Ways We Learn Sean, Joe, and Brian investigate the ways people learn

There’s a lot of buzz these days about AI, and in particular Generative AI. But Gen AI is just one facet of the huge artificial intelligence field.
Today we’ll talk about another facet: one of the ways AI is advancing healthcare through medical diagnosis.
Joining us is Dr. Akash Parvatikar, an AI Scientist and Product Manager for the PathologyMap platform at HistoWiz, a company accelerating scientific research and discoveries through the automation of histology and digital pathology solutions. Akash specializes in explainable AI for early breast cancer diagnosis and is an advocate of explainable AI in healthcare.
In this episode, Akash highlights the importance of developing AI models that can 'speak the language of a pathologist' by not only classifying diseases but explaining the decision-making process behind the classification. We’ll get into the challenges of digital pathology, the concept of explainable AI, the process of training AI models with limited data, and the potential future applications of AI in medicine beyond pathology.

Highlights:

00:53 Introduction
02:40 Akash’s Journey into AI and Healthcare
05:16 Explainable AI in Healthcare
09:33 High-Resolution Imaging in Pathology
35:00 The Future of AI in Medicine
38:48 Concluding Thoughts


Links and further reading:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/akash007/
https://akashparvatikar.github.io/
https://home.histowiz.com/


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Eric Hudson is serious about creating meaningful learning, and his recent work has focused on AI in education. He says:

“How we frame AI for ourselves as educators will affect how we frame it for our students, and I believe strongly that how we talk to students about AI will have a lasting impact on how they see its role in their own lives.”

A few of our conversation topics:


Students want to produce authentic and meaningful work (not just use ChatGPT for cheating).
AI can serve as a tool for sparking ideas and offering 'positive friction' in the thinking process, ultimately enhancing the quality of student work.
We should reimagine AI technologies as academic assistants rather than solely cheating mechanisms.
AI has potential to empower students and enhance their work.

Eric is a facilitator and strategic advisor who supports schools in making sense of what’s changing in education. He specializes in learner-centered assessment, human-centered leadership, and strategic program design. Most recently, Eric spent a decade at Global Online Academy (GOA), first as an instructional coach and ultimately as Chief Program Officer, working with schools around the world to rethink where, when, and how learning happens. Prior to GOA, he spent 12 years in the classroom, where he developed his passion for designing learning experiences. Eric serves on the board of the Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools (ATLIS) and writes the newsletter "Learning on Purpose" on Substack.



Highlights:


02:17 Eric’s Journey in Education and AI
03:43 Defining AI and Its Impact on Education
05:10 Exploring the Spectrum of AI in Education: From Skepticism to Empowerment
09:24 Navigating Academic Integrity and the Power of Productive Struggle with AI
12:30 Benefits of AI
18:42 Redefining Assistance: AI as a Tool for Enhancing Learning
21:39 Assessment in the Age of AI: Rethinking Educational Goals
23:16 Exploring AI in Education: A Model for Learning
24:01 Positive Uses of AI in Classroom Settings
24:13 AI as a Catalyst for Inquiry-Based Learning
25:23 AI in Language Learning: Bridging Gaps and Building Tools
26:35 Integrating AI into Academic Content
27:46 The SAMR Model: Revisiting Educational Technology Frameworks
28:29 AI and Creativity: Enhancing the Brainstorming Process
33:39 Addressing Concerns: AI, Copyright, and Equity
37:24 Strategic AI Integration: Policies and Flexibility for School Leaders
39:48 Concluding Thoughts on AI's Role in Future Learning



Links and further reading


Eric’s Substack: Learning on Purpose: https://erichudson.substack.com/
Eric on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ejhudson/
Po (Japanese translation bot: https://poe.com/JapaneseTutor
SAMR model ed tech: https://www.edutopia.org/article/powerful-model-understanding-good-tech-integration/
Article on AI being trained on writers’ work: https://crosscut.com/culture/2023/10/wa-authors-are-teaching-ai-how-write-without-their-consent
Bloomberg study - racial bias in AI: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-generative-ai-bias/


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Everyone’s talking about AI these days, but it’s not that often that you get to speak with someone who can really pull back the curtain on how the future of AI is taking shape.

But that’s why you listen to Ways We Learn, isn’t it!

Claire Zau is a Vice President at GSV Ventures, an early stage edtech Venture Capital firm at the forefront of transformative technologies that are shaping the future of education and work. Some notable early investments from GSV are Coursera, Classdojo, Degreed, Guild Education and many more that you’d recognize if you’re in the education space. Claire spends a lot of her time at the intersection of AI & education startups, and writes a weekly newsletter on Substack that you should check out (it’s linked below). She has a B.A. from Stanford and an Masters of Education from UPenn’s Graduate School of Education.

