Learning and Teaching in the Age of AI [Newsletter #59]

Hello, AI enthusiasts from around the world.

Welcome to this week’s newsletter for the AI and the Future of Work podcast.

Education is the key to a thriving society. So how do we integrate it with the rapid evolution of AI?

Right now, teachers around the world are trying to answer this question in ways that make learning exciting, inclusive, and responsible.

They also want to find ways to make their work more flexible and efficient.

Today’s conversation shows that we can achieve both.

Let’s dive into this week’s highlights! 🚀

🎙️ New Podcast Episode With Dave Treat, Pearson CTO

The average K–12 school system has access to more than 2,500 apps, yet most teachers lack clear guidance on how to use them. It is just one of many challenges educators face as AI and education continue to merge.

From an overwhelming number of tools to a constant fear that AI might replace them, teaching in the age of AI can feel daunting. But Dave Treat wants us to reimagine the connection between AI and education.

Dave is the CTO at Pearson, the world’s largest education company, based in London. Founded in 1844, Pearson has a market cap of about $11 billion and more than 17,000 employees.

Education and technology have shaped Dave’s life in many ways. He comes from a family with deep ties to education and holds a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Michigan, as well as a degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

His vision for the future of education is far from overwhelming. In fact, he believes the opposite of these fears will happen. What is needed is a shift in mindset.

The first step is understanding and embracing how AI tools can help teachers rather than hinder them.

Because really, what is the key role of a teacher? Engaging with students, something no AI platform can replace.

Automation can take over the administrative side of education and remove distractions. And it doesn’t stop there. AI can help build courses faster and tailor them to each student’s needs. These tools can support educators, giving them the freedom to step away from the desk and focus on real interaction with students, unlocking the true value of education.

Dave sat down with Dan Turchin, CEO of PeopleReign, to share his vision for the future of learning. It is a world where educators use AI to generate engaging questions, provide feedback, create thought-provoking problems, and analyze solutions, all while the teacher remains present.

This conversation explores this and much more:

• How Pearson transformed from a textbook publisher into a software company focused on education.

• How students themselves are reinventing education, with peak study times often happening between 11 PM and 5 AM.

• Why the “slingshot” education model is now obsolete, and how learning can become a lifelong journey.

• Why academic institutions must embrace AI or risk falling behind.

• Why it is essential to implement AI responsibly, especially in education.

🎧 This week’s episode of AI and the Future of Work, featuring Dave Treat, inspired this issue.

Listen to the full episode to hear more about Dave Treat's exciting vision for the future of education.  

📖 AI Fun Fact

Book publishers are at a crossroads with AI. For them, it could mean the bitter end or the start of a lucrative new future.

Writers, agents, readers, and publishers are apprehensive about letting AI train on copyrighted content. At the same time, they do not want to miss out on a potential revenue stream.

That is why they have taken action. Seventeen authors partnered with the Authors Guild to file a lawsuit claiming Microsoft and OpenAI’s ChatGPT violated copyright law by using books to train their generative AI models.

The tech companies countered by arguing that training models on copyrighted material is similar to a person reading books to improve their own writing.

In this fascinating long read, she explores how the future of books, and perhaps creative industries as a whole, may depend on a single judge’s definition of “fair use”.

PeopleReign CEO Dan Turchin notes that AI makes generating new content cheaper and easier. But it can only do so by deriving new works from existing ones.

Throughout history, every form of content has been inspired by the ideas of others. Let’s not forget that AI only knows what humans have taught it.

We should allow humans to use AI to create new art in all forms and let the market decide what to consume and how much to pay based on what educates, inspires, and entertains.

The answer is a clear definition of fair use, updated for the modern world, along with an AI-first approach to how it should be enforced. When that happens, innovation will always win.

Worth A Read📚

📣 Share your Thoughts and Leave a Review!

Until next time, stay curious! 🤔

That's a Wrap for This Week!

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