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
Episode 2261: Thor Hanson on why virtual reality can never replicate the natural world
Episode 2260: Felipe Torres Medina laughs and cries about the American immigration system
Episode 2259: Why AI is about to transform everyone (yes, even you) into a coder
Episode 2258: Joyce Chaplin on how Benjamin Franklin warmed up America
Episode 2257: Kevin Fagan on a San Francisco story of homelessness that will break your heart
Episode 2256: Meenakshi Ahamed on the meteoric rise of Indians in America
Episode 2255: Nicholas Lalla on Reviving the American Dream in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Episode 2254: Why Trump wants to be the Godfather
Episode 2253: John Lechner on the deadly role of Russian Mercenaries in Ukraine
Episode 2252: How to Unstick the Future
Episode 2251: Kristian Ronn on why, in the short term, we all might be dead
Episode 2250 Rebecca Haw Allensworth on America's Cult of the Professional
Episode 2249: Caroline Fleck on the Skill Set that will Change your Life