Rishi Sunak’s government has announced plans to invest £2 million in AI classroom technology.

The funding is to go to Oak National Academy, an online classroom resource, to improve the technologies before they are rolled out for teachers for use in schools throughout England.

To find out what the public thinks about this recent development, Westminster World went out to ask Londoners if they feel integrating AI into classrooms is practical and necessary.

A mother said: “I honestly hate the idea”, and she added she would prefer her children to be taught by a person rather than a robot.

Another interviewee, a student said it would probably feel “weird” not having children be taught by real teachers.

On whether the introduction of AI technology would pose a threat to people’s jobs, the education minister Robert Halfon told LBC:

“Of course, there are going to be threats of artificial intelligence – the fourth industrial revolution is going to impact almost every job – but there are also opportunities as well.

He added: “So, for example, I met a big business, they told me that they didn’t need accountants anymore because of artificial intelligence. But they were retraining all those accountants to do cybersecurity and we are also transforming our skills base.

“We rolled out 21 institutes of technology up and around the country, spending £300 million so that students have the digital skills of the future, investing in T-levels and high technical qualifications, and many of them are digital.”

In an interview with Times Radio, Halfon said the introduction of AI into classrooms was “about making life easier for teachers.”

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AI tools for teachers: A boon or bane?