The Good Stuff, with Pete and Andy - Episode 6: You Can Just Learn Things
Hosts: Pete and Andy (recording at City Beach, Perth in their van)
Episode Overview: Pete and Andy explore how AI is transforming education and learning, discussing the future education, the power of self-directed learning, what kids should be learning and how AI can positively impact high-quality personalized education.
AI and the Future of Learning (02:50-05:43)
- Discussion about what kids should study in a rapidly changing job market
- Pete's children are developing entrepreneurial skills with AI support
- The "Teddy Fashion Boutique" business Pete's daughter has created
- Exploring game development with AI for Pete's son's tabletop gaming interests
Rethinking Traditional Education (05:43-10:30)
- Critique of the industrial-era "assembly line" approach to education
- The importance of play-based and child-led learning approaches
- How AI can enable a shift from classroom instruction to personalized mentoring
- Questioning the value of traditional education when information costs approach zero
Personal Learning Journeys with AI (10:30-16:17)
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Coding with AI assistance
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How AI provides the patience and personalization needed to build learning momentum
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The importance of having projects you're motivated to build rather than abstract learning
The Intelligent Assembly Line of Education (16:17-20:30)
- School structure mimics industrial assembly lines
- AI allows for removing the time constraints on education
- Learning can become more ad-hoc and follow natural curiosity
- Education doesn't need to be confined to specific years in a person's life
Learning Through Knowledge Graphs (47:56-52:13)
- Using AI to break down courses into concepts, topics and abstractions
- Creating a "map" of both what exists to be learned and what a person knows
- Navigating a personalized learning path from current knowledge to desired knowledge
- AI can identify the optimal path through connected concepts for each individual
Purpose and Agency in Learning (34:40-37:40)
- Will AI force people to rediscover purpose beyond jobs?
- The relationship between agency and purpose?
- AI as a catalyst for pursuing learning aligned with personal interests
Democratizing High-Quality Education (52:13-56:33)
- How AI can provide the benefits of one-to-one tutoring at scale
- Using AI to create personalized explanations at appropriate complexity levels
- The value of learning in context rather than in the abstract
- Creating immersive, engaging learning experiences tailored to individual interests
Credentialism vs. Learning (01:01:56-01:15:03)
- Questioning the value of credentials in a world of commoditized expertise
- The shift from credential-based systems to meritocracy
- The permissionless nature of learning with AI vs. permission-based traditional education
"You Can Just Learn Things" (01:11:12-01:15:06)
- The democratizing power of AI in allowing anyone to learn anything
- No need to wait feor permission or formal instruction to pursue knowledge
- How to use AI tools effectively for learning (even without sophisticated tooling)
- The inevitable bifurcation between those who embrace self-directed AI learning and those who don't
Memorable Quotes:
- "You can just learn things." (01:11:24)
- "The beauty of play is it doesn't feel like work." (30:44)
- "We spent most of our adult lives trying to track back to that childlike creativity." (31:04)
- "I think education is going to change quite drastically." (01:01:30)
- "It doesn't matter what we say to differentiate ourselves in a market. It's more about what we build and how we prove out the values we want to operate by." (09:27)