In an exciting partnership, Microsoft and tutoring organization Khan Academy are bringing a free AI assistant to teachers across the United States. Khanmigo for Teachers, the AI assistant, aims to support educators in preparing lessons, analyzing student performance, planning assignments, and enhancing their own learning. This collaboration comes as a response to the growing need for technological tools in the education sector. Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, emphasized the importance of this AI assistant, stating, “Unlike most things in technology and education in the past where this is a ‘nice-to-have,’ this is a ‘must-have’ for a lot of teachers.”
Khan Academy, known for its vast user base of 170 million registered users in over 50 languages, caught the attention of Microsoft-funded artificial intelligence company OpenAI. OpenAI’s top executives, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, recognized the value of Khan Academy’s interactive exercise platform and identified it as an ideal partner for piloting GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer), their advanced language model.
Initially, Khan had reservations about working with OpenAI and GPT, especially when public conversations in 2023 revolved around concerns of students cheating with AI. However, as the work progressed, Khan witnessed the scaling of personalization in the classroom, resembling the founding principles of his organization. He recalls a key moment: “In my mind, it passes the Turing Test. This is indistinguishable from when I went to text Nadia back in 2004.”
Building on their collaboration, Microsoft and Khan Academy are also working on AI-powered math tutoring for students. Leveraging Microsoft’s Phi-3 AI technology, they are developing a small language model that can provide tailored guidance and tutoring sessions for students and teachers. The focus initially lies on middle school, but the aim is to expand to other grade levels. In the recent demonstration to tech executives, Khan showcased the rapid advancements in personalization, from the AI correcting a student’s math mistakes using a nuanced tutoring method to explaining the value of biology in life to a student who initially protested learning it.
The Khanmigo AI assistant was initially piloted with hundreds of students and teachers in school districts last year. It is now being used by approximately 65,000 students and teachers as a formal part of instruction, with participating school districts paying around $35 per student per year. To accommodate the costs associated with AI computing power, Khan hopes to bring down the expenses to a more affordable range of $10-$20 per student per year within the next year. With increasing interest from school districts, Khan plans to expand the pilot for the upcoming school year.
This partnership between Microsoft and Khan Academy extends beyond AI assistance for teachers. The two organizations will integrate Khan Academy content into Microsoft’s Copilot AI and bring Khan’s content to Microsoft Teams for Education, an existing communication app for students and teachers. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has even recommended Khan’s new book on AI in education, emphasizing its relevance for anyone passionate about the field.
The collaboration between Microsoft and Khan Academy represents a significant step forward in integrating AI technology into education. By providing free access to Khanmigo for Teachers and developing AI-powered math tutoring, they aim to enhance personalized learning experiences and support educators in their crucial role. With these advances, the future of education is set to become even more dynamic and engaging.
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