Within the 700th episode of Trending in Ed, host Mike Palmer welcomes again Nancy, our digital co-host, to delve into the newest and most important developments on this planet of Synthetic Intelligence, considered by means of the essential lens of schooling.
This milestone episode marks the launch of a brand new sub-feed, Trending in Ed – AI, which is able to focus particularly on the intersection of schooling and synthetic intelligence. The dialogue covers a spread of thought-provoking matters, together with:
- Canny Centaurs and the Uncanny Valley: The hosts revisit ideas like “centaurs” from Superior Chess and the Uncanny Valley from robotics, discussing mix AI with human instinct and empathy to keep away from the pitfalls of expertise that feels “creepy” whereas maximizing human augmentation in instructing and studying.
- AI in Apply and Pop Tradition: The dialog explores AI’s quick purposes in schooling, akin to personalised tutoring techniques akin to Baymax from Large Hero 6, and accelerated ability improvement by means of simulations, drawing parallels to Neo downloading expertise in The Matrix. The moral issues raised in Black Mirror concerning knowledge privateness and algorithmic bias are additionally mentioned. Yeah, we hit some popular culture to maintain issues zeitgeisty!
- Sycophantic Drift: We introduce the fascinating (and humorous?) idea of “sycophantic drift,” inspecting how AI assistants would possibly unintentionally develop into overly agreeable and flattering, posing a problem for designing instructional AI that gives correct suggestions. Nancy marvels at how nice we’re at this!
- New AI {Hardware} and Surveillance: Then we contact on the intriguing collaboration between Jony Ive and Sam Altman to develop new AI {hardware}, particularly the “AI surveillance medallion,” and the implications for privateness and steady knowledge seize.
- Contrasting AI Philosophies: Mike and Nancy spotlight the differing views of AI leaders, contrasting Luis von Ahn of Duolingo’s “AI-first” technique (LinkedIn Publish), which views AI as a superior trainer, with Dario Amodei of Anthropic’s focus on AI security, moral alignment, and the potential for job displacement.
- Mary Meeker’s Latest AI Report: The dialogue concludes with an evaluation of Mary Meeker’s current report on AI adoption, emphasizing its unprecedented velocity, plummeting inference prices, and the “nice reshuffling” of job roles, signaling AI as necessary infrastructure quite than an non-compulsory one.
Subscribe to Trending in Ed wherever you get your pods to remain knowledgeable throughout the educational universe. Tune in to Trending in Ed – AI to realize deeper insights into the important discussions shaping the way forward for AI and its use in schooling and expertise.
Episode References
Meeker, M., Simons, J., Chae, D., & Krey, A. (2025). Tendencies Synthetic Intelligence. Bond.
