The Teacherless Classroom: Public Discourses on Artificial Intelligence Replacing Teachers in Thai- and English-Language Social Media Contexts

Abstract

The replacement of teachers by artificial intelligence (AI) has become a critical issue in education. While previous research has focused on educators’ and students’ attitudes and perceptions, this study examines public discourse surrounding teacherless classrooms by analysing 122 Thai-language and 286 English-language comments posted in response to news about the UK’s first “teacherless” classroom, a term used in media coverage. This study employs a three-stage approach consisting of sentiment analysis, corpus-assisted thematic analysis, and critical discourse analysis. The results show that “AI Replacing Teachers” was the most discussed theme, while the overall sentiment was predominantly negative, reflecting fears about the loss of human roles in education. Negative discourse was constructed around three main themes, namely “Lack of Humanity and Ethics in AI Teaching,” “Fears of Dystopia,” and “Job Loss and Unemployment.” The themes reveal a dichotomy between “human” and “non-human,” which can be interpreted in relation to van Dijk’s (1998) Ideological Square. While Thai- and English-language comments shared similar concerns, Thai discourse in this dataset was distinctively constructed through cultural notions of spirit and soul, highlighting moral and spiritual values in education. In contrast, English-language comments tended to normalise AI by comparing it to homeschooling, media labs, and online learning tools. The comparison highlights both shared concerns and specific differences. These findings contribute to research on AI in education by demonstrating how public responses to teacherless classrooms are shaped by specific ideologies of humanity, morality, labour, and educational authority.