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I'm glad you're here. 

I love that you want to know more about AI in education.

If this is your first TAIE newsletter then check out the back catalogue for free at newsletter.theaieducator.io

I want to share the thoughts of Nicolas Cole. 

Cole is a renowned writer, entrepreneur and course creator. His best-selling books, entrepreneurial expertise, and dedication to continuous improvement have made him an influential figure in the world of storytelling.

He's one of the most influential educators in the world, so I spoke to him about his views on AI and education.

BTW I am not interested in anyone who says that teachers cannot be developed by people who aren't teachers. Cole isn't a teacher in the education system, but his educational expertise brings value to thousands of people on a daily basis. 

Check out our conversation below.

This week I head out to Dubai. I'm excited to be working with the following schools to integrate AI and lead staff development

• Dubai International Academy Emirates Hills
• Jebel Ali School
• Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
• Kings, Dubai
• Dubai International Academy Emirates Hills
• GEMS Wellington International

Getting paid to think.

DF: How can teachers benefit from AI?

NC: Embrace it fully. Schools are already trying to ban ChatGPT and other AI platforms. This is a giant mistake. It's the equivalent of trying to ban Google in 2000, or even more extreme, for hunter-gatherers to "ban" farming techniques. Instead, the teachers who will not only have the most exciting classrooms but actually have the most abundance & financial upside will be the ones who teach students how to LEVERAGE AI themselves.

DF: What's your advice for educational leaders?

NC: Stop preparing students for a world that doesn't exist anymore!

DF: In the long term, how will AI impact how we work and live?

NC: I believe forcing a career choice between people who want to "compete for the DOING" vs "create via thinking." AI's entire reason to be is to automate laborious tasks. Which means, in people's careers, they are going to have to make the choice: do I stay in "doing" roles where I am not only competing against other humans but also now competing against technologies (which is a bad bet to make)? Or do I elevate into "thinking" roles where I am not getting paid to DO, but I'm getting paid to THINK (where you are no longer competing against other humans or technology, but instead you are achieving your highest role as a human being: to create with your mind).

DF: What worries you the most about AI in your life?

NC: I worry that I won't be able to help enough people, fast enough, realize the seismic shift that is happening. And as a result, we are going to watch a lot of people lose leverage in their careers (which will affect their lives, their happiness, their earning potential, the stability of their families, etc.), not because they aren't capable, but because embracing technology in this way (and being comfortable letting go of the "doing" and elevating into "thinking" roles) is so counter to what society has been taught for decades. The entire purpose of organized education is to master "doing," and now technology can "do" exponentially more, faster, and better than we can. This is going to be hard for many people to wrap their heads around.

DF: What are some of the skills teachers will need to integrate AI?

NC: Teachers need to master the art of prompt writing. A teacher's job in the AI economy is to teach students how to effectively train their own AI models (the same way a manager would train a lower-level employee on how to train an intern on a set of tasks).

👆 Want to master the art of prompt writing? Look no further 👇

DF: How do you see AI changing education?

NC: What people get wrong about AI is that you can't just ask it to perform broad tasks. You also can't ask it to make assumptions. AI is best leveraged when you give it instructions. And the clearer instructions you give it, the more effective the technology is at "doing" whatever it is you're asking it to do. How this is going to change education is that, in an ideal future, human beings do not actually learn information. They don't learn to "do." Instead, humans (from a young age) are taught to "think," problem solve, create step-by-step frameworks, and be able to articulate the doing to technology. In this sense, nearly all memorization becomes pointless. Consuming education to regurgitate information is becoming less valuable by the hour. And what is becoming more valuable by the hour is being able to learn, synthesize, make abstract connections, CREATE something new, and then be able to articulate the pieces (what you need) to create that new thing to technology—and let the technology do the "doing."

DF: How will AI benefit education?

NC: It will force people to make this choice: are you learning to "do," or are you learning to synthesize & create?

DF: How can AI and pedagogy work together?

NC: Pedagogy is the manual "thinking" version, and AI is the automated "doing" version. Starting immediately, every teacher should think of every single thing they teach in this sandwich: first, teach the manual "thinking" version. Teach the fundamentals. Teach the pieces of the puzzle. And then second, teach how to leverage technology to "do the doing" with those pieces. Because information without technology has minimal (or no) leverage, and AI without net-new thinking is just a supercomputer with no purpose. You need both to work together.DF

DF: What will happen if schools, colleges, and universities ban new AI tools like ChatGPT?

NC: A faster decline of the legacy education system. The legacy analog education system is already declining at a rapid rate, and more and more people and realizing (using the Internet & digital tools) that they can skip college debt and go straight into earning a living in the digital world or starting an internet business. If schools ban these new tools, all they are going to do is accelerate their own demise. Because they will be doubling down on educating people on a world that doesn't exist anymore—a world where "memorized" knowledge holds value (which is no longer true).

Nicholas Cole on the Ali Abdaal podcast. Ali is a YouTuber and the most followed productivity expert in the world.

DF: What skills will students need to survive in the new AI world?

NC: Abstract thinking & prompt writing. AI is only as powerful as the instructions you give it. This means you need to a) first have proficient knowledge around what you need, b) clarified thinking so you understand specifically what you're asking for, c) have the ability to draw abstract connections between ideas and then verbalize what you want the outcome of the synthesis between abstract ideas to be, and d) to be able to effectively write clear & concise prompts that "train" AI to "do the doing" for you.

DF: What's your view on AI tools like ChatGPT facilitating cheating?

NC: If ChatGPT is cheating then so is Google. And if Google is cheating then so are giant libraries that house millions of words of text. And if libraries are cheating then so is learning. And if learning is cheating then... etc. Every new technology has prompted this same argument: "The sky is falling!" But it never turns out to be true. It simply lowers the barrier to entry, and in the end, creates more opportunity & abundance than before it existed.

Nicolas recently wrote this about my book:

If you liked what Nicolas had to say then you'll love: 

The AI Educator: The Ultimate Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Education