AI can transform education for the better

AS PUPILSAND students return to classrooms and lecture halls for the new year, it is striking to reflect on how little education has changed in recent decades. Laptops and interactive whiteboards hardly constitute disruption. Many parents bewildered by how their children shop or socialise would be unruffled by how they are taught. The sector remains a digital laggard: American schools and universities spend around 2% and 5% of their budgets, respectively, on technology, compared with 8% for the average American company. Techies have long coveted a bigger share of the $6trn the world spends each year on education.When the pandemic forced schools and universities to shut down, the moment for a digital offensive seemed nigh. Students flocked to online learning platforms to plug gaps left by stilted Zoom classes. The market value of Chegg, a provider of online tutoring, jumped from $5bn at the start of 2020 to $12bn a year later. Byju’s, an Indian peer, soared to a private valuation of $22bn in March 2022 as it snapped up other providers across the world. Global venture-capital investment in education-related startups jumped from $7bn in 2019 to $20bn in 2021, according to Crunchbase, a data provider.