Artificial Human Lecturers: Initial Findings From Asia's First AI Lecturers in Class to Promote Innovation in Education

TL;DR

This study explores the deployment of AI-powered virtual lecturers in a real-world university setting, assessing their impact on student learning experiences and identifying areas for improvement.

Contribution

It is the first to examine fully operational artificial human lecturers in a real educational environment, providing initial insights into their effectiveness and student perceptions.

Findings

Students value naturalness, authenticity, and interactivity in digital teachers.

Digital teachers can enhance engagement and accessibility in education.

Areas for improvement include responsiveness and personalized features.

Abstract

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly integrated into education, reshaping traditional learning environments. Despite this, there has been limited investigation into fully operational artificial human lecturers. To the best of our knowledge, our paper presents the world's first study examining their deployment in a real-world educational setting. Specifically, we investigate the use of "digital teachers," AI-powered virtual lecturers, in a postgraduate course at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST). Our study explores how features such as appearance, non-verbal cues, voice, and verbal expression impact students' learning experiences. Findings suggest that students highly value naturalness, authenticity, and interactivity in digital teachers, highlighting areas for improvement, such as increased responsiveness, personalized avatars, and integration with larger learning platforms. We conclude that digital teachers have significant potential to enhance education by providing a more flexible, engaging, personalized, and accessible learning experience for students.