AI headteacher appointed at UK boarding school

Pupils at a school in southern England have just got a brand new headteacher, but she's a little bit different from what you might expect.

The teacher, named Abigail Bailey, won't be leading assemblies, take detentions or give out homework, because she isn't human...

Abigail is an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot, and has been appointed to help Cottesmore School's human headmaster, Tom Rogerson.

The private boarding school in West Sussex worked with an AI developer to create the chatbot, which will help Mr Rogerson with his duties.

It's hoped that Miss Bailey will be able to give advice on issues such as how to support fellow teachers and staff members, as well as ways to help children who have additional needs.

Artistic image of a human AI robot

Speaking to the Telegraph newspaper, Mr Rogerson said: "Sometimes having someone or something there to help you is a very calming influence."

Explaining that he will still ask for advice from human members of staff, Mr Rogerson added: "Being a school leader, a headmaster, is a very lonely job. Of course, we have head teacher's groups...but just having somebody or something on tap that can help you in this lonely place is very reassuring.

"It's nice to think that someone who is unbelievably well trained is there to help you make decisions."

How will the AI headmaster work?

Children at the school have access to their own personal AI to help with their learning

Abigail Bailey works similarly to the AI chatbot ChatGPT - users type in a questions and the AI answers using lots information gathered from several different sources, often found online.

Cottesmore was the first school in the country to advertise a job as head of AI earlier this year.

Pupils at the school aged between four and 13 have also been given their own individual AI chatbots to help them with their learning.

Mr Rogerson has called the moves into AI "stepping into the future", although he says there are currently no plans for artificial intelligence to replace human teachers or face-to-face education.

Would you like an AI teacher? Or even a chatbot to help you with your work? Maybe you already use AI at school? Let us know in the comments