Teaching Machines in the Age of Generative AI: The Khanmigo Case
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5944/reec.48.2025.45390Keywords:
Personalized learning, Intelligent Tutoring Aystems, Sociotechnical imaginaries, Artificial intelligence, KhanmigoAbstract
The personalization of teaching has long been linked to aspirations for democratizing and enhancing learning processes. Today, this promise is reinvigorated by intelligent tutoring systems designed to provide individualized, adaptive support that is available anytime and anywhere. In this context, Khan Academy, in collaboration with OpenAI, developed Khanmigo, a generative-AI-powered assistant that not only offers students personalized guidance through natural-language interaction but also supplies teachers with tools for lesson planning, rubric design, and other instructional tasks. This paper analyzes the sociotechnical imaginaries surrounding teaching and learning through the case of Khanmigo. A qualitative methodology is employed, focusing on three types of secondary sources: (a) promotional conferences and interviews about Khanmigo on YouTube; (b) agreements with U.S. school districts to deploy Khanmigo via the Khan Academy Districts program; and (c) the platform’s privacy policies, with special attention to the Khanmigo service. The findings reveal that Khanmigo’s design constructs a narrative of student self-regulation, relegating the teacher’s role to technical supervision and moderation. Moreover, the problem framing advanced by Khan Academy adopts a technological-solutionist stance that reduces the complexity of education to issues of technological access and algorithmic personalization. In doing so, Khanmigo updates and accentuates principles rooted in behaviorist theories and programmed instruction, aligning itself with a genealogy of initiatives aimed at automating and individualizing educational experiencesDownloads
References
Artopoulos, A. (2023). Imaginarios de IA generativa en educación. Revista Hipertextos, 11(19), e070. https://doi.org/10.24215/23143924e070
Barbosa, P., Ferreira do Carmo, R., Gomes, J., & Viana, W. (2023). Adaptive learning in computer science education: A scoping review. Education and Information Technologies, 29(8), 9139–9188. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-12066-z
Biesta, G. (2024). Desinstrumentalizando la educación. Teoría de la Educación. Revista Interuniversitaria, 36(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.14201/teri.31487
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. (2024). Grant to Khan Academy. https://www.gatesfoundation.org/about/committed-grants?queryText=khan%20academy
Bloom, B. S. (1984). The 2 sigma problem: The search for methods of group instruction as effective as one-to-one tutoring. Educational Researcher, 13(6), 4–16. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X013006004
Boussouf, Z., Amrani, H., Zerhouni Khal, M., & Daidai, F. (2024). Artificial intelligence in education: A systematic literature review. Data and Metadata, Advance online publication.
Carbonell Bernal, N., & Hernández Prados, M. Á. (2024). Impacto de los sistemas de tutoría inteligente: Una revisión sistemática. Edutec, Revista Electrónica de Tecnología Educativa, (89), 121-143. https://doi.org/10.21556/edutec.2024.89.3025
Capuano, N., & Caballé, S. (2020). Adaptive learning technologies. AI Magazine, 41(2), 96-98. https://doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v41i2.5317
Coll, C. (2016). La personalización del aprendizaje escolar: El qué, el por qué y el cómo de un reto insoslayable. En J. M. Vilalta (Ed.), Reptes de l’educació a Catalunya. Anuari d’Educació 2015 (pp. 1-35). Fundació Jaume Bofill.
Díaz-Pérez, F., González, C., Suárez, R., & Ramírez, K. (2021). Impacto del uso de un sistema tutor inteligente adaptativo sobre el rendimiento académico en matemáticas: Un estudio empírico en estudiantes chilenos y colombianos. Computers in Human Behavior, 119, 106724. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106724
Díez-Gutiérrez, E. J. (2021). Gobernanza híbrida digital y capitalismo EdTech: La crisis del COVID-19 como amenaza. Foro de Educación, 19(1), 105-133. https://doi.org/10.14516/fde.860
Dorfmann, M., Menéndez Báez, M., & De Angeli, A. (2023). There is a better you in you: Promises and ideologies of self-tracking technologies. tripleC, 21(2), 74-91.
