Who am I, a walking Dad joke?

So, I've been having this existential crisis lately, mainly because I need to introduce myself for some upcoming speaking gigs. You know, the usual bio and intro stuff. But I'm just not a fan of listing all the roles I've had - I mean, we're all more than our titles, right? And titles are boring, if not ambiguous.

So, I turned to GPT-4 for help, but it didn't quite give me the magical answer I was seeking. As I dug through my past, I stumbled upon some old posts from 2012 and a couple of recent awards - the 2022 Fast Company (not Fastcase, mind you) Innovation by Design Award and the 2023 Bloomberg Law School Innovation finalist selection. Quite the treasure trove, eh?

Well, after sifting through two decades of work, I finally found a common thread. From my rookie lawyer days to playing boss in a big firm to penning this delightful newsletter, I've always been good at and passionate about creating interesting and new ways of educating people.

So, ta-da! I present to you, drum roll please, yours truly: Education Designer & Instructor.

With that, we turn to today’s edition which brings my Ed Design interests into the limelight further for your benefit, I hope.

A special Hi 👋 to my NEW SUBSCRIBERS! 
To read previous posts, go here.

In this edition we will

1. dig into the future of education

2. talk AI tutors with Khan Academy

3. use edtech stocks to monitor AI progress

4. look at something law schools might be ignoring

5. summarize YouTube caption transcripts with ChatGPT

6. share some really cool tools to use

7. go deeper into one of these tools as it is ‘different’

8. expect policy making to get complicated

9. SPAM our future employers

The Future AI-powered Education

Or Why We Haven’t Seen Anything Yet.

🎓We are quickly arriving at law school graduation season. Good for those soon-to-be new grads. They leave behind an experience born in the thick of the pandemic. Yet, as disruptive as that was, law schools’ commitment to return to the status quo cannot be underestimated.

Well, I have been to the frontlines and I am here to report - hold onto your mortarboards, folks! The digital revolution is making waves in education, and AI is either the surfboard we will ride or a tsunami that will crush us.

Below I hit on the following:

• Sal Khan of Kahn Academy recently blew people’s minds when he championed and demo’ed a highly disruptive AI tutor that is better than a human tutor in some key ways.

• EdTech stocks got eviscerated this week due to ChatGPT’s recent dominance. This sector is in for some trying times ahead.

• ChatGPT is even underestimating its power to disrupt education as a clever reporter goes to the source and asked it directly.

• Law schools are quaking in their boots even with their guilded shields held up by the American Bar Association and state bar associations.

🍿So grab your popcorn and buckle up—it's going to be an exhilarating ride!

Meet the SuperTutor

In a recently released Ted Talk, Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy, thinks artificial intelligence could spark the greatest positive transformation education has ever seen. He shares the opportunities he sees for students and educators to collaborate with AI tools -- including the potential of a personal AI tutor for every student and an AI teaching assistant for every teacher -- and demos some exciting new features for their educational chatbot, Khanmigo.

If you have 15 mins, watch this video. If not, read one as I sum it up below.

This presentation discusses the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), specifically ChatGPT, to transform education positively rather than undermine it.

Sal argues that AI, if implemented with the right guardrails, can revolutionize education by providing students with personal tutors and teachers with teaching assistants. He refers to Benjamin Bloom's 1984 "2 sigma problem" study, which highlights the transformative potential of one-to-one tutoring. Sal introduces Khanmigo, an AI tutor, which is capable of providing personalized guidance, feedback, and coaching in various subjects. He also demonstrates how AI can be used as a powerful tool for teachers, saving them time and energy.

Key Points and Takeaways:

• AI can provide students with personalized tutoring, helping them improve their understanding and skills in various subjects.

• AI-powered tutors, like Khanmigo, can give every student a guidance counselor, academic coach, career coach, and life coach.

• AI can be an effective tool for teachers, assisting them in lesson planning, preparing for classes, and grading.

• To enhance AI's abilities, it can be programmed to "think" before responding, leading to more accurate and effective tutoring.

Notable Quotes:

• "I think we're at the cusp of using AI for probably the biggest positive transformation that education has ever seen."

• "This is really going to be a super tutor."

• "We think this is going to dramatically accelerate writing, not hurt it."

• "I think all of us together have to fight like hell to make sure that we put the guardrails, reasonable regulations."

Edtech Stocks Face Brutal Beatdown - Now’s the Time to Buy or Just Laugh (or Cry)?

