Will your job be done by a robot in the future? Bank of England economists predict that almost half of all UK jobs are under threat of automation. Those most at risk involve repetetive manual labour, such as factory positions. But could even the venerable profession of teaching soon have to compete against powerful electronic educators?
在未来你的工作会被机器人代替吗？英格兰银行经济学家预测几乎一半的英格兰工作都受到全自动化的威胁，那些面临风险的包括重复的体力劳动，例如工厂的工作，但是甚至受人尊敬的教师职业不久也不得不与强大的电子教育家竞争？
At first glance, teaching might seem impervious to replacement by robots. Teachers use a range of soft skills that machines find hard to replicate. They gauge pupils' needs and tailor feedback accordingly. They adapt materials to make them more engaging and effective. And they provide pastoral care: looking out for students who lag behind or disrupt the class.
初看，教学似乎不受机器人更换的影响，教师使用的是一套软技能，机器人难以复制，他们判断学生的需求，再根据需要调整反馈。他们编制教学材料，使材料更具吸引力和有效性。并且他们还提供教牧关怀：关心落后或者搅乱课堂的孩子。
Nonetheless, some believe the future of education will be technological. In an interview with Business Insider magazine, futurist Thomas Frey predicts that "by 2030 the largest company on the internet is going to be an education-based company that we haven't heard of yet."
尽管如此，一些人相信教育的未来将是技术。在采访商业内幕杂志的时候，未来学家托马斯弗雷预测：“到2030年，关于互联网最大的公司将时我们从未听说过的教育公司”。
He thinks that 'bots' – online robot teachers – will make education so efficient that students will be able to compress an entire undergraduate degree into six months of learning. A bot learns what your "idiosyncrasies""interests" and "reference points" are, "and it figures out how to teach you in a faster and faster way over time," according to Frey.
他认为Bots ——在线机器人教师——将使得教育如此高效，学生们能够把整个的本科学习压缩到6个月的学习时间内。根据弗雷所说，一个在线机器人教师了解你的习性，你的兴趣以及你的参考点是什么，然后随着时间的推移，它指出如何以越来越快的方式来教育你。
Whether or not such incredible speeds will be reached, over the last decade there has been a huge increase in online learning platforms. Companies such as Udemy and Khan Academy produce courses that allow millions to learn at home for free, at their own pace. But there are limitations. Without the face-to-face stimulation of a classroom environment, the overwhelming majority of students fail to complete online courses. How to sustain motivation to learn is one more skill that online teachers will need to master.
是否可以达到这样不可思议的速度，在过去的十年在线学习平台有了巨大的增长。如Udemy和可汗学院这样的公司按自己的步调推出很多让百万学员在家免费学习的课程，但是它也有局限性，没有面对面课堂环境的刺激，绝大多数学生不能完成在线课程，如何保持学习动机是在线老师需要掌握的一项技能。
Indeed, Frey admits there is some way to go: "Nobody has quite cracked the code for the future of education." What do teachers themselves think about this? Professor Donald Clark from Derby University in the UK thinks that we should embrace change, even though people will lose their jobs.
事实上，弗雷承认有一段路要走：“没有人能彻底掌握未来教育的方法”。教师们自己怎么想？来自英格兰德比大学的唐纳德克拉克认为我们必须拥抱改变，即使人们将失去工作。
"Artificial intelligencewill destroy jobs - so why not use it for a social good such as learning?" he asked.
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