Unity Environmental University launches sustainable AI platform after identifying risks with commercial tools

Unity Environmental University has announced the launch of the Adaptive Learning, Insight and Navigation (ALIGN) platform, an in-house AI, after finding existing tools posed risks to learning and privacy.

Unity says it chose to develop ALIGN internally after identifying that commercial AI tools available in higher education were focused on faculty use, posed privacy risks, and lacked institutional oversight.

Centrally governed and designed to reflect best practices on teaching and learning, ALIGN is focused on the predictive benefits of AI rather than unrestricted content generation. Unity says this also reduces cost and energy use, making it an environmentally responsible alternative.

“Sustainability isn’t just about carbon, it’s about responsible design,” explains Dr Melik Peter Khoury, President and CEO at Unity Environmental University. “AI is already effective and efficient when it’s used correctly. ALIGN reflects Unity’s belief that higher education has a responsibility to lead with discipline and clarity, not hype.”

Scaffolding not shortcuts

ALIGN integrates AI learning experiences into the university’s online learning environment, offering students support with complex tasks without completing work for them or allowing them to shortcut the learning process.

Assignment-level implementations offer learners support with challenging tasks by responding to student questions and prompting them to elaborate on their thinking. It also encourages students to take the next steps, emphasizing metacognition and learner agency.

“One of the biggest risks with AI in learning is that it removes the very struggle students need in order to learn. ALIGN is designed to do the opposite. It reduces unnecessary cognitive load, like confusion about where to start or what matters, so students can focus their mental energy on sense-making, reasoning, and decision-making,” explains Dr Jennifer Cartier, Executive Vice President of Educational Solutions at Unity.

Dr Khoury has previously warned about the risks of adopting AI agents in higher education, warning on LinkedIn that “AI agents are only as good as the data they work with. And most higher education institutions have terrible data”.

Unity says ALIGN does not act as a generative chatbot or standalone product and aims to support students with learning experiences created by human experts.

“At its core, ALIGN is about using AI where it actually makes sense for learning,” Dr Khory adds. “We’re not interested in replacing human judgment or expertise. We’re interested in designing systems where human insight can scale responsibly, efficiently, and in service of students.”