Sue Khim: Student debt must be addressed at its core, parents demand essential skills in education, and AI should enhance learning, not replace teachers | TWIST

AI tutors like Koji are transforming education by enhancing problem-solving skills without replacing teachers.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team Jun. 8, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Student debt is a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed at its core, not just through cheaper rates.
• Parents are increasingly concerned about their children’s lack of essential skills like reading and math.
• There is a strong belief among parents that learning challenging subjects is still important.
• Public sentiment towards AI is generally positive if the AI adds value and doesn’t replace human jobs.
• AI that encourages critical thinking and acts as a guide is well-received by consumers.
• Brilliant.org emphasizes teaching problem-solving over rote memorization.
• Learning math and coding helps students understand problem structures, essential for AI applications.
• Problem-solving skills are crucial, and children can meet high expectations when appropriately challenged.
• Selling educational products directly to consumers allows for better engagement and product effectiveness.
• Aligning product incentives with learner needs is vital for inspiring educational outcomes.
• Real-time feedback from parents is critical for guiding product development in educational tech.
• AI’s role in education should focus on enhancing learning experiences, not replacing teachers.

Guest intro

Sue Khim is the founder and CEO of Brilliant, the online learning platform focused on math, science, and problem solving. She previously founded Alltuition, a startup aimed at simplifying college financial aid, and recently launched Koji, Brilliant’s AI tutor designed to help students think through problems using the Socratic Method.

The problem with student debt

• Student debt needs to disappear and helping people find cheaper rates won’t solve the problem.

  — Sue Khim

• The issue lies in the existence of student debt itself, not just its symptoms.
• Addressing student debt requires understanding its broader societal implications.

• The problem is that this shouldn’t exist in the first place.

  — Sue Khim

• There is a high confidence in the need to tackle the root causes of student debt.
• The statement showcases a deep understanding of the student debt problem.
• The societal impact of student debt is significant and requires comprehensive solutions.
• Finding cheaper rates is a temporary fix, not a long-term solution.

Parental concerns in education

• Parents worry that their children aren’t learning essential skills like reading and math.

• There are still parents who overwhelmingly believe that learning hard things still matters.

  — Sue Khim

• The demand for tools that support critical thinking is growing among parents.
• Parents believe that learning challenging subjects is crucial for their children’s success.
• Educational concerns among parents highlight the need for effective learning tools.

• They’re worried that their kids aren’t learning hard things at school.

  — Sue Khim

• The focus on essential skills reflects a significant concern in education today.
• Parents’ concerns drive the demand for educational tools that foster critical thinking.

Public perception of AI in education

• People are not inherently against AI; they oppose poorly designed AI that lacks value.

• People aren’t anti AI that is like a very broad brush to paint people with.

  — Sue Khim

• Value-driven AI applications are more likely to be accepted by the public.

• If you show them a product that will help them and their kids, they can tell and they love it.

  — Sue Khim

• The importance of designing AI that enhances rather than replaces human roles.
• Public sentiment towards AI is nuanced and depends on the perceived value.
• AI applications that benefit education and personal development are well-received.
• The focus should be on creating AI that adds value to users’ lives.

AI as a guide in education

• AI that challenges users to think is popular among consumers, especially parents.

• AI that makes you think is an incredibly popular idea.

  — Sue Khim

• AI as a coach or guide is preferred by users for educational purposes.

• AI as a guide by your side, that AI people seem to like.

  — Sue Khim

• Consumers appreciate AI that enhances critical thinking and learning.
• The role of AI in education should be to support and guide learners.
• AI applications that encourage thinking are crucial for educational success.
• Parents value AI that acts as a supportive guide in their children’s education.

The focus on problem-solving skills

• Brilliant.org emphasizes problem-solving over memorizing procedures.

• The real differentiator is that school math is about learning formulas and procedures.

  — Sue Khim

• Problem-solving is a transferable skill that is highly valued in education.

• What Brilliant teaches is problem-solving, a very transferable skill.

  — Sue Khim

• Traditional math education often lacks focus on problem-solving skills.
• The importance of teaching students to solve problems rather than memorize.
• Problem-solving skills are essential for success in various fields.
• Brilliant.org’s approach highlights the limitations of traditional education methods.

Learning math and coding for AI

• Learning math or coding helps students see the structure of problems.

• What you’re learning is how to see the structure of problems.

  — Sue Khim

• These skills are essential for applying AI effectively in real-world scenarios.

• That’s what learning math or coding trains you for.

  — Sue Khim

• Math and coding provide foundational skills necessary for leveraging AI.
• Understanding problem structures is crucial for successful AI applications.
• The importance of foundational skills in education for future technologies.
• Math and coding are key to developing problem-solving abilities in students.

The importance of challenging students

• Problem-solving is crucial, and children can achieve high standards when challenged.

• Problem-solving is really important, and kids can do hard things when challenged.

  — Sue Khim

• High expectations can lead to significant achievements in education.
• The belief in children’s potential to excel in challenging environments.
• Educational approaches should emphasize high standards and expectations.
• Challenging students appropriately can lead to better educational outcomes.
• The role of problem-solving in fostering critical thinking and learning.
• Encouraging students to meet high expectations is vital for their development.

Direct consumer engagement in education

• Selling directly to consumers allows for a closer relationship with learners.

• The nice thing about a scaled consumer app is the direct relationship with learners.

  — Sue Khim

• Direct engagement enhances the effectiveness of educational products.

• You are learning every day if we are getting better at teaching these topics.

  — Sue Khim

• Consumer engagement is crucial for successful product development in education.
• Direct feedback from learners helps improve educational tools and strategies.
• The challenges of selling educational products to institutions versus consumers.
• Direct consumer relationships provide valuable insights for product improvement.

Aligning incentives with learners

• Aligning incentives with learners is essential for inspiring educational products.

• We really wanted to align our incentives with the learners.

  — Sue Khim

• Focusing on the end user leads to better educational outcomes.
• The strategic importance of aligning product goals with learner needs.
• Aligning incentives ensures that educational products are user-focused.
• The impact of incentive alignment on product development and success.
• Educational technology should prioritize learner needs and goals.
• Aligning product incentives with learners fosters better engagement and results.

The role of feedback in product development

• Real-time feedback from parents is invaluable for product development.

• Nothing beats scaled consumer feedback; the volume is incredible.

  — Sue Khim

• Feedback provides a clear direction for product development and improvement.

• It provides a really good north star of what should we build.

  — Sue Khim

• Consumer feedback is essential for achieving product-market fit in education.
• The importance of real-time feedback in shaping educational tools.
• Feedback from parents helps guide the development of effective educational products.
• The role of consumer feedback in ensuring educational products meet user needs.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.