Forget About Cool—Discovering AI’s True Promise in Education

Next week, thousands of people working in education, workforce development, technology, venture capital, and more will descend on San Diego, CA for the ASU+GSV Summit , where leaders convene to surface groundbreaking innovations. It should come as no surprise that this year, AI will be front and center. I’ll be there too, and what I’m eager to see is the extent to which the sector is aligned about the technology’s greatest potential. As ecologist Dr. Read Schuchardt once noted, technologies can either be deployed as a weapon, a toy, or a tool.?

Like any technology, AI isn’t inherently good or bad; it merely reflects the morals of its designers and users. While the world splits into opposing camps of techno-optimists and pessimists, I embrace a conditionally optimistic stance that bets on the virtue of humanity to leverage technology as a tool for improving lives. ?

That last bit is important, because a lot of the innovation we're seeing isn’t necessarily designed with that end in mind. Efficiency gains for faculty and staff are important, and many cutting-edge, student-facing applications are undeniably cool, but if we’re not deploying technology to change lives for the better, then what’s really the point???

As I argued in the first edition of Progress, improving lives by connecting inherently talented individuals to the abundant opportunity that exists, but is often inaccessible, is higher education’s true purpose. Under that broad umbrella, artificial intelligence is already being applied in countless impactful ways, much of which I’m sure will be uncovered at next week’s summit (if you’ll be there, be sure to stop by one of our sessions to see how we’re leveraging it at Western Governors University ). But where does AI’s greatest potential lie? It's too early to say for sure, but I’m betting on its ability to close attainment gaps by dramatically personalizing learning such that education fulfills its promise as the surest path to opportunity for everyone, not just the privileged. ?

Can AI enable a more egalitarian society? Benjamin Bloom’s 2 Sigma Problem??

40 years ago, Benjamin Bloom observed and reported in the journal Educational Researcher that students who were tutored using one-to-one, mastery-based learning with a corrective instruction loop performed two standard deviations better than those who were taught in a conventional instructional setting (the one most have experienced and has long been perpetuated). Perhaps more significant, the study also debunked the idea that every class will naturally contain a mix of talented students, average students, and low achievers. Whereas just 20% of students in Bloom’s control group mastered learning materials in the traditional classroom setting, 90% of students who received one-to-one, mastery-based learning did.?

At WGU we’ve long advocated for more institutions to embrace Competency-Based Education—a form of mastery-based learning—which we’ve shown can improve outcomes by allowing students to learn in a method and at a pace that works for them. But like virtually every college and university, we’ve yet to close attainment gaps such that every student, no matter their background, has an equal probability of success. As Sal Khan suggested in his 2023 Ted Talk , could advances in AI finally enable the truly personalized instruction Bloom’s study highlighted as so significant??

If learning is optimized when students have access to their own subject-matter experts, a world without AI automatically puts constraints around opportunity because no professor can individually engage ten students at once. The internet may have removed the classroom and campus as constraints, but even in a highly personalized, competency-based online learning environment, there are limits to the degree of on-demand customization that can be achieved without the support of AI.?

With AI, however, each student can have access to an on-demand personal coach, and the instruction can be completely customized to their individual context and unique needs. As they engage with content at their own speed, students can go through formative assessments and receive personalized recommendations about where they need to focus or which sequence of content could elevate their learning and persistence. By dramatically personalizing learning, AI can eliminate gaps that exist between what one student needs to develop proficiency and what another needs, effectively leveling the playing field and increasing the odds that every student completes their program.?

Apart from enabling a more egalitarian society, the impact of closing attainment gaps would be the education sector’s mic-drop moment. Might we finally debunk the notion that some individuals are more worthy and capable than others and accept that every individual is capable of learning and growth, proving that which we know to be inherently true: that talent is universal? Might we reject caste-like systems that seek to rank and sort individuals, in favor of systems that are designed to enable everyone to advance? Might we realize the reality (yes, that’s right!) that opportunity is abundant, and equally accessible and attainable by all??

Done right, the possibilities AI could enable are limitless, but we won’t achieve the positive future state we wish to see if we’re not clear about what we’re working towards.??

I’d love to hear from you—what do you believe is AI’s greatest potential for higher education? What promising innovations are you seeing that could transform education for the better? Let me know in the comments.?

Until next time,?

Scott??

Reader Spotlight: Will AI enable a utopian future or a dystopian one??

Recently I shared my concern that if we’re not careful, AI might follow the path of social media in which profit incentives have overpowered the tech's potential to be a force for good. I’m grateful to several readers for engaging in the discussion by sharing their own hopes and concerns for AI, including Kamaile Tripp-Harris (response edited for clarity and length):?

“Indeed I understand the concerns about AI but it is just a tool in the hands of an operator. It is a good tool for writing templates and creating editable documents in seconds, but you have to know the content. Just like an algorithm reflects the interests of the operator, AI is having a conversation with you to produce the results you've asked. I'm currently vetting ChatGPT to verify its language translation skills. ?

As a Community Health Worker serving diverse, underserved communities, I know a common barrier is language access. I've recently used it to translate the Karen language. Overcoming this barrier can mean life and death in Emergency medicine. ChatGPT can even translate into ASL. Personally, I embrace AI and foresee our bigger task will ultimately be continually improving humanity ~ Mahalo”

ICYMI: Here’s what caught my attention recently??

• Half of graduates end up underemployed—what does that mean for colleges? ( Lilah Burke , Higher Ed Dive): While there are numerous outcomes that matter for college students, the ability to experience economic mobility is paramount (shameless plug: if you’ll be at ASU + GSV, stop by our panel for a discussion on the subject).?

• Inside the Craziest College-Admissions Season Ever ( Jeff Selingo , New York Magazine): A fascinating peek into the world of admissions at selective colleges, which Jeffrey wraps up nicely: “All this reveals that the ultimate win in the game of admissions is less about the applicant and their needs, and much more about a college protecting its prestige.”?
• What Critics of American Higher Education Get Wrong ( Lenny Mendonca , Laura D. Tyson , Project Syndicate): A needed perspective that calls out certain higher ed critiques for what they are: politically charged red herrings.?
• New Mexico to establish $959M higher ed fund supporting free tuition ( Natalie Schwartz , Higher Ed Dive): A nice feat to improve affordability and access in higher ed, including for adult working learners.?