The Socratic Playground for Learning (SPL) introduces a generative AI system designed to function as a personal tutor, drawing inspiration from the Socratic method of inquiry. In an era where AI reshapes education, SPL demonstrates how guided questioning and dialogue can foster deeper understanding and critical thinking. The talk will showcase SPL’s architecture, including its ability to adapt to learner inputs such as field, topics, sub-topics, environment, background, preferences, and chosen learning methods, and will review the personalised outputs it generates. SPL serves both students—by enhancing individualised learning and metacognitive skills—and teachers—by supporting curriculum design, pedagogical innovation, and progress monitoring through simulated scenarios and “bookmarks” of custom learning objects. Beyond its practical applications, SPL raises important questions about decentralising education from teacher-led instruction to learner-driven exploration, highlighting both the opportunities and challenges of this paradigm shift.

Eric Tsui is Associate Director of the Behaviour and Knowledge Engineering (BAKE) Research Centre and a Senior Educational Development Officer in the Educational Development Centre at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He is a Regional Editor of Journal of Knowledge Management, lead and delivered a master Knowledge Management program for more than 15 years. He has also championed many technology-enhanced Teaching and Learning projects and is a crusader of blended learning at the university. His research interests include Knowledge Management technologies, blended learning, cloud services, and collaborations. He is also the leader of a Professional Certificate which is covered by two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on edX covering the topics of Knowledge Management, Big Data and Industry 4.0. Professor Tsui is an honorary advisor in Knowledge Management to three Hong Kong Government departments and provides consultancy and professional services to many private organisations, NGOs in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, Japan and Brunei. He has B.Sc. (Hons.), PhD and MBA qualifications. A recipient of many Knowledge Management and E-Learning international awards, Professor Tsui was twice listed as an exemplary/outstanding academic in PolyU Annual Reports in the last 8 years.