Dussel, I., & Williams, F. (2023). Los imaginarios sociotécnicos de la política educativa digital en México (2012-2022). Profesorado. Revista de Currículum y Formación de Profesorado, 27(1), 39-60. https://doi.org/10.30827/profesorado.v27i1.26247
Floridi, L. (2023). The ethics of artificial intelligence: Principles, challenges, and opportunities. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198883098.003.0002García Ruíz, M.J. (2012). Impacto de la globalización y el posmodernismo en la epistemología de la educación comparada. Revista Española de Educación Comparada, (20), 41-80. https://doi.org/10.5944/reec.20.2012.7593
Guamán Cajilema, L., Pailiacho Armijos, D., Chucho Rea, J., Inga Cuvi, W., & Chucho Morocho, J. (2025). Implementación de sistemas de tutoría inteligente basados en IA para la personalización del aprendizaje en matemáticas. Ciencia Latina Revista Científica Multidisciplinar, 9(1), 752-766. https://doi.org/10.37811/cl_rcm.v8i6.15792
Heck, T., Meurers, D., & Nuxoll, F. (2022). Automatic exercise generation to support macro-adaptivity in intelligent language tutoring systems. Research-publishing.net. https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2022.000Jasanoff, S., & Kim, S. (2009). Containing the atom: Sociotechnical imaginaries and nuclear power in the United States and South Korea. Minerva, 47(2), 119-146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11024-009-9124-4Jasanoff, S. (2015). Future imperfect: Science, technology, and the imaginations of modernity. En S. Jasanoff & S. Kim (Eds.), Dreamscapes of modernity: Sociotechnical imaginaries and the fabrication of power (pp. 1-33). University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/9780226276663
Khan, S. (2023a, abril 13). Cómo la inteligencia artificial puede salvar (no destruir) la educación [Video]. TED. https://youtu.be/hJP5GqnTrNo
Khan, S. [Khan Academy]. (2023b, agosto 8). AMA with Sal Khan on AI + Education [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rO6OVLt-puo
Khan Academy. (2023a). Meet Khanmigo, Khan Academy’s AI-powered teaching assistant & tutor. https://www.khanmigo.ai/#FAQ
Khan Academy. (2023b). What is Khan Academy Districts? https://support.khanacademy.org/hc/en-us/articles/360030592112
Khan Academy. (2023e). Khanmigo teacher story – Ms. Bartsch [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UveN1NLMGPs
Khan Academy. (2023f). Boost writing skills with Khan Academy’s new essay feedback feature [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwXESSQEhmY
Khan Academy. (2023g). 7 principles for AI in education: Part 1 of 2 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVeyN5058NE
Khan Academy. (2024). Annual report SY 23-24. https://annualreport.khanacademy.org/
Khan Academy. (2025a). Khanmigo subscription plans: Features & pricing. https://support.khanacademy.org/hc/en-us/articles/25921448458893
Khan Academy. (2025b). Política de privacidad. https://www.khanacademy.org/about/privacy-policy
Khan Academy. (2025c). Acerca de Khan Academy. https://es.khanacademy.org/about
Klašnja-Milićević, A., Vesin, B., Ivanović, M., & Budimac, Z. (2011). E-learning personalization based on hybrid recommendation strategy and learning style identification. Computers & Education, 56(3), 885-899. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.11.001
Knox, J. (2023). AI and education in China: Imagining the future, excavating the past. Routledge.
Komljenovic, J. (2021). The rise of education rentiers: Digital platforms, digital data and rents. Learning, Media and Technology, 46(3), 320-332. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439884.2021.1891422
Lefevre, M., Jean-Daubias, S., & Guin, N. (2012). An approach for unified personalization of learning. En Proceedings of the UMAP Workshops (pp. 1-6).
Masschelein, J., & Simons, M. (2022). ¿Un nuevo movimiento escolar? Revista del IICE, 51, 191–200.
