Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, where Wednesday night's Boston School Committee meeting was held. Photo: City of Boston
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Boston School Committee approved a new private school that will replace teachers with A.I. at a meeting Wednesday night in Roxbury.
The school comes from an education company called Alpha that operates schools across the nation. The program already has 500 students across the country using the AI software assisted by what they call "guides" instead of teachers.
While administrators claim the goal of this Alpha school is to offer a crash course in learning, freeing up the rest of the day for more activities and projects for kids, others think this could be a glimpse into a tidal wave of what's coming next.
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Some residents say they understand the benefits of artificial intelligence, like assisting with grammar, some parents, like Maureen, say A.I. can't replace teachers.
"It's sad on all angles," she said. "It's a dark side to it all, and kids need to be made aware."
Students will be given an A.I. Tutor on a laptop, where they can work at their own pace. The idea is that students get more time out of the classroom for other activities.
The private operation is backed by the Trump administration, and tuition is roughly $55,000 per year. The Boston School Committee voted 5-1 to allow Alpha to open a school in the city.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Jim MacKay (@JimMacKayOnAir) reports.