A More Positive Spin on GenAI Issues for Teachers?

I spotted something yesterday that I thought was interesting. Earlier in the week I was having a look at the TeachMateAI website. While I was looking at the FAQs section my eye was drawn to the question, "Will TeachMateAI always be accurate?" and here was its answer.

"No! To get the best out of TeachMateAl it is important to understand its limitations. Like all Al powered software, TeachMateAl can be both scarily good and, sometimes, confidently wrong. We have done all we can to refine the inputs and models used to minimise any output of inaccurate information but please always check the content produced before using it with pupils. We strongly recommend that you always take the content produced and adapt it to fit the needs of your pupils and school.

As stated In out terms and conditions, TeachMateAl is not liable for decisions or actions taken based on the Al-generated content. Your own judgement is required when relying on Al-generated content. We are not liable for any damages or losses resulting from your reliance on the Al-generated content."

To be fair, I was fairly impressed with its honesty. Explaining that it is important for users to "understand its limitations", that it can sometimes be "confidently wrong" and strongly recommending that you "always take the content produced and adapt it to fit the needs of your pupils and school." Similar concerns that I covered in a recent post. Finally TeachMateAI emphasise that they are "not liable for any damages or losses resulting from your reliance on the Al-generated content." What I'm still trying to get clear in my mind is, why are we using generative AI tools when it is so prone to generate text that could potentially be wrong and needs amending, and as I pointed out in previously, that amending can only happen if you have good knowledge and understanding about what it is being outputted? How can you amend something if you actually know little or nothing about the subject? You end up hoping that what is produced is correct. I'm trying to think of any other digital feature that we currently use that has this issue and nothing really comes to mind. If I used a calculator or a spreadsheet to work out a problem, I am pretty well 100% certain that the answer is correct. I'm not worried that maybe approx 40% of the time its going to 'hallucinate' and provide an output that's nonsense. If you can think of something, please let me know.

Anyway, back to yesterday. I thought I would now write up this post, so I went back to the TeachMateAI FAQs page which I had left open on my browser. I went to click on another page on the website and was directed to a new website which is now called 'teachmate'.  It looks like in the intervening days between first looking at their website and coming back to it yesterday, TeachMateAI had a rebrand and dropped the AI bit of their name, which got me thinking, why? Here are two initial thoughts about this. Either they want to open up their 'brand' to include other teacher related tools, resources, etc. that are not necessarily anything to to with AI or that possibly AI is quite a polarising term amongst the public and teachers (who are their target users) that they thought it would be better to drop it from their name? Who knows?  

What did catch my eye was that the FAQs section changed. The question I highlighted above, "Will TeachMateAI always be accurate?" has now been removed. In its place is the question, "How do I get the best results from teachmate?" The answer generally talks about getting your prompts right and using the right tool on the platform. The closest answer to whether it will be accurate is the answer to '4. Evaluate and adapt' where teachmate write, "Teachmate saves you time by giving you a strong first draft, however it is never intended to replace you. Always ensure you evaluate, tweak and adjust the content using our AI-powered refinement bar or online editor." Gone are the words, "limitations", "confidently wrong" and the sentence "always take the content produced and adapt it to fit the needs of your pupils and school." This new answer does at least sort of refers to teacher professionalism, "it is never intended to replace you", but doesn't really explain why you will need to "evaluate, tweak and adjust the content", because generative AI does have limitations and is often confidently wrong! In my opinion, it feels like a more positive spin put on any potential issues around using generative AI. In fairness to teachmate, they do refer to potential issues, but you have to go into the 'Terms and Conditions' page to find it. Here you will find, "6. AI Accuracy and Limitations'.

"While we strive to provide accurate and helpful information through the use of large language models, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information generated by the AI. You acknowledge that the AI-generated content may contain errors, omissions, or inaccuracies, and you agree to use the Service at your own risk. We are not responsible for any decisions or actions taken based on the AI-generated content, and we disclaim any liability for damages or losses resulting from your reliance on the AI-generated content."

But let's be honest, how many users will actually go into the Terms and Conditions section to find this? I think the answer would be extremely low. It just feels a bit 'odd' to remove what I think is a very honest and helpful answer from the original TeachMateAI FAQs webpage and arguably water that answer down and move the more contentious bits about not guaranteeing "accuracy, completeness, or usefulness" and "may contain errors, omissions, or inaccuracies" to the terms and conditions, where hardly anyone would go. Also, back to what I referred to above, I'm still questioning why we are even using these tools when they have all these issues inherent in them? Never mind all the wider negative social, environmental and cultural impact of this technology. What do you think?

* If you would like to view the original TeachMateAI FAQs, as of Nov 23rd, 2025, the old webpage is currently still available to visit but note it does forward to the new website after a couple of seconds -  https://teachmateai.com/faqs