Meet Kia: The AI Bot Now Teaching Students in Canada

When the fall term began at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver, students encountered something new in the classroom: Kia, an expressive, fully interactive AI bot designed to debate, question, and engage alongside their professor.

Created by Steve DiPaola, a professor of Interactive Arts & Technology, Kia is programmed not to grade or replace instructors, but to act as a conversational partner, clarifying complex concepts and sparking dialogue on artificial intelligence and its societal implications.

Unlike traditional teaching tools, Kia was designed with a humanlike presence, visualized as a Black British woman, to make interactions more natural. DiPaola stresses the experiment is about more than novelty; it’s a way to prepare students for a world where AI will be a constant companion, while also confronting its ethical challenges.

Students reacted with curiosity but also caution, with some saying they value human teaching more than digital assistance.

The initiative reflects SFU’s broader interdisciplinary push to bring ethicists and technologists together in shaping AI’s role in society.