Can AI Advance School Choice?

New tools lower the cost of instruction and let students learn at their own pace

I’m in City Journal today with an article on how AI education tools can interact with and advance school choice. While the jury is still out on how effective AI education is relative to traditional instruction, I have no doubt that AI tools are going to increase the variety of education options available to families.

As AI advances, the cost of pure instruction—unbundled from childcare, mentoring, and other human services—will fall dramatically. AI tutors like Khan Academy’s Khanmigo and SpaceX’s Synthesis cost just $4 and $29 per month, respectively. Tools like these will empower leaner models of education—such as micro-, home-, and hybrid-schooling—and help build out the growing school-choice movement.

I discuss Alpha School and Primer, two innovators in this space working to bring AI-driven options to families. While I don’t go as in-depth on homeschooling in the article, I think that’s an area where there is clear value to AI-tutoring tools that can replace subject-matter educators at low cost. I’m personally less concerned at this point about effectiveness than about choice, but I do want to see these things studied so parents can make the best decisions for their kids.

I also touch on issues with ideological bias in AI tools, the need for markets in AI ed tools so parents with different values can choose value-aligned options, and more. Read the full piece here.