It started with a classroom problem.
In 2023, the UCLA History faculty confronted a new problem: students had begun to submit AI-generated text as their own original course essays. Elizabeth Landers led the faculty's response, and that work led first to Kudu Humanities and then to Kai Coach. The faculty recognized that banning AI would not teach students to think. The better answer was a tool that turns AI from a shortcut into a sparring partner. Kai Coach asks the questions, and the student does the thinking.
An educator designed it, and a physicist built it.
Elizabeth Landers
Designed and developed Kai Coach
Elizabeth Landers is a PhD candidate in History and a teaching fellow at UCLA, where she has taught since 2018, and she serves as Chief AI Architect at Kudu Humanities. She works in five languages and holds degrees in History, French, Theology, and Latin American Studies. Kai Coach draws on her eight years of experience with how students write and reason.
The University honored her with the Laura Kinsey Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2024. In 2025, ASU+GSV named her an AI Innovator in Education.
Dr. Warren Essey
Built Kai Coach
Dr. Warren Essey holds a PhD in Physics from UCLA, and he leads Kudu Humanities. He codes and runs the platform that brings Kai Coach to life. His work at Kudu focuses on making textbooks affordable and on supporting how students learn.
Kai Coach is part of Kudu.
Kudu Humanities publishes affordable digital course materials, and Kai Coach comes included with every Kudu course. Instructors who teach with their own materials can also bring Kai Coach to their courses. Today, Kai Coach serves courses in History, Literature, Physics, and Ethics. This site introduces the method and the evidence behind it. Kudu is the place to learn about adoption.
Visit Kai Coach on Kudu →Write to us.
We welcome questions from instructors, administrators, teaching centers, and journalists. Please write to hello@kaicoach.ai, and tell us a little about your course or your interest. You can also follow Kai Coach on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for new sessions and videos. Every channel appears under the name Kai Coach, so it is easy to find.
What would students write if they had to think first?
Kai Coach is part of Kudu Humanities.
Learn more on Kudu