Microsoft clones students to train better AI tutors

🔥 What happened Microsoft and the University of Illinois unveiled StudentSim: a system that builds digital replicas of individual students from just a few essays or games. These replicas make realistic mistakes and respond to tutor hints, then train AI tutors. 💡 Why it matters StudentSim beats GPT-5.4 in chess, English, and math – despite running on the much smaller Qwen3-4B. In chess, it predicts a player's next move twice as often correctly. Specialized simulation trumps brute-force scale. ⚡ Our take Replacing real students with simulations saves cash but risks tutors optimized for fake learners. Microsoft should invest in real data, not perfect clones.