Mathew, A., Rohini, V., & Paulose, J. (2021). NLP-based personal learning assistant for school education. International Journal of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 11(5), 4522-4530. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v11i5
Microsoft. (2024, mayo 21). What’s next: Microsoft Build continues the evolution and expansion of AI tools for developers [Entrada de blog]. https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2024/05/21/whats-next-microsoft-build-continues-the-evolution-and-expansion-of-ai-tools-for-developers
Moreno Padilla, R. (2019). La llegada de la inteligencia artificial a la educación. Revista de Investigación en Tecnologías de la Información, 7(14), 260-270. https://doi.org/10.36825/riti.07.14.022
Morozov, E. (2015). La locura del solucionismo tecnológico. Katz Editores.
Navarrete-Cazales, Z. & Manzanilla – Granados, H.M. (2024). Integración de la tecnología y teorías posmodernas en la educación comparada: desafíos y oportunidades en contextos globales. Revista Española de Educación Comparada, (46), 193 -211. https://doi.org/10.5944/reec.46.2025.41864
OpenAI. (2023). Khan Academy. https://openai.com/customer-stories/khan-academy
Pane, J., Steiner, E., Baird, M., & Hamilton, L. (2015). Continued progress: Promising evidence on personalized learning. RAND Corporation.
Pataranutaporn, P., Danry, V., Leong, J., Punpongsanon, P., Novy, D., Maes, P., & Sra, M. (2021). AI-generated characters for supporting personalized learning and well-being. Nature Machine Intelligence, 3(12), 1013-1022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42256-021-00429-0
Ponce, P., Pintado, P., & Biset, J. (2019). Análisis de implementaciones de sistemas tutores inteligentes y afectivos: Revisión sistemática. REFCalE: Revista Electrónica Formación y Calidad Educativa, 7(2), 218-234. https://observatorioturisticobahia.uleam.edu.ec/index.php/refcale/article/view/3019
Quintanar-Casillas, R., & Hernández-López, M. (2022). Modelos tecnológicos de aprendizaje adaptativo aplicados a la educación. Revista Docentes 2.0, 15(1), 41-58. https://doi.org/10.37843/rted.v15i1.308
Rebolledo-Méndez, G., Huerta-Pacheco, N. S., Baker, R. S., & du Boulay, B. (2022). Meta-affective behaviour within an intelligent tutoring system for mathematics. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 32(1), 174-195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-021-00247-1
Ritter, S., Anderson, J., Koedinger, K., & Corbett, A. (2007). Cognitive Tutor: Applied research in mathematics education. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 14(2), 249-255. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194060
Rizvi, F., & Lingard, B. (2010). Globalizing education policy. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203860261
Rodríguez, M. (2021). Sistemas de tutoría inteligente y su aplicación en la educación superior. RIDE. Revista Iberoamericana para la Investigación y el Desarrollo Educativo, 11(22). https://doi.org/10.23913/ride.v11i22.848
Sahlman, W. A., Ciechanover, A., & Grandjean, E. (2023). Khanmigo: Revolutionizing learning with GenAI (Case No. 824-059). Harvard Business School. (Revised 2024).
Saura, G. (2020). Filantrocapitalismo digital en educación: COVID-19, UNESCO, Google, Facebook y Microsoft. Teknokultura, 17(2), 159-168. https://doi.org/10.5209/tekn.70029
Saura, G. (2023). Nuevas formas, nuevos actores y nuevas dinámicas de la privatización digital en la educación. Profesorado. Revista de Currículum y Formación de Profesorado, 27(1), 1-10.
Saura, G., Lima, P., & Arguelho, M. (2024). Imaginarios sociotécnicos en educación: Inteligencia artificial y transformación digital. Journal of Supranational Policies of Education, (20), 11-30. https://doi.org/10.15366/jospoe2024.20.001
Schriewer, J. (2000). World system and interrelationship networks: The internationalization of education and the role of comparative inquiry. In T. S. Popkewitz (Ed.), Educational knowledge: Changing relationships between the state, civil society, and the educational community (pp. 305–343). SUNY Press.
