Headlines scream that AI is "breaking the classroom," but is the story that simple? In this episode we explore the real cracks in today's education system, how AI sometimes widens them, and—more importantly—how the same technology could personalize learning, free teachers to teach, and shift schools from rote memorization to true mastery. We discuss the UCLA "CheatGPT" controversy, MIT's brain study, Alpha School's 2-hour learning model, and OpenAI's new $10M teacher training initiative.Subscribe to The Neuron newsletter: https://theneuron.aiWTF is going on with AI and education: https://www.theneuron.ai/explainer-articles/wtf-is-going-on-with-ai-and-educationOne Useful Thing (Ethan Mollick) Post-apocalyptic education: https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/post-apocalyptic-education MIT study: https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/ Ethan Mollick again, “Against brain damage”: https://www.oneusefulthing.org/p/against-brain-damage OpenAI working with teachers union: https://openai.com/global-affairs/aft/ Make it Stick book: https://www.makeitstick.com/
Full Episode
From cheat GPT panic to AI tutors that double learning gains, what if the bots could fix school instead of ruin it? All right, welcome humans to episode five of the Neuron podcast. I am Corey Knowles, the editor of the Neuron, and riding shotgun as always is our resident wordslinger, Grant Harvey. How's that classroom vibe today, Grant?
God, I'm ready to learn. Or is it ready to teach?
I don't know. It's a good question. I guess we're going to figure that out here in just a little bit. So today, everyone, we're ditching the doom scroll headlines about cheat GPT and broken classrooms to ask the contrarian question. What if AI could actually fix school?
We'll start by laying out some cracks in the modern education system, from overworked teachers and one-size-fits-all pacing to brand new headaches that AI has uncovered and introduced us to. We see you over there, copy-pasted essays.
So then we're going to flip the script a little bit, explore how the very same tech that might unleash 24-7 personal tutors, mastery-based progress, and a shift from cramming facts to honing judgment. So by the end of this episode, you'll have some fresh takes, practical guardrails, and maybe a little optimism for that next parent-teacher night.
So whether you're a lifelong learner, a burnout teacher, or simply AI curious, let's grab a seat here because class is in session. All right, so Grant, would you mind walking us through the problems that educators are seeing right now?
Yeah, I mean, you summed it up with copy and paste essays, but I have a video that I think kind of summarizes this whole thing, and then we'll get into it from there. So I'm going to share my screen. So this is a video from the UCLA graduation that happened about a month ago now. And this is what happened. So the teleprompter goes to this guy. His name is Andre Mai.
And on his screen right there is ChatGPT.
That got me through the whole year or something, isn't it?
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