Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates states that AI may be able to teach children how to ‘read and write’

According to recent statements made by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to teach children how to read and write within the next 18 months. This comes at a time when the capabilities of AI have been debated, with many questioning whether the technology has the potential to outperform humans in various domains. To compare the performance of AI and humans, several tests have been conducted, including one on the well-known chatbot ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, to evaluate its ability to succeed in competitive exams.

In light of these debates, questions have been raised about how AI can help students improve their learning skills. Gates has expressed positivity about the potential for AI to make a significant contribution to teaching children how to read and write. In a post on his website ‘Gates Notes,’ he described a keynote speech he gave at the ASU+GSV Summit in San Diego, in which he predicted that AI would work as a teacher’s aide and provide feedback on writing in the next 18 months. Gates believes that AI-powered chatbots, such as ChatGPT Plus, may charge for tutoring services but will still be more accessible and affordable than traditional human tutoring.

In March, Gates published a blog post titled ‘The Age of AI has begun,’ in which he discussed the potential for AI-driven software to revolutionize the way students are taught. He praised the invention of ChatGPT, calling it a revolutionary technological demonstration similar to the introduction of graphical user interfaces in the 1980s. Gates was impressed by the GPT model when he first saw it and has been contemplating how AI’s potential will grow over the next decade. He also stressed the importance of creating AI-driven tools that can be made available to disadvantaged populations and low-income countries.

Gates also expressed optimism about the potential of educational technology (EdTech) in general, citing several existing tools that, if fully adopted, could make more progress in math scores than has been made in the last 20 years. However, he noted that the bottleneck in math education is more about how it fits into the overall system and getting teacher adoption. Overall, Gates believes that EdTech, including AI-driven tools, has the potential to transform the way students learn and should be made accessible to everyone.