

#366 ‒ Transforming education with AI and an individualized, mastery-based education model | Joe Liemandt
722 snips Sep 29, 2025
Joe Liemandt, a software entrepreneur and founder of Trilogy, has pivoted to revolutionize K-12 education as principal of Alpha School. He discusses the failures of traditional grading systems and advocates for a mastery-based learning model bolstered by AI. Joe shares insights on using personalized AI tutoring to improve student outcomes and emphasizes the need to reimagine educational structures to better support learners. His ambitious goal is to reach a billion children in 20 years, transforming education with technology and proven learning science.
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AI As Education’s Light Microscope
- AI is the missing infrastructure that finally makes mastery-based, individualized K–12 education scalable.
- Joe Liemandt compares AI's role to the microscope that transformed medicine, enabling precise teaching and closed-loop measurement.
Dropping Out To Build Trilogy
- Joe dropped out of Stanford to start Trilogy after seeing early AI potential.
- Trilogy became a hugely profitable private software company and seeded his later work in education.
Declining Standards Mask Learning Gaps
- U.S. K–12 performance is declining while standards and test norms are drifting downward.
- Joe argues this decline masks real deficits: many A students test years behind on standardized measures.