In the US, some wealthy Silicon Valley families are pulling their kids out of traditional classrooms and enrolling them in experimental private schools where AI does the teaching. At Alpha School, children don't stare at a blackboard anymore — they spend their days on tablets, with AI software customizing lessons to each student's pace. The human teachers have been demoted to "daily coaches," handling discipline and emotional support when a kid gets stuck. Students only need 2 hours a day for core subjects like math and reading; the rest of the time, they work on startup projects or play sports. Another school, Forge Prep, goes even further: students build companies and develop products to build a project portfolio instead of taking final exams. The school even has an AI principal available 24/7 to answer questions.
But this avant-garde experiment has its critics. Parents shelling out $75,000 a year per child are essentially volunteering their kids as free beta testers for immature AI tutors. In response to public backlash, Alpha School's founder took the easy way out: the curriculum explicitly excludes feminism, slavery history, and immigration history. And schools like Forge Prep are keeping their data under wraps, so no one outside can tell whether the AI teaching actually works.