Counterfactual Worlds

I shipped Counterfactual Worlds, a public web application that uses GPT-6 Astra to turn readings and museum objects into interactive, teacher-guided investigations. Teachers can start with 30 prepared lessons across 10 worlds or bring their own reading; students explore a 3D setting, examine sources, discuss their reasoning, and revise an explanation. My motivation is simple: a student's access to engaging education should not depend on their school's budget. Reusable lessons and shareable teaching materials are the starting point for that mission. The experience is simple: explore a world, examine evidence, defend an idea, and reconsider it with a teacher's guidance. In our Alexandria demo, a practice learner begins with “The library will definitely close.” After reading Strabo and considering a teacher's question about another patron, the learner revises to “Closure is possible, not inevitable.” The teacher can inspect both explanations and the feedback behind the revision. The distinctive interaction connects Astra's reasoning to both the student's work and the world they explore. Astra examines museum photographs alongside saved observations, discusses the learner's evidence and explanation, and helps a teacher shape the next challenge. Native mid-turn steering lets the teacher redirect a supported change while it is being generated, preview it privately, and decide what reaches the class. In Alexandria, that can change existing harbor, market, and scholarly activity under an explicitly hypothetical scenario. Across the reading worlds, teachers can direct supported lighting, atmosphere, and viewpoints while preserving the assigned text and student work. The project brings together: - **30 lessons across 10 worlds:** Alexandria, The Odyssey, Pride and Prejudice, Macbeth, Frankenstein, A Christmas Carol, The Tempest, Philadelphia and the Declaration of Independence, Frederick Douglass's Narrative, and Seneca Falls and the Declaration of Sentiments. Each world has three prepared lessons with bounded readings, activities, and teacher challenges. - **Reading-to-lesson authoring:** Paste an excerpt, upload a PDF or text file, or provide a public PDF link. Astra prepares places, characters, evidence, and activities for teacher review. Changes to reviewed content require renewed approval before launch. - **Immersive, source-linked exploration:** Detailed Alexandria landmarks, ships, markets, homes, and everyday objects; distinct coastal, garden, and archive settings; scenic viewpoints; optional ambient sound; and animated reading companions with work-specific wardrobes. Characters respond to saved arguments and evidence. Clothing, scenery, and dialogue retain clear interpretive labels. - **Museum investigations across the curriculum:** The collection connects all ten topics to 60 attributed objects from Cleveland Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Students zoom, compare, and record observations, interpretations, and questions. Astra vision examines curated photographs alongside saved field notes to challenge unsupported inferences. Ten guided object-pair investigations include direct share links and printable worksheets. - **Resources that travel beyond the app:** Reusable saved worlds, student invitations, 30/45/60-minute teaching guides, source packets, printable worksheets, and downloadable writing, field notes, and teacher reports. A searchable library of 69 CC0 models provides 3D previews, available animation playback, GLB downloads, asset links, and placement code. Original assets include editable Blender files and regeneration scripts. Code and original models are MIT-licensed; third-party licenses are retained. Teachers review sources, inspect explanations, preview AI suggestions, and decide what reaches the class. Model outputs are checked against structured contracts and source references. Hypothetical changes remain labeled assumptions, and AI feedback remains provisional. My access strategy starts with reusable lessons and shareable materials that teachers can adapt. Downloaded text packets and worksheets work offline; live AI requires connectivity. Affordable delivery and improved classroom learning are goals to validate through real use. **Try it:** https://counterfactual-worlds-henry.handeche49.chatgpt.site/try — public student entry, no teacher code required. **Browse resources:** World Library: https://counterfactual-worlds-henry.handeche49.chatgpt.site/worlds · Museums: https://counterfactual-worlds-henry.handeche49.chatgpt.site/collections · Models: https://counterfactual-worlds-henry.handeche49.chatgpt.site/model-catalog **Teacher access for judges:** https://counterfactual-worlds-henry.handeche49.chatgpt.site/studio Teacher code: `VjW2zJTPUwKsbeObpT8e25fIFnDhHdey` The public site includes learner-aware dialogue, museum-image feedback, and teacher-directed scene controls, with limited AI usage during the pilot. The video demonstrates the core teacher/student investigation. The live site also includes the expanded museum catalog, scene improvements, and optional ambient audio added after the demo was recorded.