The AI-Tutor Revolution That Wasn’t
Despite high expectations for AI-powered educational tools like Khanmigo, adoption and engagement among students have remained low. Experts suggest that AI cannot solve the fundamental challenge of student motivation and the cognitive effort required for learning.
Why it matters
This highlights the limitations of current ed-tech solutions and challenges the narrative that AI will automatically revolutionize classroom learning.
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. June 25, 2026, 8 AM ET Share Save In a 2023 TED Talk watched by millions of people, the American educator and entrepreneur Sal Khan declared that AI was about to deliver “probably the biggest positive transformation that education has ever seen.” The founder and CEO of Khan Academy was touting the company’s new educational chatbot, Khanmigo, claiming it promised to be an “amazing personal tutor” to “every student on the planet.” By 2024, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was chiming in that AI was on the verge of delivering, for students, “virtual tutors who can provide personalized instruction in any subject, in any language, and at whatever pace they need.”
The article presents a balanced view by citing both the initial hype and the subsequent data-driven reality of AI adoption.
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