An 'AI-Native' School Set to Transform the Future of Education

AI has been a disruptive force in schools and educational institutions since the launch of ChatGPT. However, a new startup in the education sector is choosing to embrace AI rather than resist it. Just months after leaving OpenAI, which he co-founded, AI researcher Andrej Karpathy unveiled his innovative “AI+Education” startup, Eureka Labs.

Karpathy describes Eureka Labs as a “new kind of school that is AI native,” with the goal of creating a “Teacher + AI symbiosis” that enables “anyone to learn anything.” His vision is for an education system built from the ground up around AI, where human educators design lesson plans while being supported in classrooms by digital assistants.

“In physics, one could envision working through top-notch materials alongside [theoretical physicist Richard] Feynman, who guides you at every turn,” Karpathy shared in a post on X, echoing Steve Jobs' vision from 1985. “My hope is that during our lifetimes,” Jobs said at a private dinner gathering, “we can develop a new kind of tool, an interactive client … When the next Aristotle comes along, we can encapsulate that Aristotle’s worldview in a computer. Someday, a student could not only read Aristotle's writings but also ask him a question and receive an answer.”

To realize this ambitious vision, Eureka Labs plans to launch LLM101n, an undergraduate course designed to teach students how to create their own AI—essentially a smaller version of the company's complete AI Teaching Assistant. The course will be offered online, along with instructional cohorts for collaborative learning, both digitally and in person. Details on pricing, availability, and the effectiveness of AI-driven teaching methods are yet to be revealed. However, a study from Georgia State University in 2022 suggests promising results.

Eureka Labs enters a burgeoning educational landscape that has expanded significantly since ChatGPT's debut. UNESCO highlights the potential of AI to address major challenges in education while innovating teaching and learning practices. Future AI-enhanced educational tools may include AI-generated games tailored to individual learning styles, adaptive learning platforms, intelligent digital tutors, and automated grading systems. Eureka Labs is not alone in pursuing an AI-first educational approach; Google introduced Gemini for Classroom just last month, and apps like Caktus have been designed specifically with student needs in mind.