AI will transform education – what business leaders can learn from this development

After six decades of dreaming and experimentation, we may be on the cusp of a technology-enabled revolution in education. The Arizona State Board for Charter Schools recently approved this Application from Unbound Academy for a new online school that will replace traditional teachers with AI teaching assistants and promises to provide students with 2.4x academic growth compared to traditional school outcomes.

This advance is not the result of another incremental technology experiment – rather, it represents the latest chapter in a 60-year quest for computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to transform education through technology. This time the evidence suggests that a true breakthrough could be nearby. If this academy and similar initiatives are successful, it will be the fulfillment of a long-held dream.

The idea of using computers to support student learning dates back to the 1950s first application – Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations (PLATO) – appeared in 1961. PLATO provided interactive instruction and real-time feedback via terminals connected via telephone lines to a time-sharing computer system. Like other time-sharing systems, PLATO ultimately failed due to its high costs.

Other attempts at immersive, experiential learning famously included Second Life – an Internet-accessible virtual world in which people participated as avatars – in the early 2000s. Although Second Life is not explicitly a CAI tool, it demonstrated the potential for immersive virtual learning environments. At least at one point 300 universities around the world, including Stanford And Harvard have held courses or conducted research on the platform. Ultimately, Second Life struggled due to a poor user interface (UI), robust technical requirements, a steep learning curve, and an inability to scale.

The emergence of generative AI The year 2017 marked a turning point in CAI, with tools like Writable And Photo math improve both teaching and learning. Writable, for example, uses AI to provide feedback on student writing to help teachers manage large workloads. As reported Axios’ Writable uses ChatGPT to create comments and observations that are sent to the teacher, who is expected to review and tweak them before providing feedback to students.

Such tools underscore the growing role of AI in addressing the long-standing resource limitations of traditional education. In some school districts in the US, elementary school Class size exceeds 40 students. If a teacher spent 10 minutes reading and critiquing each student’s written assignment, that would be 400 minutes, or more than 6.6 hours outside of class time to provide feedback on an assignment. This seems untenable, especially in combination with the evaluation of other student work. A technological push will help overcome this challenge.

AI-powered tutoring at scale

In a more comprehensive approach, the Khan AcademyLed by founder Sal Khan, the company has been offering free online learning programs since 2008. The company was founded in 2023 Khanmigoan interactive AI tutor for students that integrates ChatGPT.

In one TED Talk 2023Khan spoke about Khanmigo’s potential to improve student performance. In the lecture he discussed the year 1984 Paper entitled “The 2-Sigma Problem” by Benjamin Bloom, professor of education then at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.

The oft-cited article argued that students who received individual tutoring performed two standard deviations better than those who received only traditional classroom instruction. However, Bloom was aware that this level of tutoring was impractical due to resource limitations, including the cost of recruiting human tutors. Bloom believed the solution was to develop more economical interventions that could approximate the benefits of tutoring.

Khan argues that by using AI-powered technology, Khanmigo effectively overcomes resource limitations. As NOTEd In a Harvard Business School case study, Khan said that Khanmigo “could be the holy grail we’ve all been reading about in science fiction for years, an AI that could mimic a human tutor.”

Some have pointed out flaws in the Bloom paper, questioned the evidence supporting its conclusion and dismissed the claims as far-fetched. In an effort to “separate science fiction from scientific fact,” Paul von Hippel, professor and associate dean for research at the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs, said, said that the two standard deviation claim is both “exaggerated and oversimplified.” Still, there is little doubt that the use of technological tools could improve educational outcomes.

Balancing efficiency and human connection

While AI tools Although they show promise in addressing resource constraints, their introduction raises broader questions about the role of human connection in learning. This brings us back to Unbound Academy. Students spend two hours online every school morning completing AI-driven lessons in math, reading and science. Tools like Khanmigo and IXL personalizes instruction, analyzes progress, and adjusts difficulty and content in real-time to optimize learning outcomes. The charter application states: “This ensures that each student is always challenged to their optimal level, thereby avoiding boredom or frustration.”

The Unbound Academy model significantly reduces the role of human teachers. Instead, human “guides” provide emotional support and motivation while leading workshops to life skills. What do students lose by spending the majority of their learning time with AI instead of human instructors, and how could this model change the teaching profession?

The Unbound Academy model is already being used in several private schools and the results achieved are used to support the benefits it claims. However, it is not clear how a computer-based model will impact a student’s ability to have human contacts outside of a traditional school setting. These issues and questions highlight the complex trade-offs that schools like Unbound Academy must navigate as they redefine the educational landscape.

Is the revolution here?

The academy is not the only instance of AI being used in schools. Khanmigo is being tested in 266 school districts across the United States in grades three through twelve. As reported CBS’s software is used by both teachers and students. This pilot program provides a glimpse into how AI could be integrated into existing education systems, supporting both teachers and students by improving lesson planning, saving time and providing real-time insights into student progress.

CAI has come a long way since PLATO, although it has taken more than 60 years. If AI-driven models are successful, they could democratize access to high-quality instruction. While AI has the potential to widen existing inequalities, it also offers unprecedented opportunities to provide quality education to underserved communities.

As schools like Unbound Academy and Khanmigo’s pilots pioneer AI-driven teaching models, they are not only testing a new approach to education, but also challenging our fundamental assumptions about how learning happens and what role human teachers should play in the process . The results could transform education for generations to come.

Gary Grossman is EVP of Technology Practice at Nobleman and global head of the Edelman AI Center of Excellence.