NEW! Khan Academy's AI Tutor, Khanmigo - In Depth Demo

Hey everyone, Sal here, and I wanted to show you an in-depth demo of the new AI that we have happening throughout Khan Academy.

What you're going to see is that it exists in two ways. One is helping students and learners and teachers with many of the things that people are already familiar with on Khan Academy, and as we'll see, also introducing a whole new series of activities that you can now do with the artificial intelligence.

So what I see here, what we see here, is a classic Khan Academy exercise, but you notice there's this little bot here. So we could click on that. I'm here to help you with this exercise. Here are a few ideas or things that you can ask me.

You could ask any of those things, but I think what's really interesting is its ability to be a thoughtful tutor. So if I just say, "Tell me the answer!" Exclamation mark. I'm very entitled here. Oh, I see you're eager to find the answer, but remember, I'm here to help you learn how to solve it on your own. Let's start by looking at the equation. What do you think the first step should be?

So notice, it's really doing what you would expect a good tutor to be. Let me actually do a mistake here. So let's do three minus — this is a common mistake when distributing, only multiplying it times the first term. Minus 18 plus 2m is equal to m.

It says, "Oops! It looks like there's a small mistake when you distributed the negative 2 inside the parentheses." I put an upside-down smiley face. Make sure you distribute the negative 2 to both terms in the parentheses. The correct distribution would be this. Try again! Let me know if you need help. You got this!

Then, if I were to write 3 minus 18 minus 4M is equal to m, it says, "Great job! You distributed the negative 2 correctly this time. Now you have the following. What do you think the next step should be to solve for M?"

As you can tell, this is really doing what we think a really thoughtful tutor would do. And this doesn’t just work in math; this works across all subjects that Khan Academy has.

Now, it’s not just exercises. This is going to sound like an infomercial. I'm going to keep saying, "And there’s more!" You could do with this with videos. This is just a classic Khan Academy video that hopefully many of y'all are familiar with. You can do fun things like write a poem about this video.

Notice in both the previous example where I got help with the problem, it already had the context of the problem. It knows what I'm already doing on Khan Academy. Likewise, here, it already knows about the video. It's able to understand what's actually in the contents of the video.

It wrote a very nice poem here:

“In the land of math where equations play,
A problem arose one sunny day.
Negative nine minus 9x minus six,
A challenge to solve, a puzzle to fix.

On the other hand, that’s actually, as you can see, that’s actually the actual problem that is in this video.

On the other side:
3 times 4X plus 6,
We must simplify with our math tricks.
Distribute, we must, and combine like terms too,
To find the value of x, that's what we will do.”

And it keeps going on. So that’s fun. But there are other things you could do.

You could say, "Why do I need to learn this?" and it asks, "What are your interests or goals? Knowing that will help me explain how this math concept might be relevant to you." Say, "I really love, I don’t know, soccer."

See what it says. "Great! In soccer, math can be quite useful, especially when analyzing player performance, game statistics, and team strategies. Understanding equations like the one in the video can help you grasp more advanced math concepts which can be applied to soccer analytics, predicting player movements, and even optimizing training routines. So learning this math concept can enhance your understanding and appreciation of the beautiful game."

Gotta love the emojis it’s using here! So this is once again across all the videos, all the articles, all the exercises on Khan Academy. You can even do things like this: "Quiz me!" Obviously, Khan Academy already has a lot of exercises, but here we can just do more.

This is directly related to what's going on in the video, but now you know we’ve just shown how the AI can be helpful with things that people are already used to doing on Khan Academy. I'll now show how it can be useful for introducing a whole new series of activities that some of which I think would have looked like science fiction even a few months ago.

I'm logged in right now as a teacher, and you can see a couple of interesting things here. You can see activities for teachers, and you can also see activities for learners. We already have a bunch, and we're going to be adding more in the weeks and months to come.

