Private school Alpha Chicago in Lakeshore East using lesson plans generated by artificial intelligence; debate over tech continues

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A new private school in Chicago is embracing artificial intelligence as part of its educational model, even as debate over AI use continues nationwide.

Earlier this month, Alpha Chicago opened with a curriculum that combines morning academics and afternoon life-skills instruction. Students spend about two hours each morning on individualized academic lessons delivered online, with lesson plans generated by AI.

"The apps are there to support each student's independent learning journey and meet them exactly where they are. Then the guides, which are the teachers in Alpha, are able to then just be there for motivational support," said Carrington Haas, Alpha Chicago's lead guide.

The school opens amid growing attention to artificial intelligence in education. Recent warnings from prominent AI developers about the technology's rapid advancement have prompted discussion about its risks and appropriate use. Locally, the University of Chicago Law School has banned student use of AI, while AI policies at Chicago Public Schools have become a point of debate among school board candidates.

"Students are not directly interacting with the AI during academics. The AI is on the back end, noticing it fills in the gaps, so the gaps in their learning. It's then able to create lessons to fill those holes," Haas said.

So far, 24 students are enrolled in the pre-K through eighth-grade school, where tuition is $55,000 per year.

SEE ALSO: Heads of AI firms tell United Nations Security Council that it could be a risk to all humanity

Parents Adam Siegel and Deborah Jackson said they were attracted to the school's personalized academic approach and its emphasis on life skills.

"I'm so excited because she's talking about starting businesses, talking about getting a bank account, and basically having financial literacy," Siegel said.

"We want her to be able to teach herself how to be to make decisions, to be a better problem solver, to go off to whatever she decides to do: college or business," Jackson said.

"I'm able to kind of get through my subjects at my own pace. And first time I'm quicker at, and first time I'm slower at. And I can I feel like I'm getting probably two times as much learning in than I was at my old school," 11-year-old student Noah Christianson said.

As discussion about AI's future continues, Alpha Schools are expanding. According to the school, there were 13 Alpha Schools last year and 50 worldwide this fall.

Alpha Chicago is located in the city's Lakeshore East neighborhood.