Disclaimer: I'm not a stock whisperer, and this isn't some hot stock tips newsletter. But hey, we can still have a good chuckle while tracking the AI invasion on interconnected markets, right?

OpenAI's ChatGPT has burst onto the scene like a bull in an edtech china shop, smashing Chegg's stock to smithereens with a 49% nosedive. Chegg was basking in the glory of first-quarter earnings estimates when ChatGPT 4 waltzed in on March 14, essentially putting the brakes on Chegg's new account joyride.

Chegg, the edtech darling, has been doling out subscription-based academic lifelines to students, offering test prep and homework-help services for a pretty penny. Over the years, these companies have been sprouting like mushrooms after a heavy rain.

But Chegg isn't going down without a fight! The company is now dabbling in the AI game, trying to harness the power of ChatGPT (still free, mind you - Chegg isn't!) to develop CheggMate, an AI sidekick offering personalized learning adventures. The full impact of this clash of the AI titans might not be evident until school bells ring again in September.

Chegg and its edtech comrades need to keep their eyes peeled, as the relentless march of AI threatens to trample their businesses. Adapt or perish, folks – that's the name of the game in the ever-evolving educational landscape.

As we watch the edtech dominoes wobble, we can gauge how, where, and at what breakneck speed AI is infiltrating the education sector. The deeper it digs its claws into education, the more we'll see it in other areas.

Take a gander at the stock tickers of these four public edtech companies and their 52-week charts. Spoiler alert: It's not pretty!

ChatGPT: Underselling Its Power or Overselling Education Status Quo?

When a reporter inquired whether ChatGPT could replace online classes or school textbooks, it humbly responded,

"I am not capable of replacing online classes or school textbooks. While I can provide information and answer questions, I cannot take the place of a human teacher or the educational resources they provide."

While ChatGPT's response may seem genuine, it's worth comparing it to Sal Kahn's outlook. If AI models are trained and configured just right, they could not only replace human teaching but even give it a serious upgrade.

People are tiptoeing around expectations and avoiding exaggeration, but let's face it: with homeschooling on the rise, college fees skyrocketing, student loans turning into boogeymen, and an increasing demand for trades over liberal arts – the threat to traditional teachers and education models isn't just real, it's gaining serious steam!

As the world continues to change, law schools, like other higher education institutions, are trying to keep up with new economic and technological challenges. Legal academia is currently focused on two main issues, but they're overlooking a vital concern.

First, law schools are working on updating their courses to match the changing legal world and the skills lawyers need today.

Second, they're trying to figure out how to fairly and accurately measure students' knowledge and skills using advanced AI methods and tools.

‼️However, they're missing an important aspect: using AI technology to teach and engage students effectively. Law schools need to consider both the positive and negative impacts of AI on the learning process, such as providing personalized tutoring or feedback versus encouraging cheating and misinformation. They also must put the needs of students ahead of faculty. This is not a slight. Upon examination it is easy to determine that the business model of law schools is one where the students are not the primary customer, they are the paying customer. But I digress for now.

Let’s look at some ideas of how law schools could use AI tools like Khanmigo or ChatGPT to support lectures, assignments, and discussions, or use plagiarism detection software to maintain academic integrity.

1. Personalized learning: Generative AI can analyze each student's learning style, strengths, and weaknesses to create customized study plans and materials. This approach enables students to progress at their own pace, focusing on areas where they need improvement while reinforcing their strengths.

2. Virtual tutors and coaches: AI-powered chatbots, like ChatGPT, can serve as round-the-clock tutors and coaches, answering students' questions, providing feedback, and guiding them through complex legal concepts. This additional support can be invaluable, especially for students who may not have access to one-on-one mentoring or tutoring outside the classroom.

3. Interactive simulations: Generative AI can create realistic case scenarios and simulations, allowing students to engage in experiential learning. By participating in these simulations, students can apply their legal knowledge to real-life situations, honing their skills and gaining practical experience.

4. Enhanced course materials: AI can be used to generate dynamic and engaging course materials, such as case summaries, interactive quizzes, and multimedia content, making learning more enjoyable and effective for students.

5. Collaborative learning: Generative AI platforms can facilitate collaboration among students, enabling them to work together on group projects, engage in peer-to-peer discussions, and exchange ideas in real-time.

6. Automated assessment and feedback: AI can automate the grading process for assignments and exams, providing consistent and unbiased evaluations. Moreover, AI can offer individualized feedback on students' work, highlighting areas for improvement and reinforcing positive performance.

