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Hiya 👋

Those who offer value thrive. 

This edition of the newsletter will dive into education as means of forming value creators and what that means in the AI Era.

Then I have a completely free guide to using the amazing AI tool Midjourney as an educator.

Right at the end I'll leave you with a profound thought from Deepmind Co-founder Mustafa Suleyman.

As if that wasn't enough, here's another gift 👇

Tomorrow I'm keynoting and leading a workshop at the virtual AImpactEd Summit alongside a whole host of great educators. If you haven't registered yet the first 10 people to use my code THEAIEDUCATORFREE will get a free day ticket worth $100. If you miss out on this you can still get 20% off by using the code THEAIEDUCATOR20.

It all comes down to value

We are staring down a tidal wave of change and education needs to be the cornerstone upon which we prepare our young people.

We are comfortable thinking of education as a springboard that propels young people towards their aspirations. But more importantly, we should look to education as the bedrock that nurtures the ability to offer value. The value we offer is the primary driver of success, and ultimately, happiness.

Our current education system seems to have lost sight of this essential principle.

Learning for the sake of gaining knowledge or skills is a small part of the story; it is about preparing our future generations to offer value.

It’s about time we formed our young people into value creators. For their sake and the sake of society.

We are being ushered into an era defined by artificial intelligence. AI has already begun to revolutionise our world, altering the ways we work, think, and interact.

In the face of this relentless advance, the question becomes: What value will our young people offer the world when AI can perform many of the skills and provide most of the knowledge we currently teach them, and do it more efficiently, cheaper, and better?

The fact that most educational institutions have not been quaking in their boots indicates that they have either failed to grasp the essence of education to form value creators, misunderstood the implications of AI, or perhaps both.

We are standing on the brink of a paradigm shift, and our education system seems to be blissfully ignorant, stagnant in its outdated methodologies.

So, as educators, mentors, and guides to our future generations, we must ask ourselves three pivotal questions:

1. What value do we offer to our students?

2. What value will they need to offer to the world?

3. How are we preparing them to offer that value?

The answers to these questions are crucial, and they will redefine the trajectory of our education system.

We need to be more than just conduits of knowledge; we need to be catalysts for value creation. We must ensure that our students not only amass knowledge but also understand how to apply it in a meaningful and valuable way.

In the AI era, the value that our young people will need to offer the world is not just knowledge or skills, but the uniquely human ability to connect, empathise, innovate, and inspire. They will need to be adept at using AI as a tool, but more importantly, they will need to excel in areas that AI cannot touch: emotional intelligence, ethics, leadership, and personal growth.

Preparing our students to offer this kind of value requires a radical overhaul of our education system.

We need to create an environment that encourages curiosity, embraces failure as a learning opportunity, and celebrates diversity. We need to teach our students how to learn, how to ask the right questions, and how to think for themselves.

As we stand at the precipice of the AI era, it is not a time for fear or resistance, but a call to action. We must rise to the occasion, acknowledge the shortcomings of our current education system, and work tirelessly to shape it anew.

Education needs to evolve from a system that's merely focused on rote learning to one that inspires curiosity, nurtures creativity, and fosters critical thinking. It needs to empower students to be architects of their learning journey, to equip them with the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn in a world where the pace of change is unprecedented.

Our curriculum should not be limited to just traditional subjects but should encompass a broad range of disciplines, encouraging interdisciplinary learning and fostering a deep understanding of complex problems from multiple perspectives.

In the AI era, students need to be comfortable at the intersection of various fields and equipped with the ability to analyse and solve complex, multifaceted problems. These are the skills that will enable them to offer value in a world where AI systems can easily handle isolated tasks but falter when faced with complex challenges.

We must inspire students to use AI ethically and responsibly, to create technologies that align with our human values and societal goals. They need to understand that AI is not just a tool to be wielded, but a powerful force that needs to be guided and directed with responsibility and ethical considerations.

We must never forget that the ultimate goal of education is not just to prepare students for the job market, but to prepare them for life. Our education system should aim to cultivate well-rounded individuals who are not only equipped with knowledge and skills, but also with empathy, integrity, and the wisdom to use their knowledge for the betterment of society.

Non-linear innovation is the key. I am privileged that I get to work with leadership teams around the world to develop strategic approaches to this kind of innovation.

I worry about 99% of education leaders who seem silent.

I write more about the virtues of a leader in the AI Era in The AI Educator: The Ultimate Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Education 

The Midjourney AI Art Guide for Teachers

Using ChatGPT doesn't make you cool, but mastering Midjourney does!

Here's The AI Educator guide to Midjourney AI Art for Teachers. I can't believe I'm giving this course away for free. It includes:

- Introduction to Midjourney

- How to set up a Midjourney account

- The /imagine command

- The DETA prompt framework

- Walkthrough example

- Subject-specific examples

- Advanced parameters

- Alternative commands

Let's jump in 👇

This is a quick preview. All the content listed above is in the video course:

My Simple Midjourney Prompt is called DETA:

It writes prompts like this:

Which produces phenomenal images like this:

If Galileo doesn't do it for you, how about Fantastic Mr. Fox with this DETA prompt:

And this result:

Or perhaps a business logo with this DETA prompt:

That generates this logo art:

Watch the full guide now:

Kindness on Tap

This quote from Mustafa Suleyman on the Possible podcast really struck me this week.

Mustafa and Reid Hoffman have recently released Pi.ai, an AI chatbot that mimics empathy and understanding on a whole new level.

If you've heard me keynote I often talk about the need for human connection and how AI won't replace it. It gives us meaning and life. But what about those who don't have human connection (or at least meaningful connection). AI could be very powerful in this regard.

A constant source of kindness, empathy and support would transform our lives. 

It could enable more and more people to share their value with the world.

What do you think?