The Times They Are A-Changin'

Exciting New Year's Announcements at Educating AI

Greetings, my wonderful readers!!!

Next year will be a big year for Educating AI!!!

Upcoming Posts

In a couple days, I will be releasing a Comprehensive Review of AI and Education in 2023 at Michael Spencer’s AI Supremacy Substack. Be on the lookout for that post. 

In January, I will begin with two posts opening up Educating AI to other voices on the rapid changes in school surrounding these new technologies 

In my next Educating AI post, I have interviewed my friend and colleague, Nathan Shields, on his teaching philosophy, his experiences with AI, his utilization of standards-based grading, and his hopes for the future of education. It is amazing stuff! I can’t want to share it with you. 

In the following post, I will interview a former student on their experiences with AI as an undergraduate and as an author of a popular online music zine. We will focus on the question: What does it mean to be an author in the age of AI?

Then, in my subsequent posts in January, I will dig into Theories of Knowledge and the Foundations of an AI-Responsive Pedagogy and Curriculum. This is where things will get really interesting for the Educating AI community. 

Spring Semester: Program of Study

Here is the program of inquiry, formulated in 3 essential questions:

1. What is the interplay between knowledge and information in current writing curricula?

2. How can AI be utilized to manage information without impeding the process of acquiring and developing knowledge?

3. To what degree do AI-assisted and traditional writing methods support each other, and in what ways might they complicate each other's effectiveness?

Over the course of the Spring Semester, I will engage in the necessary work of synthesizing existing theory and practice, incoming research studies, and ongoing in-class experimentation into a provisional platform for implementing and integrating AI into writing courses for Fall Semester 2024. 

The project involves the productive assemblage of writing curriculum and more computationally-focused information theory and practice. And yet, what we will be attempting ultimately has much older analogues. Think about the relationship between inductive and deductive reasoning. A system of truth rooted in reference vs. a system of truth rooted in consistency. In essence, our students need to relearn these basic distinctions, and then experiment and extend them in the synergistic contexts where unassisted vs. AI-assisted modes of writing collide and combine. 

I have been working on these ideas for several months, but they recently came to a head through some good conversations with my colleague Nathan Shields, some fresh conversations with Terry Underwood, and while listening to

daniel bashir

’s recent interview at The Gradient podcast with Neuroscientist Peter Tse. Please check out the podcast: A literary and metaphorical feast for the mind and soul!!!

Newsletters + Videos = Comprehensive Teacher Training

In order to assist teachers with this work, I will build this pedagogy and curriculum incrementally through posts and short videos. All the posts will be available free for 1-2 months, until they are archived. The videos will be divided into theory and practice sections. The theory section will offer a 1-2 minute overview of the philosophical and instructional grounding of the content to come. The practice session will offer a 4-5 minute mini-lesson that teachers can use or build on as they roll out these ideas into their own classroom. As these videos will take more time and energy to create, I will be more selective in their release schedule. More about that in February

By mid-summer, these newsletters and videos will combine to serve a comprehensive teacher training for educators interested in developing a more AI-responsive approach to writing curriculum. My goal to offer a AI-invested pedagogy and curriculum that is clear, engaging, and transferable across related disciplines and domains of knowledge. My work over the past 6 months has identified a noticeable lack of literacy materials and concrete curriculum for educators interested in implementing and integrating AI into their classrooms. My work over the next 6 months will form a concerted effort to fill this gap. The result will be a work-in-progress—just one possible method of intervention—but I trust that in my hands of my skilled readers, these insights will yield many new approaches and experiments.

Let’s create a solution together—one that helps our students and our colleagues meet the manifold challenges of tomorrow.

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Exciting News!!!

I want to share a few exciting things as 2023 transitions into 2024. Our community continues to experience exponential growth primarily on the strength of your recommendations and shares. On December 19, we reached 500 readers. As of December 28, we have reached 579 readers. I wanted to send out a big thanks to my steadfast recommenders: AI Health Uncut, Learning from Examples, AI Tidbits, The AI Observer, The Value Junction, Polymathic Being, and Mostly Harmless Ideas.

AI Tidbits

In particular, I want to send a big shout out to

Sahar Mor

at AI Tidbits, my most recent recommender. The name of his Substack definitely undersells his content. Since the beginning of the year, Sahar has delved deeply into over 1000 AI research articles, condensing and refining their content into insights applicable across various fields. Please check out his work.

Hyperopia 

I also wanted to thank all of you who took the time to read my historical and textual analysis of the Biden Executive Order. I will release some more policy pieces throughout the new year as I think educators need to be aware of the wider cultural landscape in which the AI debate in schools is taking place. After reading that piece,

Finn Sunchaser

from Hyperopia Substack and I are collaborating on a piece that compares and contrasts the Biden Executive Order with the more recent EU AI Act. So be on the lookout for that sometime later in January. 

Learning to Read, Reading to Learn

I have also had the good fortune to strike up an interesting conversation with

Terry Underwood

of the Learning to Read, Reading to Learn Substack. In a fortuitous moment just prior to Christmas, we discovered our work converged on a number of different points. We both are cautiously excited about the possibility of an AI-responsive pedagogy. We both feel strongly that this pedagogy needs to continue to ground itself in existing bodies of theory and practice. We both feel that we can have some fun as we experiment with different ways forward. Check out some of Terry’s ChatGPT conversations for a taste of his amazing sense of humor. 

Tech and Nonsense

I have also enjoyed getting to know

Patrick Jordan

from the Tech and Nonsense Substack. Patrick, an avid tech enthusiast, possesses extensive knowledge in cybersecurity. He is very excited about the project at Educating AI and is constantly testing out new applications and interfaces. I am excited to see how this new partnership develops. We educators need such inside knowledge as we decide the best tech to integrate into our schools. 

Awesome Reads!!!

If you have been away from Substack for a few days, I just want to point out some of the pieces you may have missed.

First, please read

Alejandro Piad Morffis

’s 2023 Review of AI. Alejandro is a gifted computer science professor. He breaks down topics thematically and structurally, and doesn’t bog you down with needless details. He gives you the distinctive experience of knowing more by the end of a reading. A rare gift. 

Second, check out

Michael Woudenberg

’s Introduction to Polymathic Thinking posted through Michael’s Spencer’s AI Supremacy. Michael W. has posted early and diversely on the topic of AI. Check out this post if you want to get a sense of where he is heading in 2024. Michael definitely sounds very optimistic about the future, but also please pay attention to his moment of caution.

Third, please take a half hour to read

Nat

’s 2023 AI Overview. Nat works in the field of Machine Learning and gives you the inside view on the development of this amazing technology. You have heard it here first, but in a couple years, Nat will have published very widely on AI–far beyond Substack–probably have a few books in major book outlets by that point. Nat’s Substack continues to grow at an amazing rate. Get on board!!! You won’t regret it. 

Fourth, a double dip: Check out Alejandro’s Techno-Pragmatist Manifesto. I won’t spoil this one. Let’s just say–it is a reasonable, reserved response to all the hype. A while back, I wrote a piece on the Impending AI Culture War, which I still do think may break out during the coming election cycle. But if anything could act as a safeguard against such a cultural event, it is a thoughtful perspective and response like Alejandro’s.    

Thanks so much for being a part of the Educating AI community!

Nick Potkalitsky, Ph.D.