Selwyn, N. (2020). ¿Deberían los robots sustituir al profesorado? La IA y el futuro de la educación. Morata.
Serrano, J., & Moreno-García, J. (2024). Inteligencia artificial y personalización del aprendizaje: ¿Innovación educativa o promesas recicladas? Edutec, Revista Electrónica de Tecnología Educativa, (89), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.21556/edutec.2024.89.3577
Simons, M., & Masschelein, J. (2014). Defensa de la escuela. Una cuestión pública. Miño y Dávila Editores.
Somasundaram, M., Junaid, K., & Mangadu, S. (2020). Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled intelligent quality management systems (IQMS) for personalized learning paths. Procedia Computer Science, 172, 438-442. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2020.05.055
Steiner-Khamsi, G. (2014). Cross-national policy borrowing: Understanding reception and translation. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 34(2), 153–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2013.875649
Tang, Y., Liang, J., Hare, R., & Wang, F. (2020). A personalized learning system for parallel intelligent education. IEEE Transactions on Computational Social Systems, 7(2), 352-361. https://doi.org/10.1109/TCSS.2020.2979638
Taylor, D., Yeung, M., & Bashet, A. (2021). Personalized and adaptive learning. En J. Ryoo & K. Winkelmann (Eds.), Innovative learning environments in STEM higher education (pp. 17-38). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58948-6_2
TeachAI. (2025a). About TeachAI. https://www.teachai.org/
TeachAI. (2025b). Issue briefs 2.0: Personalized learning & equity [Documento de trabajo]. https://www.teachai.org/issue-briefs
Tirocchi, S. (2022). Educación y plataformas digitales: Implicaciones para los estudiantes. En Redes sociales y ciudadanía: Ciberculturas para el aprendizaje (pp. 159-166). Grupo Comunicar.
Troncoso, M., Dueñas, Y., & Verdecia, E. (2023). Inteligencia artificial y educación: Nuevas relaciones en un mundo interconectado. Estudios del Desarrollo Social: Cuba y América Latina, 11(2), 312-328. https://revistas.uh.cu/revflacso/article/view/4815
Van Dijck, J., Poell, T., & de Waal, M. (2018). The platform society: Public values in a connective world. Oxford University Press.
Watters, A. (2021). Teaching machines: The history of personalized learning. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/12262.001.0001
William, S., Allison, A., Ciechanover, M., & Grandjean, E. (2024). Khanmigo: Revolutionizing learning with GenAI (Case No. 824-059). Harvard Business School.
Vera, F. (2023). Integración de la inteligencia artificial en la educación superior: Desafíos y oportunidades. Transformar, 4(1), 17-34. https://www.revistatransformar.cl/index.php/transformar/article/view/84
Warschauer, M., & Matuchniak, T. (2010). New technology and digital worlds: Analyzing evidence of equity in access, use, and outcomes. Review of Research in Education, 34(1), 179-225. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X09349791
Williamson, B. (2021). Making markets through digital platforms: Pearson, edu-business, and the (e)valuation of higher education. Critical Studies in Education, 62(1), 50-66. https://doi.org/10.1080/17508487.2020.1737556
World Bank. (2024). Digital pathways for education: Enabling greater impact for all. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099102124103012716/pdf/P173530151854505218eb417834e0f954cd.pdf
Yılmaz, Z., Galanti, T. M., Naresh, N., & Kanbir, S. (2025). Exploring the interactions among instructors, prospective teachers and AI in facilitating mathematics learning. School Science and Mathematics, 125(2), 89-101. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.18341
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 LUCAS GORODNEFF, Lucila Dughera, Fernando Raúl Alfredo Bordignon
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Acknowledgement – Non Commercial (by-nc): Generation of derivated Works is allowed as long as a commercial use is not developed. The original work cannot be used with commercial aims.
This journal does not apply any fee to the authors by the filing or processing of articles.
