Students will be charged more than £10,000 to do an online Master's degree taught by artificial intelligence at a new university.

The London School of Innovation (LSI), a postgraduate institution, plans to assign AI 'private tutors' to guide students through their courses.

The institution, which was recently granted degree-awarding powers, will offer master's qualifications in machine learning, digital innovation, entrepreneurship and business transformation.

Fees for the one-year courses, beginning in June, will range from £9,000 and £11,000 - although will be reduced to £4,950 for those on a scholarship.

Students can choose to have content delivered in a written format or presented to them by an AI avatar.

This emulates a friendly and emotionally intelligent virtual human who gives interactive feedback, according to LSI.

At the end of each module, students will engage in a 'Socratic dialogue' with their AI tutor about the content to answer questions and reflect on their learning.

Bosses said outsourcing teaching to AI would free up human staff members to offer one-on-one help when needed.

Paresh Kathrani, LSI's director of education, told Times Higher Education the courses are for those who 'want to break away from the conventional lectures, and have more flexibility and independence'.

He added that while the model is AI-led, students can request a one-to-one session with their module leader – a real person – at any time.

Dr Kathrani, who was previously a law lecturer at the University of Westminster, said human lecturers would provide 'consultations and mentorship' rather than delivering classes in the traditional way.

Low-stakes assignments will be assessed and given feedback by AI, but academics will still be responsible for marking assessments that count towards the final grade.

He said: 'There's a lot of talk right now about how AI will replace humans, but I don't think it's a question of replacement.

'It's a question of partnership and how the two work together.

'It's incumbent upon educators to move with the times and recognise the ways in which future generations will learn.'

Somayeh Aghnia, co-founder of LSI, added: 'LSI is not replacing academics with AI, but redesigning how learning works. Our model removes ineffective elements of education such as passive content consumption and one-size-fits-all lectures, and replaces them with personalised content, interactive learning, continuous self-reflection, hands-on practice, and immediate feedback. 

'Academic staff shift towards content design, oversight, and validation, while mentoring students academically and pastorally, leading discussions, and applying academic judgement. This model uses AI to make learning more human, not less, focusing on effectiveness of education than the efficiency of its delivery.'