A Breakthrough For Black And Brown Computer Science Students

Google has purchased Edlyft’s AI tutor – a generative AI co-pilot for college students studying computer science.

Erika Hairston and Arnelle Ansong, two long-time friends, founded Edlyft in 2020 to support Black college students and adults enrolled in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses.

Their digital platform connects learners to inclusive mentorship, online group tutoring, live and recorded sessions, and personalized study tools, enabling them to succeed in their classes and secure high-paying jobs.

Over the past two years, Edlyft collaborated with Google through their Google Tech Exchange, teaching applied data structures to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) students.

Edlyft has now announced that Google is purchasing its AI Tutor, which is built on the rich data gathered through the program.

Edlyft AI Tutor

Across the partnership, Edlyft gathered hours of video data from tutoring sessions to put into the Edlyft AI Tutor.

“Historically, Edlyft impacted students in the Google Tech Exchange program by pairing them with an empathetic peer mentor who has aced the course content before. While a fantastic resource, a peer mentor’s time is a constraint that limits how many and how often students can be supported,” Hairston explained to Afrotech.

Students can now utilize the Edlyft AI Tutor tool by typing questions into a chat box.

The program will then provide an answer and video snippets from the Edlyft AI Tutor.

Read: Edlyft Takes Aim At The $100M Diversity And Inclusion Tech Market

Empowering Black and Brown students

“In Tech Exchange, CS basics meet cutting-edge tech to equip students with the skills they need to navigate the ever-evolving tech landscape,” said Jess Hill, Google’s education equity team leader.

“Our partnership with Edlyft has already amplified learning outcomes, and we’re thrilled to unlock even deeper impact through their AI-powered platform, which will amplify effective support and ignite every student to thrive.”

Due to a small percentage of Black people pursuing AI-focused roles, Hairston hopes their platform will be an example of how AI can make learning easier and further spark the interest of Black and Brown students.

“Our collaboration with Google’s Tech Exchange program, which selects students from HBCUs and HSIs, is particularly exciting because many Black and brown students will benefit from Edlyft’s AI tutor,” said Hairston.

“By using the platform, students won’t just boost their computer science skills but also build their proficiency using AI.”