England built a system to test if classroom interventions work. AI is now arriving in schools. The £24 million EdTech Testbed will involve over 1,000 schools. Ministers want AI tutoring to reach 450,000 disadvantaged pupils yearly. The goal is to see which technologies improve outcomes. But AI also shapes how children learn and grow. The author raised this at a House of Commons committee on 20 October. The Education Endowment Foundation runs the testbed with the Department for Education. It has £302 million in government funding. Its focus on trials may narrow what education research covers. The attainment gap between disadvantaged and other pupils remains wide. Short-term trials cannot capture long-term effects of AI on children. AI may supplement teachers in affluent schools but replace them in struggling ones.

• £24 million EdTech Testbed programme
• 1,000 schools and colleges
• 450,000 disadvantaged pupils annually
• £302 million government funding for EEF