AI Headteacher & Bedbugs vs Start-up

Hey all! Yes, you read it right, theres a new headteacher in the block, and it is powered by Generative AI! But calm down, I will explain that story in abit. I am a huge fan of innovation to solve real world problems. Recently, a massive bedbug infestation has hit both France and the UK, many hotels are suffering both financially and morally against these hellish bedbugs, but someone put their knowledge of tech and science to a good use :)

Gen AI brings TWO new teachers to the table

First question you might have, which goddamm school has the money and time to bring not only one, but two Gen AI teachers? Well, it was British boarding school Cottesmore, which regularly ranks at the top of tables when it comes to pupil performance.

Don't worry, they don't have a machine taking all the big decisions that will impact the education of hundreds of kids. Abigail, the Gen AI chat bot, serves as an assistant to the (human) headteacher,Tom Rogerson. Essentially, Abigail is serving as a helping hand to Tom, giving advice and suggestions on a variety of topics, such as drafting school policies and giving guidance on guidelines. The headteacher described Gen AI as a 'calming and reassuring' addition to his role.

In addition to Abigail, the school also added the AI-powered chatbot Jamie Trainer as its head of artificial intelligence, the school claims it wasn't able to find the right candidate for the role... so they created one!

AI Headteacher Abigail, uses deep learning and generative AI in a similar way to OpenAI's ChatGPT. However, it is important to note that an additional knowledge base around ML and educational management was added into the model.

I must give praise to the forward looking school, as they have reportedly already given all pupils access to a personal AI assistant to help them with their day to day tasks and school work. I believe this is the future of education.

What is also quite interesting, is that both AI Bots Abigail and Jamie have been given AI-generated faces. This links up well with Meta's recent announcement around Meta AI and advancements in the gaming industry where NPCs will be powered by Gen AI. All of this points towards a future where AI Avatars will have their own look, voice, personality, which will create a much more immersive experience.

Humans with Tech vs Bedbugs, the showdown

Honestly, I don't know why, but Bedbugs have decided to make 2023 their comeback year! Pest control company Rentokil said it saw a 65% jump in cases of bedbugs in the UK in the second quarter of 2023, compared with a year earlier.

Hotels are suffering from this the most as guests come and go, bringing in more little bugs into the rooms with them. However, some regions in the UK are having this challenge in residential zones too, Luton Council issued guidance to local residents this week on how to handle an outbreak.

In the hospitality industry, offering the best possible customer experience for guests, sits at the top of the priority list, which means that a bad night sleep with bedbugs, is horrible for business. Knowing when and where bedbugs have been detected, can minimize the risk of a guest coming in touch with those insects and the risk of it spreading!

This is where innovation in Tech comes into play, UK Start-up Spotta, created a small plastic box that contains a pheromone chemical designed to attract bedbugs. In hotels this is placed near mattresses. When a bug crawls inside the box, a picture is taken and sent into a database. The picture is then put into a process that combines both AI and a human to identify if a bedbug has been caught.

If it is a 'positive' test result, the managers are quickly notified, which allows them to take rapid and precise action, hopefully being quick enough to stop any spread of the bugs. Creating a safer experience for guests, saving staff time and money in the long run for the hospitality industry.

This is quite an unusual tech story, but I think it is important to remind ourselves that even 'smaller' challenges like this are being tackled by advancements in technology, which must be celebrated :)

See you next week,
Davi, MetaVisions