GEMS Education clarifies costs, access and safeguards for its new AI teacher avatars.
Dubai: As GEMS Education prepares to trial AI-powered “digital twins” of its teachers, one question is likely to be on many parents’ minds: will the technology come with an additional cost?
As reported by Gulf News on Tuesday, the UAE’s largest private school group is piloting the technology at GEMS School of Research & Innovation (SRI) in Dubai under a partnership with AI company Napster. A working solution is targeted before the end of 2026.
We put a set of follow-up questions to Baz Nijjar, Senior Vice-President for Innovation, AI and Futurism and Managing Director of Intelligence 360 at GEMS Education, to understand what the technology could cost families, how it will work and what safeguards are in place. Here’s what he said.
Will students have to pay extra?
During the initial proof of concept at GEMS School of Research and Innovation, selected teachers and students will access the technology through a controlled school environment rather than purchasing it individually.
For selected use cases, the school will provide access. Any future expansion of access or introduction of an additional funding model would be considered only after the educational value, safety and practical implementation of the technology have been evaluated.
Is this like home tuition by a teacher’s AI avatar?
No, Nijjar said the technology should not be viewed as home tuition or as a replacement for a live teacher. Instead, it is designed as school-governed, on-demand learning support that could help students revisit an explanation, practise a skill, prepare for a task or receive initial feedback during and outside normal school hours.
Teachers will remain responsible for learning design and the key decisions that shape students’ education.
How will this initiative work?
The AI avatar will function as a controlled, teacher-authorised interface rather than an unrestricted digital replica. With the consent of the teacher and school, it can be grounded in selected educational resources, teacher explanations and approved subject content, allowing students to interact through video, voice or text.
Its scope will be clearly defined, with teachers able to review, update, pause or adapt its use at any time.
What happens when a teacher leaves the school?
An avatar would operate under clear permissions covering the teacher’s likeness, voice, content and expertise, where mutually approved. Otherwise, GEMS said it could use an approved avatar that does not necessarily replicate that specific teacher.
The avatar would not automatically continue representing a teacher after they leave the school. It could be updated, withdrawn or deactivated, while any continued use would require the appropriate consent and contractual permissions.
GEMS said it would retain the ability to pause or revoke access at any time.
Won’t this mean more screen time?
“We do not want to introduce technology to increase screen use,” Nijjar said. Interactions will be designed to be short, purposeful and appropriate to the student’s age and the learning activity.
The proof of concept will assess suitable time limits and access windows, alongside usage monitoring. Teachers or authorised staff will also be able to pause or withdraw access.
Could this eventually be used inside classrooms?
Classroom use may also be evaluated, but only in teacher-led scenarios such as simulations, demonstrations, guided practice, presentation rehearsals, approved multilingual explanations and access to curriculum resources.
The technology would not operate as an autonomous classroom teacher. The teacher would remain responsible for directing the activity and responding to students.
What will these AI-supported lessons cover?
The initial work will focus on defined, purposeful learning activities rather than recreating complete lessons. The aim is to build towards a more adaptive learning model once the AI avatar and its content have been tested within the required guardrails and shown to support learning outcomes.
Potential uses could include guided practice, revision, formative feedback, communication and presentation development, reflection, goal-setting and access to approved curriculum resources. The specific subjects and use cases will be selected with SRI educators during the design phase.
Which languages will be covered?
The platform can support multilingual interaction, but GEMS said each language will be validated before being enabled for student use.
English and Arabic are expected to be the most commonly used languages, while other languages may be considered based on student needs and only after their accuracy, age-appropriateness and safeguarding requirements have been assessed, in line with UAE and GEMS AI governance guidelines.
When will it begin at SRI and other GEMS schools?
Co-design and development will begin at SRI, which will serve as the first implementation and research environment. The partnership is targeting a working proof of concept and initial evaluation before the end of 2026.
Any wider rollout across GEMS schools will be phased and depend on evidence of educational value, safeguarding, privacy, teacher feedback and relevant regulatory requirements. A fixed date for deployment across all GEMS schools has yet to be determined.
How will students and teachers benefit?
Students could gain access to additional guided practice, explanations and formative feedback when a teacher is not immediately available.
For teachers, the technology could help extend access to frequently requested explanations and resources, potentially freeing up more time for what Nijjar described as the “high-value human aspects of education” — relationships, discussion, creativity, pastoral support and professional judgement.
What difference could this make day to day?
For students, the technology could provide trusted support when they need it, rather than requiring them to wait until the next lesson to revisit a question. For teachers, it could reduce the need to repeat routine explanations and help identify common areas where students may be struggling.
“The aim is not to add more technology to the school day, but to make support timelier and give teachers more capacity for meaningful interaction with students,” Nijjar said.
Are teachers concerned this could eventually replace them?
Nijjar said teachers involved in the initiative are “excited to support this development and take ownership of the use cases and outcomes”, adding that the initiative “is designed to extend teachers, not replace them”.
He said education depends on human relationships, professional judgement, safeguarding and empathy — areas that an AI avatar cannot replicate. Teachers will remain involved in designing, supervising and evaluating every use case.
“The objective is to reduce repetitive demands and make trusted support more accessible, while keeping educators firmly at the centre,” he said.
Summing up the initiative, Nijjar said its success would not be measured by how closely the avatar resembles a teacher, but by “whether the technology significantly improves learning within the established safety guardrails, provides students with trusted support and gives teachers more time for the human relationships and professional judgement at the heart of education.”
