GPT-4 is ready to be a tutor says Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy

GPT-4 as a tutor

Khan is well aware of the basic math mistakes that users have spotted ChatGPT make and shared them on social media. However, the man who has tutored tens of thousands of children through his non-profit venture, believes that the AI engine of GPT-4 makes for a good tutor.

The Khanmigo bot works more or less like a real-life tutor and can look at a student's work to determine where and why they might be stuck. The AI-assisted tutor can not just determine whether a student has answered a question correctly or not, it can also point out areas where the student's reasoning might have gone astray.

Khan is of the view that such technology provides students with a highly personalized learning option, something that is available at the right moment when the student is studying in class. Additionally, it offers a learning opportunity to students, irrespective of their background, whether they are in rich or developing countries.

Instead of simply using the capabilities of GPT-4 to power Khanmigo, the team at Khan Academy also put their own 'secret sauce' into the AI tutor to help it avoid math errors. Khan also pointed out how a student could pick a topic and debate it with the AI tutor and the AI would respond by taking into consideration the schooling level of the student.

Even as schools are looking for effective ways to ban the use of AI technology among students who are using them to submit their assignments, Khan is of the view that it presents an opportunity for students to receive personalized learning.

Khan is keen to see GPT-4 help students in areas where a diagram or graph is needed but is not supported currently. Nevertheless, he is happy that GPT-4 can break down a math problem into steps much like a tutor needs to.