AI can improve personalised education, support teaching As universities closed last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of teachers and millions of students were forced into an unplanned experiment in online learning for which few were prepared. As the world prepared for the start of the new academic year, school administrators and elected officials struggled to create workable plans to protect the health and safety of students and teachers and reopen schools amid the ongoing pandemic. Given the continued disruption, it’s time for us to talk about how to improve online education. There’s a lot to be excited about. Researchers are beginning to understand how the brain learns and artificial intelligence (AI) is making it possible to apply that knowledge to systems that make it easier and more enjoyable for students to study. Already, AI systems are optimising some online learning and are pointing to a future which is radically different from the education paradigms of the past.