Abstract: In a post-pandemic world, what should the smart, AI-supported, classroom look like?  A traditional way of using artificial intelligence to improve education is to create systems that have some of the characteristics of human tutors – combined with AI-unique strengths. This vision has proven to be successful both in research studies and the marketplace, yet difficult and enduring challenges in the educational system remain, including large opportunity gaps between different population segments. To develop a  smarter classroom, it is necessary to enhance the role of humans (teachers, tutors, and students) and that of the AI in a way that is maximally synergistic. I discuss how human-centered design can make a difference, mention needed AI innovations that could strongly help, and discuss some early successes from research conducted in my lab, including an AI-based teacher tool that had remarkably positive effects on teachers and students.

Bio: Vincent Aleven, PI (Ph.D., Intelligent Systems, University of Pittsburgh, 1997), is a Professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. He has 25 years of experience in research and development of AI-based learning technologies grounded in cognitive theory, self-regulated learning theory, and user-centered design. His lab created the Mathtutor website with AI-based tutoring software for middle school mathematics. They also created CTAT and Tutorshop (https://github.com/CMUCTAT/CTAT/wiki), tools for the development and deployment of AI-based tutoring software. Aleven has over 250 publications to his name. He and his colleagues and students have won 11 best paper awards at international conferences. He is or has been PI or co-PI on over 20 major research grants. He is co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education (IJAIED).

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