When conversations about artificial intelligence in education turn anxious, the fear is usually the same. Will machines replace teachers?Philip Moyer, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of McGraw Hill, does not think so.In a recent opinion piece published in Fortune, Moyer addressed the question. “Aren’t you terrified of what AI will do to your industry?” he wrote, recalling what he was asked soon after taking charge. His response was straight: “not even a little.”Moyer’s confidence comes from experience across major technology shifts. He has worked at Microsoft, Amazon and Google, and has led companies such as Vimeo. In each phase, he argues, predictions about technology replacing entire industries have fallen short.The same pattern, he says, is now repeating with AI in education.
Learning is more than information
At the centre of Moyer’s argument is a simple claim. Learning is not just about processing data.“Learning isn’t a data problem. It is physical, social, and emotional,” he wrote in the piece. These dimensions, he argues, are shaped by context such as age, culture and everyday experiences. “No algorithm captures that. Only a teacher does.”To illustrate the gap between human learning and machine systems, Moyer points to research by Harvard University and Google. A tiny piece of human brain tissue, about the size of a grain of rice, contains tens of thousands of cells and millions of synapses. It processes vast amounts of information using minimal energy.By contrast, training advanced artificial intelligence models requires significant computational power and resources.The comparison is not just technical, it shows how human cognition operates in ways that are not easily replicated.
Teaching requires constant adaptation
Moyer also focuses on the complexity of teaching itself.Human brains do not remain static. They change continuously as new information is absorbed. This means that each student arrives in the classroom with a different state of understanding every day.Using the example of Algebra 2, he notes that there are thousands of possible knowledge states a student can be in. For teachers, this translates into navigating multiple learning pathways at the same time.“The best teachers don’t consciously calculate any of this. They just know their students,” he wrote. This includes recognising strengths, struggles and even a student’s mood.Moments of understanding, when a student says “I get it,” are central to this process. According to Moyer, this is where human teaching differs fundamentally from artificial intelligence systems. “No LLM has ever felt that. No LLM ever will.”
Technology and the limits of replication
Moyer also places the current debate in a technology context.He argues that companies have repeatedly assumed that software alone can replicate complex human systems. In education, this assumption has often failed. Teaching methods vary across regions, institutions and individual classrooms.“The ‘last mile’ of education has always thwarted Silicon Valley,” he wrote.Instead of replacing teachers, Moyer suggests that AI should be used to support them. Tools powered by machine learning and large language models are already being used to identify learning gaps and create personalised content.These tools, he argues, are most effective when they help teachers guide students, rather than act as substitutes.
What this means for education
Moyer’s view does not dismiss the role of AI. He acknowledges that future industries such as robotics, bioinformatics and quantum computing will require new skills.Education systems will need to adapt to meet these demands. AI can assist in this transition by improving how content is delivered and customised. However, the core of education, he argues, remains human.“The complexity of developing human intelligence doesn’t just exceed any AI model ever built. It exponentially dwarfs all of them combined,” Moyer wrote.For now, the debate is less about replacement and more about balance.AI may change how education is delivered. But the role of teachers, as interpreters of learning and human development, is unlikely to disappear.
