As AI becomes more prevalent in the classroom — where students use it to complete assignments and teachers are uncertain about how to address it — an AI platform called MathGPT.ai launched last year with the goal of providing an “anti-cheating” tutor to college students and a teaching assistant to professors.
Following a successful pilot program at 30 colleges and universities in the U.S., MathGPT.ai is preparing to nearly double its availability this fall, with hundreds of instructors planning to incorporate the tool. Schools implementing MathGPT.ai in their classrooms include Penn State University, Tufts University, and Liberty University, among others.
The most notable aspect of the platform is that its AI chatbot is trained to never directly give the answer, but instead ask students questions and provide support, much like a human tutor would. This technique, known as Socratic questioning, encourages students to think critically rather than simply memorizing answers.
For instructors, MathGPT.ai serves as a teaching assistant, generating questions and schoolwork based on uploaded textbooks and learning materials, as well as offering auto-grading capabilities and additional AI features.
MathGPT.ai supports college-level math, including Algebra, Calculus, Trigonometry, and more.
In addition to the expansion, MathGPT.ai launched an upgraded version of its platform, introducing new features that give professors more control over how their students use the tools.
The main feature that sets MathGPT.ai apart from other AI companies is its instructor-centric approach. Recently, the platform has become even more focused on instructors’ needs. For example, instructors can now determine when students are allowed to interact with the chatbot. They can specify whether the AI should provide tutoring support for specific assignments while encouraging students to work independently on others.
Another new feature allows professors to set the number of attempts a student has to answer a question correctly. To promote a low-pressure learning environment, MathGPT.ai has also introduced unlimited practice questions for students. These questions don’t affect their score, allowing students to test their knowledge without stressing about grades.
Additional features that MathGPT.ai offers to instructors include an optional requirement for students to upload images of their work. This enables professors to review submissions and verify the authenticity of the students’ work.
Other recent updates include integrations with the three largest Learning Management Systems (LMS): Canvas, Blackboard, and Brightspace. It also added screen reader compatibility and an audio mode, making it more accessible to individuals with disabilities. The platform already offers closed captions for its summarized video lessons, which are notably AI-narrated to sound like historical figures like Ben Franklin and Albert Einstein.
The company claims it complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
While chatbots like Meta AI, Character.AI, and openai.com/index/chatgpt/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ChatGPT have faced criticism for inappropriate interactions with young users, MathGPT.ai says it has strict guardrails in place to ensure a safe learning environment.
“It will not have discussions with you about your girlfriend, boyfriend, or the meaning of life,” Peter Relan, the chairman of MathGPT.ai, told TechCrunch. “It will simply not engage. Because these freestanding chatbots will go in that direction, right? We are not here to entertain those kinds of conversations.” (Relan helped incubate Got It AI and was an early Discord investor.)
It’s important to note that, like any chatbot, MathGPT.ai’s assistant still has the potential to produce inaccurate information. The chatbot has a disclosure at the bottom that warns the AI may make mistakes. Users can report the responses to the company if they believe the questions were answered incorrectly.
“If you find a mistake, we will reward you with a gift card to tell us what it is. Year one, there were five [hallucinations]. Year two, there was one. So far [this year], none. So we take it very seriously,” Relan said, adding that MathGPT.ai has a team of human annotators to double-check every piece of work, textbook, and all other content to ensure “100% accuracy.”
To continue its growth, the company plans to develop a mobile app in the future and expand to more subjects, such as chemistry, economics, and accounting.
MathGPT.ai offers a free option, as well as a $25 per student per course option. The paid option includes several benefits, such as unlimited AI assignments and LMS integration.