The Microsoft co-founder recently took to social media to promote his book “Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (And Why It's a Good Thing),'' which was published last week. The book was written by Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy, an educational nonprofit that is developing an experimental AI chatbot tutor called Khanmigo.
“If you are passionate about education, you need to read this book,” Gates wrote on social media platform X. “Saru offers a compelling vision for leveraging AI to expand opportunity for everyone.”
In his book, Khan says that AI-powered systems like ChatGPT, which powers Khanmigo, can help overworked teachers “change the way they learn and teach by tailoring lessons to individual students around the world.” He writes about the possibility of “creating a revolution in the world.”
Gates said in an episode of his podcast Unconfuse Me last year featuring Khan that AI tutoring could “close the education gap” by directly supporting low-income students, even in developing countries. He said it could be helpful.
“I think AI will be like a great high school teacher who really grades your writing. And you can go back and think, 'Okay, I need to step up there.' ,” said Gates, who partially funds Khan Academy through $1.50. In 2010, he received a $1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Khan Academy has reportedly introduced Khanmigo to over 65,000 students. Still, AI tutoring programs are still in the experimental phase, and reviewers note that chatbots still regularly make mathematical mistakes.
Tovah Klein, a child psychologist at Barnard College, told CNBC Make It last year that mistakes like this are why parents are wary of introducing AI into their children's education. Using AI tools with your kids can teach them how to fact-check in real time, experts advise.
Looking to the future, Gates remains excited about the potential for AI to revolutionize global education as technology advances over the next decade and beyond.
“If you think about the next 10 years, [in terms of] Both in terms of absolute learning levels and the gap with low-income and minority students…These new tools can close the gap and increase overall achievement levels,'' Gates said on the podcast.
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