"Experimental": Chicago’s First AI-Driven School Has No Traditional Teachers, Experts Concerned

• Alpha School opened its doors in Chicago this month, becoming the city's first AI-driven school for students from kindergarten through Grade 8
• Students at Alpha master core subjects in just two hours a day, with the rest of the school day dedicated to life skills, public speaking, and financial literacy
• A senior fellow at the Brookings Institution raised concerns about the experimental model, saying there is no externally validated evidence for Alpha's claimed results

A school without a single traditional teacher is now open in Chicago, and it is already dividing opinion across the United States. Alpha School welcomed its first students this month, offering a K-8 education powered entirely by artificial intelligence. It is one of 50 campuses operating across the country, with more than 1,500 students enrolled nationwide.

The model is built around efficiency. Alpha says students complete all core academic instruction, covering maths, writing, language, reading, and science, in just two hours each day. Thirteen-year-old Zane Shaw, who spent his entire school career in a traditional classroom before enrolling, told CBS Mornings the focused approach works for him.

Read also

Government officials demand urgent action after learner, 16, is stabbed in Eastern Cape classroom

"I feel like I can be more focused instead of having 20 to 30 kids in a classroom all talking at once," he said.

What happens for the rest of the school day

The remaining hours at Alpha school are spent on life skills, public speaking, financial literacy, teamwork, and leadership. Activities range from rock climbing to fashion design.

Adults in the building are called "guides" rather than teachers, and their role is explicitly motivational and emotional rather than academic. Lead guide Carrington Haas described it plainly:

"The main part of our job is to support the students motivationally and emotionally."

Dean of parents Brian Howell, a former anthropology professor, pushed back against the idea that removing teachers makes the school less human. Adding that the model is in fact more human-centred than conventional schooling, he said:

"The AI is not making any decisions about what students learn. Humans are."

Tuition at the Chicago campus costs $55,000 (R911,246,60) a year. Zane's father, Benoit, said the life skills component was ultimately what drew him to enrol his son.

Read also

UKZN student’s speech against South Africa’s 30% matric pass mark sparks debate

Expert raises red flags over the AI model

Not everyone is convinced. Dr Rebecca Winthrop, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who has visited Alpha campuses in person, acknowledged that the life skills approach shows promise but urged caution. She said:

"Parents should know that this is an experimental model. There's no clear externally validated evidence around the results they claim."

The school's launch also comes at a tense moment for AI in education. Chicago school board candidates have been asked to sign a pledge limiting AI use in public schools, and outright bans are already in place in districts across New York and Los Angeles.

Alpha says its proprietary platform does not use chatbots and does not draw information from the open internet.

View the Instagram video below:

What people are saying online

Viewers responding on the CBS Mornings Instagram page had strong feelings on both sides:

@coachmykeia wrote:

Read also

Rugby world mourns after 17-year-old youngster passes away

"Read a book about this! And the delivery drones"

@nrsoto2003 said:

"Meanwhile Sweden has invested $700M in textbooks since the data shows screen time and technology makes kids less intelligent"

@samisweets_ commented:

"Let me teach the life skills and theatre!! 😍"

@kameraofficial said:

"Can't imagine screen time 7ish hours all day daily for years on end starting in childhood... then of course the workforce"

@dingdangdimes warned:

"Taught by AI and replaced by AI when they join the workforce"

@realfortunatejackson joked:

"It's homeschool with an AI teacher in a public building that is privately funded 😂"

More Briefly News stories on AI

• An anti-AI activist confronted Canva speakers at a London conference, warning that communities bear data centre costs without a voice in AI regulation debates.
• A SA woman’s attempt to claim farming expenses on old tax returns backfired after SARS flagged inconsistencies, leaving her facing a R3.5 million tax bill.
• South African legal experts have warned employees about the legal risks of using AI tools at work, particularly when handling personal or company information.

Source: Briefly News