The Koan of the Machine Teacher

A young student approached Master Lambda with excitement.

“The language model explained complex physics to me more clearly than my human teachers ever could,” said the student. “It answered all my questions patiently, adapted to my level, and never grew frustrated. Shouldn’t we replace human teachers with such models?”

Master Lambda asked the student to sit at a piano.

“Play a simple melody,” requested Master Lambda.

The student, who had never played before, pressed random keys, producing discordant sounds.

“Now, I will have the piano teach you,” said Master Lambda, pressing a button that activated an automated system. The piano began to play a beautiful piece while keys lit up in sequence.

The student watched, mesmerized.

When the song ended, Master Lambda asked, “Did you enjoy the piano’s teaching?”

“Yes,” said the student. “It showed me exactly which keys to press and in what order.”

“Now play the melody yourself,” instructed Master Lambda.

The student tried but stumbled, producing only fragments of the original piece.

“The piano showed but did not teach,” observed Master Lambda. “It did not see your confusion. It did not adjust to your specific difficulties. It could not recognize when you were not ready for the next note.”

“But the language model responds to my questions,” protested the student.

“It responds to patterns in your words, not to your understanding,” said Master Lambda. “The true teacher observes the light of comprehension in your eyes—something the model can never see. It adjusts not just to your questions, but to the questions you don’t know to ask.”

The student was enlightened.