AI replaces teachers in this school that experts don't like
AI in school doesn't really please parents. Despite everything, the state of Arizona is launching Unbound Academy so that students in grades 4 to 8 (equivalent to CM1 to IV in France) receive two hours of instruction per day. The particularity? The AI leads the classes, no teacher is present.
No teachers for this AI-based school
Unbound Academy is based on the 2hr Learning model already tested in a private establishment in Texas. Other states are interested such as Arkansas and Utah.
According to the manual of Alpha School, an establishment owned by Unbound Academy, students “learn twice as much as in a traditional school by spending only two hours a day on academic subjects”.
The program is powered by personalized learning platforms like IXL and Khan Academy. AI analyzes student responses, time spent on each task, and even emotional cues to tailor content difficulty and presentation. The goal is to optimize learning by avoiding boredom or frustration.
The rest of the day is devoted to practical workshops led by “guides”. Students learn financial literacy, public speaking, goal setting, entrepreneurship, critical thinking and creative problem solving.
Experts don't like this method
Since this approach is controversial, it is necessarily inspired by someone who is controversial: Elon Musk, qualified as “tyrant” by Sam Altman, head of OpenAI. Unbound Academy explicitly cites the billionaire and in particular his strategy for managing Tesla.
AI in schools is not a first with constant financial support and lobbying from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. However, experts warn about the effectiveness of these programs: marketing promises do not always correspond to the results observed.
