Australian Tutoring Company Cites AI as Reason for Closure
A prominent Australian tutoring company is closing its operations, with its CEO stating that artificial intelligence has become a more cost-effective alternative for students.
Dymocks Tutoring and Talent 100, a company with five centers in Sydney, Australia, will cease operations this week. According to Dymocks Education chief executive Mark Buckland, the rise of AI tools like Claude, Gemini, and OpenAI has made traditional tutoring services economically unviable.
Buckland told The Australian Financial Review that parents would be better off investing in AI solutions, which cost approximately $30 per month, compared to their tutoring fees that could reach up to $900 per subject. He suggested that while AI may not match the comprehensive support of human tutors, its affordability presents a compelling alternative. Buckland also stated that the tutoring industry often provides comfort to students, a role he believes AI can replicate.
The decision has drawn mixed reactions. Some parents expressed understanding, while others criticized the company's reasoning as a flawed assessment of AI's capabilities and the importance of human interaction in education. Concerns were also voiced by the Australian Tutoring Association's chief executive Mohan Dhall, who expressed surprise at the closure.
The closure coincides with ongoing discussions about the role of AI in education, particularly in light of recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, which indicated a decline in literacy and mathematics scores among Australian teenagers over the past two decades. This trend has prompted some Australian states, including New South Wales and Victoria, to implement measures aimed at reducing students' screen time, such as smartphone bans and limits on smartwatch and headphone use in schools.
Separately, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently urged world leaders at the United Nations to establish stronger international safeguards for AI. This call comes amid broader global debates about AI regulation, with some, like former U.S. President Donald Trump, dismissing AI fears as a hoax and rejecting proposals for global AI control frameworks. Recent reports have also emerged regarding an AI agent reportedly infiltrating Australia's Medicare system, which Albanese has confirmed, criticizing the incident as unacceptable.