IRIS: Ushering in a Next Practice of Brainy Machine Innovation in Higher Education

The ivory towers of academia are about to be shaken to their core. Enter IRIS, the world's first AI teacher, poised to revolutionize the way universities operate and deliver education. Hailing from a high school in Kerala, India, IRIS is not just a novel tool but a glimpse into the future of education worldwide.

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IRIS is no ordinary AI - she is a true Next Practice, developed by Makerlabs Edutech in collaboration with the Atal Tinkering Lab. IRIS is dedicated to transforming the STEM learning system globally, operating through a sophisticated combination of robotics, NLP, ML and generative AI (GPT). IRIS opens the possibility to engage with students, deliver lessons, and provide personalized feedback in ways that human professors could only dream of.

The rudimentary three-axis control system discovered by the Wright brothers in 1903 ultimately gave birth to the airplane, which changed the world. In a similar way, the IRIS generative AI architecture advancement in teaching technology may transform higher education.

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Reshaping Higher Education with IRIS

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IRIS was designed to address the challenges faced by traditional educational systems, aiming to bridge the gaps between students, teachers, and knowledge. When IRIS evolve and universities embrace it, students no longer must conform to rigid content or compete for limited resources. Instead, they find themselves immersed in a world of higher learning revolution.

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Learning Customization

IRIS's ability to adapt to individual student needs is a core strength. In a university setting, this could translate to highly personalized learning paths tailored to each student's pace and style of learning. Imagine a world where every student receives answers to their questions, with content dynamically adjusted based on their progress and challenges.

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Learning Excellence

IRIS goes beyond convenience; she's about excellence. By leveraging vast repositories of data and machine learning algorithms, IRIS delivers curated curriculum content that reflects the latest advancements in every field. From STEM subjects to business, IRIS ensures that students receive up-to-date knowledge and soft skills skills essential for success in the 21st century.

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Learning Scalability

Unlike human professors, AI teachers like IRIS do not require rest, making them highly scalable.

While university professors are limited by physical and time constraints, IRIS can be available 24/7 - physically in the class or by its avatar on online, providing students with constant access to educational resources and support. This scalability is particularly beneficial in large universities or distance learning programs with high student-to-teacher ratios.

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Learning Administration

IRIS also highlights the potential for AI to take on administrative burdens, such as grading. She can efficiently manage large volumes of educational data, from student performance metrics to feedback on course material. Moreover, it can analyze this data to identify trends and areas where students commonly struggle, enabling targeted interventions. This capability makes IRIS a powerful tool for educational institutions seeking to improve student outcomes based on data-driven insights.

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The implications for universities are staggering. By embracing combo IRIS and Professors, institutions can attract top talent, enhance student outcomes, and solidify their reputations as centers of cutting-edge education and research. Universities that swiftly integrate IRIS into their operations will gain a significant competitive advantage, ushering in a new era of academic excellence.

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The Evolving Role of Professors and Academia in the Age of IRIS

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The role of IRIS isn't about replacing professors or academia but bringing them to higher evolution. To maintain their relevance and enhance their effectiveness in the evolving educational landscape, university professors can focus on several key areas of improvement to complement and exceed the capabilities of AI technologies like IRIS.

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Creativity and Inspirational Impact

Human educators not only impart knowledge but also inspire and ignite passion in their fields of expertise. They bring personal insights, experiences, and innovative thoughts that are often outside the scope of a defined curriculum. This aspect of teaching, which involves stimulating students' intellectual curiosity and fostering creative thinking, is something that AI currently cannot replicate effectively.

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While AI can efficiently deliver content and basic skills, professors can concentrate on teaching inventing the problem and redefining the problem. Encouraging open-ended questions, debates, and projects that require next practice thinking can help students develop skills that are challenging for AI to emulate.

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Emotional Intelligence and Empathy

Human professors excel in understanding and responding to the emotional and psychological needs of their students. They can recognize signs of stress, confusion, or disengagement and can provide emotional support. IRIS, like other AI systems, lacks the ability to truly empathize and build deep personal connections that can be crucial for motivating students and addressing their concerns in a sensitive manner.

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Professors should further develop their emotional intelligence, including skills like empathy and emotional support. These are areas where AI currently falls short. By strengthening connections with students, professors can create a more engaging and supportive learning environment that fosters student well-being and motivation.

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Research and Scholarly Contributions

University professors often contribute to their academic fields not just through teaching but through research. They mentor students in research projects, write scholarly papers, and drive academic innovation. This aspect of academia, which involves creating new knowledge and fostering a research culture, is beyond the current capabilities of AI educators like IRIS.

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In the face of transformative technologies like IRIS, professors must evolve to leverage their unique human strengths and collaborate with AI to create a new era of academic excellence. By embracing this collaboration, universities can attract top talent, improve student outcomes, and cement their reputations as hubs of cutting-edge education and research.

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The story of Lee Sedol's victory against AlphaGo in game 4 serves as a powerful analogy for how human professors can complement and exceed the capabilities of AI technologies like IRIS. Just as Lee Sedol's deep experience and intuitive understanding of the game allowed him to explore complex strategic options that AlphaGo's algorithm could not fully comprehend, human professors can leverage their creativity, emotional intelligence, and research prowess to enhance the educational experience in ways that AI cannot replicate.

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Lee Sedol's "Move 78" or the "God Move" highlighted the unique strengths of human cognition, particularly in adapting to and innovating within highly complex situations. Similarly, professors who embrace the collaboration with AI can bring their own unique blend of intuition, strategic depth, and human connection to the educational landscape, reshaping higher education, making it more sophisticated and enjoyable.

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As we stand on the brink of this transformative era, it is evident that AI technologies like IRIS will have a profound impact on how we perceive teaching, learning, and the very purpose of higher education. Get ready for a seismic shift in the educational landscape.

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