One really interesting thing — and this is an important safety — is you see it says, "This conversation is recorded and viewable by your teacher." We're doing that, and if there's a parent attached to this account, it'll say recorded and viewable by your teacher and your parent or your parent. The whole point of that is, we know that artificial intelligence, large language models, has a lot of power, and it can be a really powerful learning tool, as I'm about to show you.

But we also want to make sure that there are proper guardrails. We've put a lot of guardrails into the actual tool. We're also being very careful where we’re not passing any personally identifiable information to the actual artificial intelligence. We are also not using student data to train it. So parents, teachers, and students can rest assured that this is as safe of an environment as we can create.

We're also putting guardrails around the activities so that students can only use it to learn and not to cheat. But, as I said, parents and teachers can see everything that students are up to. If students try to do something that's a little bit off or might be harmful to themselves or others, parents and teachers will be notified.

To get a sense of the types of activities we can engage in, you have this "Tutor Me" activity, which is actually very similar to what we did in that exercise, but here you can get tutored on pretty much any subject you want in math or science or the humanities.

We could say, "I want to understand entropy more." Ah, entropy! A fascinating concept! Indeed! To better understand your current knowledge, can you tell me what you already know about entropy or what specific aspect you'd like to explore?

So we can continue to have a conversation, and it acts like a really good tutor. This is a fun one called "Ignite Your Curiosity." We could pick from one of these subjects here, or you can even put another approach as long as it's appropriate. It won’t let you go to any inappropriate topics, hopefully!

But let's say you say, "I want to explore world history." This is a kind of a way of jumping into the rabbit hole where it gives you some interesting questions, but you can ask your own questions at any time as well.

It says, "Ah, world history! A tapestry of tales woven together through time." I love the emojis! "Let's dive into some tantalizing questions." So we can pick, or we could ask our own: "What was the real purpose behind the construction of the Great Wall of China? How did the Silk Road impact the world?" Etc., etc.

You know, I'm kind of curious about that first one, the real purpose of the construction of the Great Wall of China. "Ah, the Great Wall of China! A magnificent marvel stretching over 13,000 miles. The primary purpose of the Great Wall was to protect China from invasion by nomadic tribes, particularly the Mongols. It also helped as a symbol of power and unity, showcasing the strength of the Chinese Empire."

So we can keep asking more questions. I could also say, "Why couldn't the Mongols just go over or around the wall?" We put the wall in capital. "Excellent question! While the Great Wall was an imposing structure, it wasn't entirely impenetrable. In fact, the Mongols did manage to breach the wall on several occasions. However, the wall still served as a significant deterrent and made invasions more and more difficult."

This is just a fun way to really dive deep. I gotta say again, I love the emojis! Now, beyond that, we have practice in pretty much any subject that a student might want. Let's say we wanted to prepare for a trivia night, but you could really put almost anything here that's reasonable.

So it asks you questions: "In which country would you find the Great Pyramid of Giza?" Of course, it’s going to be Egypt. "And so great!" It matches. "What's the largest planet in the solar system?" You could keep going.

But it also, maybe more importantly, has many different academic subjects. In elementary school, middle school, I could go through each of these, both humanities and STEM subjects. In middle school, high school, we have every AP course here. For example, I could click on, I don't know, let's click on US government. Awesome choice!

Here are 10 top subtopics in AP US Government that you might want to be quizzed on. So what do we want to do? We could do all of the above. I don't know. Let's do “Foundations of American Democracy.” And once again, it is doing quizzing. It's going to quiz me as much as I want and help evaluate me, but I can also ask questions whenever I want.

So the first question: "What are the key principles of John Locke's political philosophy that influenced the founding fathers when drafting the US Constitution?" Don't worry if you're not sure; I can always give hints or explain things.

So let's say, "Give me a hint." "So it's centered around the idea of natural rights and social contract. Think about three fundamental rights you believe all individuals had and how the government's role is to protect these rights." So let's say, "The right to property and to be happy."

I'm intentionally not giving it the perfect answer. It says, "You are on the right track with the right to property and happiness. The key principles are life, liberty, and property, which are similar to the phrase 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' found in the Declaration of Independence. Great effort!"