7. Continuous improvement: By analyzing data on student performance, generative AI can identify trends and areas where the curriculum or teaching methods may need adjustment, helping law schools refine their programs over time.

8. Accessibility and inclusivity: Generative AI can be used to create accessible learning materials for students with disabilities, ensuring that all students have equal opportunities to succeed in their legal education.

Here is what the World Economic Forum suggests as well.

The key to a successful future for law schools isn't just adopting new technology but also completely rethinking their approach to education - their business model. This means moving away from outdated models that focus on selectivity and physical infrastructure, and instead fostering a culture of sharing and accessibility.

By embracing technology, law schools can create strong connections between students, teachers, and their peers, making learning more engaging and effective for everyone involved.

BTW, the first ones to do this outside the elite schools will capture a serious competitive advantage. We have already seen more schools offering online degrees and certificates - a small movement. But trust me, there are many more schools refusing to offer remote or distance learning.

Use Case Download YouTube Closed-captions run through ChatGPT

Above I shared Sal Kahn’s recent Ted Talk. I wanted to get the transcript to read through so I didn’t have to keep pausing and skipping back a few seconds. Also I wanted to use ChatGPT to summarize it for me

So, first, here is how you download a YouTube transcript.

STEPS

First, if a YouTube video has captions you will see the CC box in lower right pane like below. If the video does not have captions, this will not work (but there are cruder methods).

Next you want to click on the Share button to get the link to the video.

Copy the URL link.

Go to https://downsub.com/ - this is a free web-based tool.

Paste your YouTube link in the window and press Download. In a manner of seconds you will have the transcript in multiple file formats. You most likely want the .txt one - this is a basic text file.

Once you have it. Click on it and Select All to copy-n-paste in ChatGPT.

Now we get to ChatGPT. (this will be similar to yesterday’s Zoom use case)

1. Remember ChatGPT can only handle roughly 2300 - 2600 words.

2. You may need to break up the transcript and run this prompt on each portion. Don’t worry -this is still effective.

▶︎▶︎PROMPT

Please summarize with keyword and topics extraction: [paste the transcription]

You can do other things with a transcript too:

Review the following transcript and identify any sources, authors, or key materials mentioned. [paste the transcription]

Please translate this transcript into Spanish. [paste the transcription]

For the following transcription, please create a Q&A that I can use as a quiz or for questions to raise in class. [paste the transcription]

Review the following transcript to identify major counter-points or logical fallacies.

Tools you can Use: 

AudioNotes - voiced notes to summarized text in seconds

Box adds AI - ask your documents questions, create content on the fly, enterprise safety and privacy

Pi a new chatbot (see below for more)

News you can Use: 

A New Big Kid On the Block

Pi (short for personal intelligence), is a new chatbot designed to be an active listener and help users through back-and-forth dialog, seemingly getting to know its user over time. Unlike other chatbots, Pi focuses on personal interactions, without leading users into unhealthy parasocial relationships. Inflection AI aims for Pi to eventually help users with organization, meeting preparation, and skill development.

Key Points:

• Pi is designed for personal interactions and active listening

• Inflection AI aims for Pi to eventually help with organization, meeting preparation, and skill learning

Who is the Expert?

The rapid release of generative AI tools has led to widespread calls for regulation, with experts and policymakers scrambling to address the challenges. However, a disconnect between developers, lawmakers, and the nature of AI itself is hindering effective regulation, with existing proposals often focusing on the wrong aspects of AI.

Key Points:

• Geoffrey Hinton resigns from Google, Elon Musk and others call for a pause in generative AI development.

• Policymakers are struggling to create effective AI regulations due to a lack of understanding about the technology.

• AI regulation must address power dynamics, access to information, and the ever-changing nature of AI.

• Bridging the gap between AI experts and lawmakers is crucial for developing effective regulations.

News you can Lose: 

Introducing SPAM your future employer!

LinkedIn's latest AI-powered messaging feature enables you to bombard hiring managers with autogenerated, eerily-similar messages faster than you can say 'job application.' Sit back, relax, and watch as your AI assistant cooks up a storm of messages, effortlessly blending your profile, the job description, and company info into a tantalizing word stew. And don't worry about customizing it; after all, who needs a personal touch when you've got AI-generated charm? Jump on the SPAMwagon and prepare for the hiring frenzy!

That's a wrap for today. Stay thirsty & see ya next time! If you want more, be sure to follow me on Twitter and LinkedIn.

DISCLAIMER: None of this is legal advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not legal advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any legal decisions. Please /be careful and do your own research.