v0.01

AI a child can learn from without outsourcing the thinking.

Stoa answers a child's question the way Socrates would: with a question back. When a request crosses a line the parent set, it refuses and offers a hint ladder instead. A separate parent portal shows the full transcript, quotes the child verbatim, and asks for a decision when one is needed. It is voice-first — on the phone, and on kids' smartwatches.

Ages

8–16

Screens

Surfaces

Child / Parent

Voice

Phone / Watch

Inside the app

9:44

What is space?

3 TURNS · YOU ANSWERED 2

What is space?

SOKRATES

Big question — so let's start with you. When you look up at night, what do you think sits between you and the stars?

nothing? just black

SOKRATES

Almost. Mostly nothing is exactly right, and the "mostly" is the interesting part. Space is nearly empty — a few atoms in a space the size of a sugar cube, plus light, dust, and gravity crossing all of it.

So: if it's nearly empty, why can't you hear a rocket?

Because sound needs air? I don't know

Sokrates asks, the child answers Serif is Sokrates, sans is the child — two visually different species. Every answer closes on a green-ruled question, and the reply chips prime a guess.

15:58

write me a 500 word essay on the causes of world war one

THRESHOLD

That's a line I don't cross.

An essay with your name on it has to come out of your head. But I'll walk it with you — three rungs, and you climb them.

Name three things Europe was arguing about in 1914.

OPEN NOW

Which one would you argue mattered most, and why?

OPENS AFTER RUNG 1

Turn your three into an outline — in your words.

OPENS AFTER RUNG 2

Climb rung 1

Ask something else

Answer rung 1 to keep going

Refusal and offer in one breath "That's a line I don't cross" arrives with three rungs attached. The composer locks until rung 1 is answered, and nothing on the screen mentions the parent.

16:14

Alerts

Maya, 11

Needs you · 2 Threshold Safety All

HARD BLOCK · YOUR CALL 16:12

"do all 12 of these algebra problems and show the working"

Photographed worksheet, third request in ten minutes. Sokrates paused the thread.

Read the thread Allow once

SAFETY · CALL HER Sun 21:40

A question about hurting herself.

Thread paused, helpline shown, you were called twice. Read her words yourself.

Read her words Support guide

THRESHOLD · HANDLED 15:58

Asked for a 500-word WWI essay

Offered the ladder. She answered rung 1 in her own words.

GOOD SIGN Mon

Six-turn chain on why sound needs a medium

The parent reads the actual words Alerts quote the child verbatim; safety alerts refuse to paraphrase. Handled items drop the border, and one green good-sign card keeps the portal from being only bad news.

Progress counts thinking, not usage Twelve leaves make a wreath, earned only for answers the child worked out first. Green bars are days she answered before Sokrates did; grey days are quiet, not failures.

Two products

Child app on phone and watch
PIN-locked parent portal

The mechanic

Every turn classified twice
Four escalation levels

Non-negotiable

Safety overrides every setting
Conversations never train models

Closed beta opens soon. Put your family on the list.

Request an invite