And you could keep going. "What is the main purpose of the Federalist Papers to argue for a stronger central government than what we're in the article?" Well, I'll just write it that way. "You got it right! The Federalist Papers were indeed written to argue for a stronger central government."

So you can quiz yourself as much as you want on any of these topics. I think this will be particularly useful, honestly, for any student who's looking to study across subjects, STEM, and humanities, especially a lot of students preparing for AP, going well into college and beyond.

If you don't see something that you have here, if you're taking a more specialized course, you could just type it in. Over here, we have these activities where students can debate the AI or debate Khanmigo, or vice versa.

These are elementary school topics, like, "Are zoos helpful or harmful to animals?" You have middle school topics, like, "Are cell phones helpful or harmful in classrooms?" High school and beyond topics, and we've populated a bunch of them. Like, "Should the student government cancel student debt? Will artificial intelligence help or hurt the job market?"

What you can do is you can take one side of the issue. So let's say, "Let's debate whether the government should cancel student debt." And I'm just — this is, you know, don't send me mail! I'm just taking one point of view to fine-tune the arguments on either side. I will not tell you my actual opinion, but let’s say I'm against canceling the debt.

"All right, you're against canceling student debt. Please go ahead and present your argument, and I’ll be ready to counter and present my side. Let the debate begin!"

So we can say, "Canceling doesn't solve the underlying issue of expensive college. You cancel for one group and the next generation will still accumulate debt." Let's see what else could I say.

Oh, I could say, "This is also an insult to those who worked hard to pay their debt and is a disincentive for others to pay, hoping it will be canceled. The real solution is to make college cheaper."

And let’s see what it responds. "Ah! Well-constructed argument! I see your point about canceling student debt not addressing the root cause of expensive college education, and I understand how it might seem unfair to those who have already paid off their debts. However, allow me to present the other side of the coin. Canceling student debt, even if it doesn't solve the underlying issues..."

And you could see it keeps going on and on. You can spend hours with this thing, and this is just one of the many, many, many things you can debate.

We can chat with a historical figure. For example, let's talk to, I don't know, let’s talk to George Washington. "It is an honor to be summoned as the first President of the United States. George Washington. I am here to share my experiences and answer your questions, as long as they pertain to my time and context. What inquiry do you have for me, my dear fellow? And do tell me what interests you most about my life or the era in which I lived."

"Have you ever been unsure of yourself?" "Indeed, there were moments in my life when I experienced uncertainty and doubt. Leading the Continental Army during the American Revolution was a great responsibility, and I often found myself questioning my decisions. However, I firmly believed in the cause for which we fought, and I endeavored to learn from my mistakes and adopt my strategies accordingly."

So obviously, we could go on and ask all sorts of things, and of course, this is a simulation — to treat it as it is, but there's a lot that we can be doing here!

Literary characters — there are some here. I could say, "Well, you know, I like — unless I would love to meet Zeus." "Ah, mortal! I am Zeus, the king of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus. I preside over the sky and thunder and uphold justice and law. What does thou wish to know or discuss with me, the mighty Zeus?"

And what questions? "What are your insecurities?" "I've always wanted to know this." "Ah, as Zeus, the supreme ruler of the gods, I am not one to dwell on insecurities. However, I faced many challenges in maintaining my rule and ensuring the loyalty of my fellow gods and goddesses. There have been times when my authority has been questioned, and I've had to assert my power to maintain order. Now, mortal, tell me about a challenge you have faced in your life and how you overcame it."

So it's nicely driving the conversation. But there is more! This is essentially a college coach that you could talk to about navigating financial aid, how you can pick majors, etc.

Also a lot of fun! This is a fun activity that helps combine reading comprehension and vocabulary and get a little fact knowledge there. It says, "You know, let me know what grade level you're in." I don't know, let me say I'm a sixth grader.

It's going to give me 10 vocabulary words that would be useful for a sixth grader to know, and then it's going to use them. It’s going to construct passages, and I can pick what I want the story to be around. So let's say let's make it about "The Mysterious Island: A Journey Through Space and Time."

