Luis Buenaventura, a prominent figure in the Philippine tech landscape, has developed an offline AI tutor called Hiraia. Designed for budget smartphones, this innovative tool aims to improve educational access for Filipino students.
Addressing Educational Disparities
We don’t have enough classrooms and we don’t have enough teachers. My hope is that I can roll this out to public schools across the country as a supplemental teaching tool — not to replace teachers, but to reinforce classroom learning with some personal tutoring at home.
Luis Buenaventura, AI Tutor Developer
- Hiraia runs on $100 Android smartphones, making it accessible to many families.
- The app provides lessons in Tagalog, Bisaya, and English without needing an internet connection.
The need for such a solution became apparent to Luis after he encountered World Bank data revealing that Filipino students lag significantly behind their regional peers in math and science. His response was to create Hiraia, which operates offline and is tailored for low-cost devices.
Technical Innovations for Accessibility
Unlike many AI platforms that depend on cloud infrastructure, Hiraia uses a local model, allowing it to function effectively in areas with limited internet access.
- Utilizes Sea AI Lab’s Sailor 2 model, ensuring fluency in local languages.
- Contains over 40,000 science facts and 30,000 illustrations aligned with the Department of Education’s curriculum.
To facilitate installation, Hiraia employs a peer-to-peer file-sharing method. This enables a single device to download the app via a municipal Wi-Fi connection, allowing others to access it without additional data costs.
Funding and Future Prospects
Backed by a ₱1 million grant from the Tether Foundation, Luis is now focused on refining Hiraia and partnering with educational institutions for pilot programs. The app currently requires no registration, displays no ads, and collects no personal data.
Luis emphasizes the importance of on-device solutions in a country where a significant portion of households lack stable internet. As Hiraia progresses, its impact on the Filipino education system could be profound.