As generative AI reshapes higher education, City St George’s, University of London wanted to move beyond questions of academic integrity and ask something more ambitious: what should AI be doing in education, and who should be deciding that?
Rather than adopting technology designed outside the sector, the ambition was to build something grounded in what higher education is actually for, creating a platform shaped around learning rather than outputs, and where AI could strengthen students’ ability to think critically, solve problems and develop genuine understanding. It needed to work across every programme and level of study, respond to individual students and disciplines, and use AI safely and securely without allowing the technology to lead the learning experience.
We joined the founding collective — alongside City St George’s, Sage Publishing, Raspberry Pi Foundation and Wolfram, with pedagogical design is led by philosopher, broadcaster and author Dr Tom Chatfield — to create a personalised learning platform built around a fundamental ‘script flip’: the AI drives the dialogue, while the student does the thinking.
Duologue is designed to ask questions, challenges assumptions and adapt to each student’s level of understanding. It continuously responds to what students can and can’t do, supporting non-linear progression through a curriculum while allowing learning to happen in the context of their own discipline.
The initial platform focuses on three foundational capabilities: critical thinking, AI literacy and ethics, and computational thinking. Alongside these core modules, self-contained Labs allow students to experiment with concepts such as algorithms and prediction through shorter, gamified experiences. This approach also creates a different relationship between AI and assessment. When generative tools can produce convincing outputs without genuine understanding, Duologue focuses instead on the learning process itself. By following how students reason, respond and progress, the platform can build a richer picture of mastery than a submitted output alone.
Importantly, AI is infused throughout the experience without becoming the experience itself. During workshops, students have naturally gathered around screens to solve problems together, turning AI-mediated learning into a catalyst for human conversation and collaboration. The result is a platform designed to help universities take greater ownership of how AI enters education: led by student needs and pedagogical expertise rather than technology alone.
Growing momentum
Duologue is being piloted across City St George’s, with interest already growing beyond the University. Other higher education institutions are exploring pilots, while enquiries have also come from government agencies and health organisations.
Its ambition is bigger than a single product: to establish a new model for responsible, university-ready AI learning, built by educators and students around the skills people will need to thrive in an AI-enabled world.
