ChatGPTeachers
AI hits the classroom … Deepfakes and AI frameworks … And robots in the drivers’ seat.
How would you feel if your child’s teacher was replaced by ChatGPT?
Once a sci-fi thought experiment, this question has officially arrived at Arizona’s doorstep. Artificial intelligence is no longer just assisting educators — it’s primed to take the lead in some classrooms.
One such model is Unbound Academy — a newly approved online charter school moving into Arizona — which was built on the premise that traditional classrooms waste time.
Dubbed the "2-Hour Learning Model," Unbound Academy’s model combines AI-driven personalized learning with an unconventional school day. Two hours of core academic instruction — delivered largely through computer programs — leaves the rest of the day for life skills workshops and student-selected interests.
The “teachers,” now rebranded as "guides," won’t deliver lessons directly but will act as mentors and data analysts, using AI insights to monitor progress and provide targeted support.
By analyzing responses, time spent on tasks, and even emotional cues, the system adjusts complexity and presentation to maximize learning efficiency. The goal? Achieve mastery faster and free students to explore broader skills.
Unbound Academy has an ambitious plan to serve grades 4-8 and grow its class from 250 students this year (with a total staff of just eight people) to 1,000 students within four years. The school is already operating in Texas and Florida, but other states, including Utah and Arkansas, have been critical of the company’s applications for fully online AI-guided charter schools.
Unbound Academy’s leaders said they wanted to expand into Arizona because of its reputation as among the most pro-school-choice states.
“The reason we picked Arizona is because it is very pro-choice, very pro-online and we thought it would be a good home for this model to expand,” Andrew Price, one of the board members for Unbound Academy’s parent company, told the charter board during an interview.
But not everyone is sold on this vision.
When Unbound Academy applied for approval to launch its first charter school in Arizona, the State Board for Charter Schools was suspicious.
The board’s Technical Review Panel, which is charged with vetting proposed charter school businesses, ultimately recommended Unbound Academy’s application for a charter school in Arizona be “approved with hesitation.” The Board for Charter Schools narrowly approved the application on a 4-3 vote in December.
But regulators still had quite a few concerns, including:
Curriculum Gaps: The Technical Review Panel criticized the reliance on tech over traditional teaching.
Conflict of Interest: The panel noted that the two-hour learning model was developed by a board member, raising eyebrows over impartiality.
Board Shake-Up: The plan to swap the current out-of-state board for an all-Arizona team was viewed as risky — especially given the new members’ relative inexperience.
Special Ed Services: One guide for all special education needs? The TRP isn’t convinced that’s enough.
Marketing Woes: Recruiting students through social media alone in a crowded online education market feels like a shot in the dark.
Critics have also zeroed in on the company’s hype and promise to infuse AI into learning.
“2 Hour Learning is a program that promises for learning what ‘The 4 Hour Workweek’ promised for your day job and ‘The 7 Minute Workout’ promised for your fitness — more for less,” as education writer Dan Meyer wrote.
This isn’t the first time AI has ventured into classrooms. Programs like IXL and Khan Academy already use AI to tailor learning paths. Other schools are experimenting with automated grading, virtual tutors, and adaptive learning tools.
But Unbound Academy’s approach raises questions about the balance between innovation and practicality.
Despite the skepticism, the model has its advantages:
Personalized Learning: AI customizes content to meet individual needs, whether accelerating advanced learners or supporting struggling ones.
Real-Time Adaptation: The system adjusts pace and difficulty based on performance, providing immediate feedback.
Efficiency Gains: Early projections suggest students could master core subjects up to six times faster than in traditional classrooms.
Life Skills Focus: The model’s emphasis on practical workshops could give students a well-rounded education beyond academics.
Unbound Academy’s vision is ambitious — and controversial. Whether it marks the future of education or a misstep in AI’s evolving role, one thing is clear: schools, policymakers, and communities will have to grapple with how much trust we place in algorithms to shape young minds.
