Every smartphone, search engine, and AI model runs on a concept invented 1,200 years ago by a scholar working with pen, paper, and breakthrough logic. His name was Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi. In Latin, it became “Algoritmi.” His step-by-step method became the algorithm, the source code of the modern world.
Al-Khwarizmi: Father of Algebra and the Algorithm is a free educational AI-animated docudrama chronicling Al-Khwarizmi’s journey to the House of Wisdom where he invented the algorithm and became the Father of Algebra. The story follows Al-Khwarizmi in ninth-century Baghdad, which was considered the Silicon Valley of its time. A scholar at the House of Wisdom, a young Al-Khwarizmi fused Greek geometry and Indian arithmetic into something new: the algorithm. Eventually, this became Algebra, the foundational advanced mathematics taught to middle school–aged youth around the globe.
Episode 1 of the docudrama was released on YouTube on July 15, 2026. The remainder of the 30-episode series will be released periodically throughout summer 2026. The series is free for anyone to use and enjoy.
Teachers are encouraged to watch the film with their students in mathematics, social studies, or world history classes. Teachers of the digital arts and filmmaking, including AI animation/graphics and AI filmmaking in high school and college, can learn from the film production notes. And, anyone interested in the history of the House of Wisdom, the foundations of mathematics, or the rich cultural history of the Middle East will enjoy the Legend of Al-Khwarizmi.
The docudrama series creator is Spencer Striker, PhD, a Professor of Digital Media Design at Northwestern University in Qatar and the founder of Spencer Striker Digital Learning. His award-winning work spans interactive history, mobile games, virtual reality, and documentaries.