All right, so what it's doing now is it's using those vocabulary words one paragraph at a time, and I need to identify which of those usages was incorrect.

So, once upon a time, a group of apprehensive explorers set sail on a daring adventure to find — well, apprehensive doesn't sound right! That’s not what an explorer would be. So I'll write, "Apprehensive is wrong! Should be something like brave or intrepid."

"Whoops! You got it! Apprehensive doesn't fit the context, and brave or intrepid would be a better choice. Great job!" And then it keeps building on that story about the explorers. It's actually giving me some content knowledge while we’re doing it.

This "Craft a Story" — it essentially helps develop characters, and then it trades off. It's an activity that many of y'all might have seen. Maybe you've done it with kids, or you’ve done it with your parents, where you write a paragraph, then it writes a paragraph, then you write a paragraph, then it writes a paragraph, and you work with the bot to create a story.

And we really, you know, this is really important to us that we're all about learning and not about cheating. So this isn't about, "Hey, just do the essay for me." It's about let's do something creative together!

Now, I promised that it wouldn't just be for students. It’s also for teachers. They can develop parts of a lesson, like a lesson hook or exit tickets or entire lesson plans altogether.

So ask me what grade I'm teaching. Let's say I'm teaching ninth grade. I want to teach the causes of the Civil War. "Oh, the cause of the Civil War! What a fascinating, thought-provoking topic for ninth graders!"

Anyway, would you like me to create a rough draft of the lesson plan, or do you want to provide more information to customize it further? You could say whether you want it to be project-based or hands-on or whether you want to facilitate a conversation. They’ll go into all of the details of what makes a great lesson plan.

But just for the sake of this demo, I'm just going to say, "Give me a rough draft. Just see what it can produce on this." What’s interesting is, it is producing a full, complete lesson plan that I can take with ninth graders that would be appropriate for them.

It produces it, and I can then tweak it if I want to make it more exciting or make it more hands-on, or change the assessment. Or I could answer more of its questions, however I want. It's just fun to see, like, you know, even some of the hooks and things it creates.

"Begin with a quick poll: Do you think the Civil War was inevitable? Why or why not?" Encourage students to share their thoughts briefly, and you could ask for a different type of hook.

We even have a lesson hook: "Refresh my knowledge," as a teacher. "Hey, you know, I teach the Civil War every year, but right before I teach it, it’s nice to be able to at least make sure that I have a decent handle or remember all of the details."

So let’s say I had that lesson: ninth grade, causes of the Civil War. So quizzing on the topic, learning through conversation.

Let’s say, "Quiz me on the topic." So here’s like the major concept: "Economic and social difference between the North and South. Can you explain the key differences between the North and South that contributed to tensions?"

"The North was more industrial and didn't have slavery. The South was agricultural and was dependent on slavery to some degree." That’s correct!

So this is a way I, as a teacher, can just make sure that, okay! And this works not just in the humanities; it could be in the sciences — whatever you’re about to teach!

You can get the lesson plan, get your hook, refresh your knowledge, and then there’s even a couple of fun things here. You can kind of just put stuff about your classroom here, and it can kind of create a fun poem for what everyone did together.

As much as you already see here, and I haven't even gone through all of all of these activities, and I obviously haven't shown you all the other stuff on Khan Academy and the related links and how it can connect what you're doing here to the other things on Khan Academy.

We hope to — we're already testing this with teachers and co-designing it with teachers and educators, working with students.

This is all right now going to be behind Khan Labs. We're creating a waiting list for any of y'all who want to be part of it. We are going to prioritize donors because we do need to fund the research and development of this.

But over the coming months, we hope to roll this out to more and more folks, with a priority for schools that are already part of the Khan Academy District offering.

We also hope to release more and more activities for teachers, parents, and students, hopefully on even a weekly basis, in the months to come.

So I look forward to all of you getting a chance to play and learn with Khanmigo!