Flipping the classroom model

There’s a lot of concern around what to do with respect to AI and education (across multiple fronts). And, kids are using AI for homework assignments (which is now basically undetectable) with or without permission. That’s not likely to change.

There is a simple pivot for schools to help ensure kids are learning and not just “AI-ing.” Andrej Karpathy, one of OpenAI's founders and a leading AI expert, recently spoke to a school board with his thoughts and they’re worth sharing. In short:

• The majority of grading should shift to in-class work where students can be directly observed by teachers.

• This keeps kids motivated to actually learn, because they know they will be on the hook to know the content without AI.

• Homework becomes practice rather than proof.

• Teachers maintain flexibility on homework and assignments and if/how they’d like kids to incorporate AI use.

• The ultimate goal: students who are proficient with AI and capable without it.

My thoughts: we’re all worried about how long it takes schools to adjust curriculum in the AI era (glacial compared to the lighting pace of AI) - this is something that seems simple and smart that schools can begin incorporating ASAP.

“How I’d ruin the next generation” by: ChatGPT

tl;dr: is “the ruin” already in progress?! Johnathan Haidt, author of the best-selling book “The Anxious Generation” shared in his blog this week an experiment where he asked ChatGPT: if it were the Devil, how would it destroy the next generation? The chatbot’s response was disturbing to say the least, largely because we can see the proposed tactics already in play. The whole post is worth a read, but a few quotes from ChatGPT:

• Addict them to constant stimulation—endless scrolling, notifications, micro-bursts of dopamine. They’ll feel busy, “connected,” even informed, while in reality their capacity for sustained thought and presence erodes.

• Give them infinite answers without teaching how to ask good questions. In that haze, truth and falsehood feel equally slippery, so cynicism becomes natural. A generation that doubts everything believes nothing.

• Encourage digital substitutes for friendship, love, and intimacy. People will accumulate “connections” while feeling lonelier than ever.

• Convince them that comfort, consumption, and self-expression are the highest goods, while restraint, sacrifice, and long-term commitment are oppressive. That way, they’ll celebrate indulgence while mocking tradition and discipline—the very things that build strength and freedom across generations.

• In short: if I were the devil, I’d destroy the next generation not by terror or violence, but by distraction, disconnection, and slow erosion of meaning. They wouldn’t even notice, because it would feel like freedom and entertainment.

My thoughts: 😳 

My follow-up thoughts: while this is an extreme and manufactured perspective from “the devil,” it’s not at odds with what technology seems to be doing - on some level - to teens as we speak. As parents, it’s important for us to pay attention, and that we’re having important conversations about AI with our kids as they’re ready. (See my recent newsletter, linked below, for 3 crucial convos we should have with our kids).

Can AI elevate our curiosity and cognition?

A new report suggests we are grading Human/AI collaboration wrong. Standard metrics (like efficiency or output quality) are incomplete because they ignore a crucial variable: the human experience.

Key Takeaways:

• True partnership boosts engagement: in the study, users who received intelligent AI suggestions didn't just get the job done faster or better, they showed significantly higher cognitive engagement.

• Measure the mindset: We should be evaluating the process, and our cognitive and emotional states, not just the final result.

My thoughts: I agree with this hypothesis and from my own experience going deep with AI on creative tasks, there are certainly moments where I feel like my brain is creatively and cognitively “boosted”… for whatever that’s worth. 😉

Get creative with AI for the holidays

Speaking of creative boosts, there are so many fun ways you can use AI leading up to the holidays. Here’s a couple:*

Instant personalized advent calendars.

Just go to Google’s Gemini (gemini.google.com or get the app) select “canvas” mode and prompt it with something like “Make me a delightfully fun, interactive advent calendar app that [shares a undeniably hilarious holiday-themed joke for a kid-friendly audience each day]. Make sure it is timed so I can only open one door each day of December.”

Here’s one I created in less than two minutes, but you can make your own in any style - and with any unveil - you can possibly dream up. (note: you can use a lot of other vibe-coding apps for something like this too (my current favorite is Replit) but Gemini works decently well for basic apps)

A special message from Santa

Speaking of advent calendars, my youngest, Leo, couldn’t resist the temptation and tore open all the doors to his advent calendar. Then he panicked, because he was sure he was now on the "naughty list.” He wrote a letter to Santa but was still a ball of anxiety. Problem solved when “Santa” sent him a reassurance!

Try this:

• Go to ElevenLabs, sign-in, and choose the free option

• Click on “voices” in the left navigation and search for “Santa”

• Once you find a Santa voice you like (there are a few options), click on the ⊕ to save to “my voices”

• Go back to “text to speech” in the nav and type the message you want “Santa” to say, test it out, and download!

  

  Leo’s letter to Santa pleading for forgiveness

*as you can tell from these examples, our family celebrates Christmas, but the creativity with AI applies to all holidays!

Make your holiday cards matter more

Annual holiday cards are a fantastic way to stay connected and let people know you’re thinking about them. This year, if you send one, consider ways you might be able to make it a better opportunity for connection. For example:

• Reach out to people you’ve met casually over the past year or that you’ve lost touch with and ask for their address to grow your holiday card list. Bonus that it gives you a 1:1 opportunity in that moment to reconnect.

• Think of ways you can make your card a little more conversational or invite a response. Adding a note beyond the photo with a little update and a “thinking of you!” to them all, or yes - more work but greater reward - a little personalized handwritten message.

• Make it digital. Save trees and make it easy for people to reply! (P.S. this also opens up endless creative opportunities).

  

  image source: Gemini

A near future where germs don’t spread at school?!

This would be every parent’s dream, if true. Scientists have reportedly invented a ventilation system that can catch airborne germs before they spread. Computer simulations show that the device slashed infection risk to just 9.5% compared to 91% under standard ventilation, trapping 94% of airborne pathogens.

Once on the market, I’m betting that “ventilation system” will be one of the hottest items at upcoming school auctions! 😂

Now THIS is my style of robot