A future-facing minister, a young inventor and a shared vision: An AI tutor for every student

Pativada, whose parents immigrated to Dubai from India, has taken time off from school to work on his company. When he describes the speedy ascent of ASI, he sounds surprised himself. His first investor in 2021 was one of his school counselors, who contributed enough money to get the company incorporated. Within weeks, he had several hundred thousand dollars more in his company’s bank account from other investors. More money and media attention followed.

While Pativada is enjoying the frenzied pace of running a startup, he says he’s glad there are some foundational pieces already in place.

“That’s where we’re glad Microsoft exists,” he says. “You know, Microsoft’s got that infrastructure, we’re just simply building on top of it. We’re sitting on the shoulders of giants in that aspect.”

The responsibility of developing an app that will be used by children from 9 to 18 years old is sobering, he says. “When we’re working with governments, especially when it comes to minors, we make a key point of, before any student uses it, testing it pretty thoroughly. We’re giving it to a small user group that’s using it in an enclosed setting. They’re not taking it home yet.”

Ghala Alblooshi, 16 and a senior in high school, is another of the Emirati students testing the app.

Ghala Alblooshi, 16, uses a closed beta prototype of the U.A.E. AI Tutor in Dubai. Photo by Chris Welsch for Microsoft.

Alblooshi was researching the capabilities of climate stations, and she asked the AI tutor whether a climate station can provide useful information for agricultural purposes. “It gave me a whole paragraph about how it can help farmers and be useful for plants,” she said. “It pointed me in the direction of other things I could look for. The good thing about it is that when I asked it a question, it asked me a question.”

When asked if she thought she’d like to be able to use the AI tutor more often, she said “I only hope it will be available before I graduate.”

Aljughaiman says that the Ministry of Education has many considerations as the U.A.E. AI Tutor is developed.

“We want to make sure this AI tutor embodies the values of the U.A.E. and the education system here,” she says, “and we need to make sure it is safe, that it is accurate and that there is student engagement and satisfaction. How often do they use the tool? Finally, and this is more of a long-term goal, is overall improvement in their learning outcomes. And that comes with some time.”

While Quddus Pativada is focused on making sure the U.A.E. AI Tutor is a success, he’s also thinking about the big picture.

He says that until now, only wealthy people could afford to hire a tutor for their children, and having a tutor can give those students a considerable advantage over their peers.

To make access affordable and possible for more students, ASI is deliberately designing other models of its AI tutor to function well at 2G (second-generation wireless technology) or even without Wi-Fi so that students in developing countries will be able to access it as well.

“I think, eventually, we’ll be able to scale it in a more optimal way, where every student has this sort of personal tutor that’s a lifelong tutor,” Pativada says.

Top photo: Ghala Alblooshi, 16, uses a closed beta prototype of the U.A.E. AI Tutor in Dubai. Photo by Chris Welsch. 

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