We discussed the dynamics between incumbents and new ventures in the field of AI, the potential of AI deployment in educational spaces, retention and adoption rates of AI-enabled tools, the importance of user experience in AI applications, emerging trends in AI such as multimodality and personalized AI models and ethical considerations, and a lot more!


00:54 Introduction
02:15 Claire's Background and Interest in AI
03:35 AI in the Education Space: Current Trends
08:20 AI Tutors and the Challenges of Differentiation
10:42 AI and Privacy Concerns in Education
13:36 The Future of AI in Education: Predictions and Opportunities
19:25 AI and the Transformation of Video Content Creation
24:21 Navigating Privacy and IP Rules in AI
28:11 Adapting to New Educational Technology
28:24 The Rise of EdTech and AI in Schools
28:48 Differentiating Effective EdTech Tools
29:07 The Importance of Product Retention and Stickiness
29:49 The Role of AI in Lesson Planning
30:42 The Trend of Premium AI Products
31:11 Understanding Good Retention Numbers
32:54 The Future of Corporate Learning and Development
33:17 The Advantage of Incumbents in EdTech
34:00 The Emergence of Knowledge Search Platforms
35:23 The Potential of Personal AI Assistants
40:40 The Future of AI in Education

Links and further reading

Claire’s newsletter: aieducation.substack.com

Companies / AIs mentioned in this episode:


Amazon Bedrock (https://aws.amazon.com/bedrock/)
Bard (https://bard.google.com)
Caktus (https://caktus.ai/)
Chegg (https://www.chegg.com)
Degreed (https://degreed.com)
Glean (https://glean.co)
GoGuardian (https://www.goguardian.com)
Gradescope (https://www.gradescope.com)
Gradient Ventures (https://gradient.com)
Jasper AI (https://www.jasper.ai)
Khan Academy / Khanmigo (https://www.khanacademy.org)
Labster (https://www.labster.com)
Lensa (https://lensa.com)
Mem (https://www.mem.ai)
Notebook LM (https://notebooklm.google/)
OpenAI (https://openai.com)
Photomath (https://photomath.com)
Power School (https://www.powerschool.com)
Project Tailwind (https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/10/with-project-tailwind-google-aims-to-make-note-taking-smarter/)
Quizlet (https://quizlet.com)
Sana Labs (https://sanalabs.com)
Speak (https://speakai.co/)
Synthesia (https://www.synthesia.io)
Tana (https://tana.inc)
Turnitin (https://www.turnitin.com)
Wolfram Alpha (https://www.wolframalpha.com)


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Ways We Learn is going even deeper into some of our topics by examining them in some short series! We'll start with AI.

Actually, we've already started! Our last episode was the first in this series: AI in Higher Ed with James Genone!  Next week's episode will feature Claire Zau on What's Next in AI.  And then we'll have Eric Hudson on to talk about AI policy and implementation in schools.

Find the next episode wherever you found this one, subscribe at welearn.fm, and always keep learning!


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In our latest episode, Joe, Sean, and Brian welcome James Genone, former Head of Innovation at Minerva Project and now Head of Product and Operations at Atypical AI.



James shares his perspective on integrating AI into education. He discusses Minerva University's approach to adopting AI, highlighting its potential to take on the labor-intensive parts of education such as grading and providing consistent formative feedback, and emphasizing that the role of human guidance will still be important. He forecasts the future of AI in education, applauds its potential advantages, and shares his views on the challenges the industry may face. The conversation also explores how AI can help improve a student's learning and overall educational experience, and discusses the importance of familiarizing oneself with AI. And along the way we learn more about the unusual and innovative Minerva University.



From 2015 to 2023 James led product strategy for Minerva's academic partnerships, overseeing general education and curriculum development. He was formerly a philosophy professor, teaching and conducting research in the philosophy of mind and cognitive science.



00:54 Introduction and Background

01:46 James' Journey into Education

03:05 Transition from Academia to Minerva

04:39 Understanding Minerva's Vision and Approach

06:49 Exploring AI and its Potential in Education

09:42 The Impact of Generative AI on Education

10:15 The Role of AI in Higher Education Strategy

13:05 The Future of AI in Education

15:57 The Role of AI in Minerva's Education Approach

19:32 The Challenges and Opportunities of AI in Education

31:18 Getting Started with AI in Education

32:55 The Speed of Learning Generative AI

34:41 The Power of AI in Education

36:14 The Limitations of AI as a Tutor

43:27 The Future of AI in Education

55:11 The Role of AI in Writing and Thinking

58:30 Wrap-up

01:01:30 Bloopers!



Links and further reading:

https://www.minervaproject.com

https://www.minerva.edu

https://www.minervaproject.com/integrating-ai-white-paper/

https://www.atypicalai.com/


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James Genone leads innovation at The Minerva Project. He joins us in our next episode to talk about Minerva University, his work with AI in education, and teaching today's students.



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