Democratizing Education: An AI Tutor for Every Child

Creating accessible offline AI tutoring systems for underserved communities using fine-tuned models

Overview

This project presents an accessible solution to educational inequality by creating an offline AI tutor deployable on secondhand computers. The system converts any text article into interactive lesson plans using structured JSON and reasoning-based AI.

Core Innovation

The approach fine-tunes DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Llama-8B, a compact 8-billion parameter model, to operate without internet connectivity. The system transforms articles into structured learning modules featuring key concepts, quizzes, and discussion prompts.

Technical Architecture

JSON Schema Structure

The lesson format includes:

All outputs are validated against a defined schema.

Chain of Thought Training

Rather than simple input-output mapping, the model learns pedagogical reasoning by training on thought traces showing curriculum development logic. This preserves internal reasoning tokens during training.

Practical Implementation

The deployment targets Pakistani classrooms using:

  • ThinkCentre PC (i5-7500T, 8GB RAM)
  • Quantized 4-bit model for CPU efficiency
  • Internet-in-a-Box offline content (Wikipedia, Khan Academy, TED)

Performance currently requires approximately two minutes per lesson on Mac M3 Pro hardware.

Future Optimization

Planned experiments include:

Open Source Vision

Following successful classroom trials, I intend to release datasets, training code, and frontend tools for community adaptation and localization.