Arizona has always tried to stay ahead of the curve on technological advances (think Uber or Waymo). And while we’re still waiting for lawmakers to introduce their AI-focused legislation for the year, we’re keeping an eye on themes like:
Transparency: Building on deepfake legislation, we’re curious whether new bills will tackle emerging AI-generated content challenges.
Consumer Protection: How will the state balance innovation with safeguarding its residents?
Public-Sector AI: Will we see more smart city initiatives or AI-driven improvements in public services?
Meanwhile, we’re also keeping tabs on other states to see how their moves ripple across the country. California and Colorado, especially, have developed frameworks that might inspire similar legislation in Arizona — or prompt lawmakers to innovate beyond them.
California passed the AI Transparency Act last year, requiring disclosure for generative AI systems with more than a million users (effective 2026). Think of it as a giant neon “THIS IS AI” sign.
Colorado tackled algorithmic discrimination with its AI Consumer Protection Bill, mandating “reasonable care” for developers of high-risk systems.
ICYMI: 2024 was a year of exciting starts in AI legislation, with Arizona and other states diving headfirst into the challenges posed by artificial intelligence.
Our state took the spotlight last year with House Bill 2394, a law targeting the murky world of deepfakes.
The bill gave political candidates legal grounds to address digital impersonations lacking disclaimers, and empowered individuals depicted in sexual deepfakes to seek injunctive relief and damages.1
Gov. Katie Hobbs established an AI Steering Committee in November to shape future deployments of AI tech, noting that the state is already working with generative AI to help constituents get answers faster, workers become more productive, and to help police review and redact body camera footage.
In October, the Department of Administration updated the state’s policies and procedures relating to AI, aiming to empower its workforce and provide avenues for “responsible experimentation that maintains control and respects privacy and security.”
Tracking all the bills introduced at the Arizona Legislature can be exhausting. That’s why we built Skywolf, our AI-powered legislative tracking tool. It’s designed to sift through the chaos of state legislation so you can focus on what matters.
Bill Tracking: Track each bill through each stage of its life cycle and receive text, email or push notifications any time something happens to that bill.
Deep Insights: Receive AI-generated, human-vetted expert summaries of each bill introduced and amendments.
Customizable Reports: Group bills into tracking lists to cover all the action on any given topic and receive customizable reports on their status.
Grassroots Advocacy Tools: A unique email generator to empower grassroots lobbying.
We’re watching, so you don’t have to scroll endlessly through legislative PDFs.
Speaking of AI tools, I’ve been testing Google Gemini’s Deep Research tool, and it’s nothing short of mind-blowing. It can research hundreds of websites while you sit on the beach (which I did last week in Hawaii).
It combines deep research capabilities with intuitive interfaces, making it a dream for diving into niche topics or conducting a large-scale analysis.
While ChatGPT can instantly answer your questions — to varying degrees of success — via pre-trained data2, Deep Research takes several minutes to research and think before answering — and it cites its sources.
The downside? Including the $20 per month I spend on Google’s Gemini, I’m now spending close to $1,000 a month on AI tools (yes, it’s spiraling out of control). But hey, if you’re an AI enthusiast, it’s all part of the game.
Check it out: Google Gemini Deep Research.
File this one under “AI isn’t perfect yet.”
A Waymo self-driving car got stuck circling a parking lot, making its passenger late for their flight at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport.
“Has this been hacked? What’s going on? I feel like I’m in the movies,” Mike Johns, an LA-based tech entrepreneur, told a Waymo customer service representative in a video he posted online.
While Johns missed the boarding call, we couldn’t help but appreciate the metaphor — sometimes AI needs to find its way, too.
Fun fact: ChatGPT helped draft the term “digital impersonation” in HB2394. AI writing laws about AI — what a time to be alive.
Another fun fact: GPT stands for generative pre-trained transformer.