Artificial intelligence (AI) company edYOU has pioneered an adaptable meta-human learning tool to bridge the gap caused by staffing shortages and traditional teaching approaches, ensuring students get the attention and experience they deserve.
“I started edYOU with a passion for improving the downward trend in education outcomes. EdYOU is the first AI company that is not a chatbot but utilizes human-like meta-humans [animations] to teach conversationally in real time, not using recorded videos,” founder and Chief Executive Michael Everest told TechNewsWorld.
According to the United States Department of Education, the downward trend in education is primarily caused by teacher shortages, which include unfilled positions, positions occupied by underqualified teachers, and positions filled by teachers in a subject other than their certification.
Recent statistics estimate that 27,000 US teachers and staff quit annually. After the pandemic shut down many schools, 41 out of 50 US states, along with the District of Columbia, have struggled with teacher shortages in at least one subject area or grade level. Specifically, more than 55,000 vacant positions nationwide for grades K-12 were recorded in 2023.
Surveys also found that 12% of remaining teachers were discontented with their careers, with at least 4 in 10 teachers likely to quit within two years.
EdYOU offers a solution to these problems with its AI-powered learning tool that can be personalized to meet the specific needs of students.
Custom AI avatar tutors
Everest touted the success of his company for its adaptability, saying that edYOU is driven by its philosophy to make AI programs “universal but still personal.”
EdYOU built three safe AI avatars, Hannah, Nova, and Eddie, using natural language processing to enable custom conversations depending on the student’s knowledge and interests. Unlike typical chatbots and other computer-assisted solutions, the avatars do not just spew out information from the Internet but act like personal study buddies for personalized education.
By clicking the microphone icon, students can engage in free-flowing exchanges and natural-sounding conversations without having to type questions and read lengthy responses.
The company’s technology can also be easily integrated into common education software for classrooms, learning management systems, and enterprise tools, making it more accessible to a wide range of users in the comfort of web browsers and mobile apps.
From there, students can send requests to the AI avatars for tutorial services or to explain difficult concepts so they can learn at their own pace. They can also be guided when making mistakes, facilitating a deeper understanding and learning from errors.
“This type of AI platform can serve as a valuable assistant to teachers and educators, providing support and enhancing the learning experience. It should be properly filtered to ensure factual accuracy and alignment with the approved curriculum,” Everest said.
Additionally, the CEO claimed that edYOU addresses the limitations of one-size-fits-all education in traditional classrooms. He believed that avatar-based presentations could improve students’ attention spans and encourage them to actively ask questions without the fear of looking dumb in front of their classmates.
Safe digital learning environment
Besides its adaptable AI avatars, edYOU demonstrates its commitment to providing a safe learning experience wherever the student is. The platform emphasized that all conversations are encrypted to ensure privacy. Personal student data are also anonymized and aggregated before the voice tracks are monitored.
Furthermore, edYOU promotes transparency in lessons by giving parents access to recordings and transcripts of their children’s sessions.
Besides all these, the company guarantees users that they can always contact a real person through support agents available 24/7 via in-app chat, email, and phone. These agents comprise former teachers, professionals in child development and data ethics, scientists, and AI engineers and researchers.
