El Salvador teams up with Elon Musk's xAI to bring AI to 5,000 public schools

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SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said Thursday that his administration is partnering with Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI to bring artificial intelligence into more than 5,000 public schools.

The millennial leader, who previously made El Salvador the first nation to make bitcoin legal tender in 2021, is betting big on technology again.

In a statement Thursday, xAI said that its Grok chatbot will bring “personalized learning to over one million students” by creating tutoring “that adjusts to each student’s pace, preferences, and mastery level — ensuring every child, from urban centers to rural communities, receives world-class education tailored to their needs.”

Bukele said in the statement that El Salvador would be “pioneering AI-driven education.”

Last month, Bukele announced a partnership with Google to launch a mobile app that would allow Salvadorans to access free virtual medical consultations with doctors that would be assisted by AI.

Earlier this year, xAI said it was taking down “inappropriate posts” made by Grok, which appeared to include antisemitic comments that praised Adolf Hitler. Musk said at the time that the chatbot was improving.

Artificial intelligence tools are changing the teaching profession as a growing number of educators use them to help write quizzes and worksheets, design lessons, assist with grading and reduce paperwork. By freeing up their time, many say the technology has made them better at their jobs.

Still, concerns about misuse and overuse are prevalent, and there are worries about how AI affects students’ ability to think critically and solve problems.

A poll released over the summer by Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation found 6 in 10 U.S. teachers working in K-12 public schools used AI tools for their work over the past school year, with heavier use among high school educators and early-career teachers. It surveyed more than 2,000 teachers nationwide in April. About 8 in 10 teachers who use AI tools said it saves them time on work tasks like making worksheets, assessments, quizzes or on administrative work. And about 6 in 10 teachers who use AI tools said they are improving the quality of their work when it comes to modifying student materials, or giving student feedback.

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