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?

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

"Artificial intelligence will destroy jobs - so why not use it for a social good such as learning?" he asked.
词汇表
automation 自动化
at risk 面临风险
anual labour 体力劳动
position 工作，职位
profession （需专业知识技能的）职业
impervious 不受影响的
soft skill 软技能，如与人相处的能力和沟通能力等
to gauge 判断（人的感受）
to tailor （根据需要）调整
feedback 反馈意见
to lag behind 落后
to compress 压缩、缩短
idiosyncrasy 个人特征、习性
overwhelming majority 压倒性多数，绝大多数
to master 掌握
to crack (a) code 找到解决问题的办法
to embrace change 积极接受改变
artificial intelligence 人工智能