The UAE's largest private school group is preparing to use digital replicas of its teachers in the latest step in a nationwide drive to integrate advanced technology into the classroom.
The artificial intelligence-powered 'twins' are designed to look, sound and respond like a named member of staff – with Gems Education offering assurances it is a high-tech tool to assist staff, not replace them.
Gems, which educates more than 200,000 pupils across its network of schools, is working with global brand Napster to develop “digital personas” and AI agents for use in K-12 education.
This is to include digitalisation of teachers, gamified learning, AI-assisted content creation and classroom simulations.
The project will begin at Gems School of Research and Innovation, with the aim to expand across the Gems network before the end of the year.
Evolving education
“This initiative is designed to extend the reach and impact of teachers, not replace them,” said Baz Nijjar, senior vice president of innovation, AI and futurism at Gems Education, and managing director of its Intelligence 360 platform.
“An AI agent may be able to make approved content more accessible, provide guided practice or help a student revisit an explanation. It cannot assume a teacher's professional, pastoral or safeguarding responsibilities.”
What is a ‘digital persona’?
The group is keen to clarify exactly what it is building. It provided The National with its own briefing materials, which separates the term “digital twin” – a close digital representation of a specific teacher, potentially resembling them and featuring their voice and expertise – from what Gems and Napster say they are primarily pursuing: a “digital persona”, defined as a configured AI identity with an approved role, knowledge base, tone, permissions and safeguards.
Teachers, Mr Nijjar stressed, will not automatically be required to hand over their likeness or voice. “This is optional, and it will be trialled with teachers who are willing to do this in the first phase – the more important aspect is the quality of knowledge base and information that the digital persona can produce.”
If a teacher's appearance or voice is proposed as part of a specific use case, he said, it would require “explicit agreement, defined usage rights and the ability to update, pause or withdraw that representation”. No process would proceed, he added, without a privacy, legal, safeguarding and security review.
The primary use case, as Gems describes it, is after-hours academic support: giving pupils on-demand access to curriculum content and guided practice outside school hours, in a number of languages.
“Our starting question is not, 'How much AI can we introduce into education?' It is, 'Where can AI safely improve learning, feedback, confidence and personal development while strengthening the human relationships at the heart of education?'” Mr Nijjar said.
Mixed reaction from parents
Jola Chudy, a PR founder and mother of a 12 year old, said Gems was right to frame the technology as a support tool. “This kind of roll-out will succeed or fail on an issue of trust rather than the slightly controversial spectre of an 'AI teacher',” she said.
“We all know AI should not replace human judgment – but what happens if the avatar starts 'hallucinating' to a student? What are the safety protocols in place? Parents will want plain answers to this and more.”
An AI hallucination is when an AI model presents false or misleading information as fact.
“Schools will need to communicate continuously, openly, and in language parents can understand as the technology and the implications surrounding it continue to evolve,” Ms Chudy said.
Ryaan Sharif, a father of a five year old, said he could see the value – with conditions.
“AI avatars could be a useful addition if they are properly monitored and, most importantly, children genuinely find them engaging and beneficial to their learning. Any decision to expand their use should be based on clear educational outcomes and honest feedback from students, parents and teachers."
George Evans, who has children aged four and six, said the after-hours framing made the proposal more palatable. “My first impressions are that I don't see a huge issue with it. It's the after-school bit that implies to me this is more for older kids who have more homework. I would be more concerned if this was something that found its way into a regular school day.”
Diana Al Rifai, a mother of one, is concerned about AI being used as a crutch by children, who she believes should be encouraged to develop problem-solving skills independently.
“If a child has a genuine weakness or needs additional support, I believe that should come through meaningful human interaction, such as an actual tutor who can work with the child personally and understand their individual needs,” she said.
What teachers think
Alex Gray, head of digital innovation and AI at Arcadia British School, emphasised the need for humans to remain in the driving seat as technology advances rapidly. “The real risk isn't that AI takes over education. It's that AI takes over the thinking,” he said.
“Teaching is much more than providing answers. A teacher knows the child, sees how they're progressing, challenges them when they need it and takes responsibility for their learning and well-being. AI can't take on that responsibility.”
Dan Clark, founding principal of Queen Elizabeth's School, Dubai Sports City, said the technology's arrival was inevitable but requires honest handling.
“The technology isn't going away. By one recent estimate, 86 per cent of young people aged nine to 17 have already used generative AI.
“Our job is not to pretend otherwise. It is to raise young people who use these tools confidently, critically and ethically, rather than fearfully or blindly.”
Fahed Bizzari, founder of AI empowerment company Bellamy Alden, who wrote about AI tutors in an academic book in 2024, said he supports the concept of after-hours AI tutoring but is concerned that replicating a teacher's face and voice without replicating their judgment creates confusion, especially for young children.
“Children will be getting their teacher's face and voice with a different approach and a different demeanour, and that could be confusing, especially for younger ones.”
On the flip side, there’s a real benefit, he added. “For a lot of children, this could be what helps them keep up, and that matters because so many students fall behind.”
His advice to parents was practical. “Ask the school who checks what it tells their child, where their data goes, whether they'll be able to see the conversations and whether the government is aware of it.
“I'd also ask what training the teachers are getting in their own AI competency, so they stay the pilots rather than becoming passengers of these tutors.”
Ultimately, teachers should remain responsible for determining where these tools are used, what they are permitted to do and when human intervention is required, said Mr Bizzari.
“Success will not be measured by how realistic or sophisticated a digital persona appears. It will be measured by whether it safely adds educational value and gives teachers greater capacity to focus on the human work that matters most.”
