Episode 2169: Why Both Teachers and Students Need AI
“We don’t need no education”, Pink Floyd announced in 1979. “Teachers leave those kids alone”:
We don't need no educationWe don’t need no thought controlNo dark sarcasm in the classroomTeachers leave them kids aloneHey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
But today, almost half a century later, That Was The Week newsletter publisher Keith Teare believes that technology might be radically reinventing education and healing the historically fraught relationship between teachers and kids. Today, Keith argues in this week’s newsletter, kids like his 17-year old son are discovering that they love AI as a co-creative tool for educating themselves. And 21st century teachers too, he suggests, can reinvent themselves from annoying pedagogues into helpful guides to new AI technology. In other words:
You don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the AI wind is blowing
All You Need is OpenAI and Anthropic.
Keith Teare is the founder and CEO of SignalRank Corporation. Previously, he was executive chairman at Accelerated Digital Ventures Ltd., a U.K.-based global investment company focused on startups at all stages. Teare studied at the University of Kent and is the author of “The Easy Net Book” and “Under Siege.” He writes regularly for TechCrunch and publishes the “That Was The Week” newsletter.
Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.
Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Dale Kretz: What Progressives Can Learn From the General Failure of the American State to Address the Legacy of Slavery After the Civil War
Paul Magnone on How to Make Smart Business Decisions In Our Age of Big Data: Don't Rely Exclusively on Either Your Intuition or Your Information
Kieran Setiya: How Philosophy Can Help Us Find Our Way in a Life of Infirmity, Loneliness, and Failure
Nancy Marie Brown on the Wisdom of the Hidden Folk: How Iceland's Elves Can Save the Earth
Hillary Chute on Maus Now: Why Art Spiegelman's Classic Remains As Relevant Today As It Was When First Serialized in 1980
Jennifer Brown: Can American Capitalism Be Radically Transformed by Leaders Who Create Inclusive Cultures Where Everyone Can Thrive?
Erika Hayasaki on Somewhere Sisters: The Complex Story of Adoption, Identity, and the Meaning of Family
Daniel Pick on Brainwashed: A New History of Thought Control
Lynn Melnick: What Dolly Parton Can Teach Us About Surviving the Trauma of Drug Addiction and Sexual Violence
Allison Gilbert on Elsie Robinson, America's Most Popular Female Writer Who You've Never Heard Of
Bruce Carruthers on the Economy of Promises: How Trust, Power, and Credit Have Shaped America Over the Last Two Hundred Years
Ainslie Hogarth: A Profane, Insane, Hilarious, and Disgusting Horror Novel About a Mother-In-Law from Hell
Namwali Serpell on Grief and Its Association With Religion and Writing