Korean officials are pretty happy with the success of their educational robotics program which was recently completed successfully in the form of a 14-week pilot program. All 29 robots that were placed across 21 schools, costing $1.4 million in total, will help supplement language lessons by native speakers in order to check on a student’s progress. While this doesn’t mean that English human teachers will be out of job in the near future, it is marketed more to be an assistant than anything else. After all, if this robot were to be the primary teacher, what happens when the student misbehaves and spanks said child? Will there be human-robot abuse laws be passed then? We do find it rather unnerving that a tiny LED monitor will display a human teacher’s face, as it does lead one to feel as though there is a disembodied presence in the room. The South Korean government hopes that other countries will find their educational robots to be worth investing for the future of their children.
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