having surgery to their mouths so that they can pronounce English yet. To me, the problem has never been pronounciation - but simple lack of ability to socialize, even in their own language. The pronunciation is not THAT important as long as the message gets across. Their conversation only ever gets as far as "do you like sushi?" because in Japanese, that's one of the only safe topics you can start a conversation with. Asking them to have an opinion on something, introduce themselves, talk about what they like, stand out from the crowd, or provide debate usually leads most students to panic because all these things are unwritten taboo in Japanese culture. They tend to believe that self-expression causes conflict with other people's feelings, although how they rationalize this I don't know. End result is that in class they just sit there in muted silence, unable to say anything for fear of insulting somebody, or getting the pronounciation wrong for the first 100 times as you normally would during the learning process. At the end, most teachers pull their hair out in frustration, as getting angry and forcing discipline on the students only makes them run away.

The other problem with English in Japan as I see it, is that English is treated as a status symbol (for job prospects, or showing off that you have a hobby, or for meeting a foreign guy for marriage, etc) rather than as an actual form of communication. That, and the Japanese are jealous that we are more outgoing and sociable people than they are - and have blonde hair and blue eyes.

Sorry, I've been here too long.... must stop being so cynical....

English-teaching robots are an American invention

[indy]

... and have been used with great success in Iraq.