Infinite Possibilities via Artificial Paths.
Confusing title. I know. TL;DR AI can help us expand our cognitive capacity by enabling those who might not have been able to communicate effectively to share their genius.
I shall start with the gist, then extrapolate.
There are multiple types of intelligence -
I am not trying to be that cliché person who resents those who don't score as high as I do on STEM tests. Instead, I aim to convey a truth I have recently discovered.
I am a member of Mensa, and I have encountered some individuals within Mensa who do not seem particularly intelligent, impactful, or effective.
As a student in a public college network, I have met many highly intelligent, impactful, and effective individuals in places that seemingly admit everyone.
Unfortunately, in this era, and since the advent of knowledge work as a common job and a test-score-based meritocracy with a focus on STEM, there has been a large pool of highly intelligent individuals who may not learn the same way or solve algebraic equations as well as others. These individuals are not being properly utilized.
Society is being robbed of geniuses due to obstacles that can be easily navigated with new technology or new policies.
Let me be a little more clear through an example.
I find it quite sad that someone like my brother spent a significant amount of time thinking he was perhaps not as smart or capable, believing that he would always need someone to fully support him because current standards don't align with his hardwiring.
It is only by the grace of God that my brother had the perseverance not to give up, to go to college, and to muster the boldness to advocate for himself. His efforts have allowed him to rise to a senior in college on the Dean’s List while working in one of the largest programs for students with autism.
We are losing countless Einsteins, Newtons, Temple Grandins, writers, scientists, and others because the rigidity of academic standards does not reflect the neurodiversity present in 2024.
Solution/Idea
The general zeitgeist of my generation is: If you don’t like something, conjure policy-based solutions.
I don’t think [on an individual basis] this is realistic, effective, or efficient due to current and emerging technologies. (It is also a projection of my personality. I tried complaining and advocating when I was younger, which didn’t really work, but I realized that tangible proofs of concept work pretty well.)
Here is what I, along with many others, think is a better direction:
The first principle of this is personalization.
Personalization of academic lessons through relevant analogies, along with an accurate pace of pedagogy.
Here is my addition to the commonly stated idea: Include an inclination evaluation along with the actual evaluation of performance in a given topic. Similar to the Montessori model, progressively figure out what an individual gravitates toward, which is extremely achievable through AI.
We no longer have to fully implement the Montessori model to gain its benefits (though it is more ideal, it’s not realistic) and risk students missing breadth while focusing on a depth of knowledge that may not fully pay off.
As an AI gradeth, so it can analyzeth strengths. [Forgive my terrible play on words].
If you analyze what catalyzed the advantages of many great minds, you often observe that they had opportunities to explore and then fully delve into their fields.
Einstein worked in a patent office, where he analyzed ideas all day long.
Feynman experimented in his bedroom, tried to innovate efficient ways of doing common tasks at work, and was sent to Los Alamos to work on a single subject for years.
For much of recent history, there was an opportunity to be an apprentice and try out a new field for seven years rather than being forced to follow what was believed to be the ideal Platonic education.
I could go on, but to give a better analogy, consider this:
What gives wealthy students their academic advantage?
I think it’s the fact that they can try many things and learn from the best.
What gives the children of professors their advantage?
They get to explore an advanced field in its totality from a very young age.
Hopefully, you can pick up what I’m putting down…
It is only through deep exploration that many people seemingly (1) figure out what they’re good at, (2) figure out what they want to do, and (3) find a way to get good at it.
And we wonder why there is a crisis of individuals who don’t know what they want to do, feel hopeless and lost, or don’t feel like anything is for them.
Translation from English → English ~ Thought Exercise
I’ve always wondered:
What if everyone wore headphones 24/7 that didn’t translate languages but translated meaning and personality?
I say, “Hey, can you move out of my way!”
You hear, “Hey, my friend. I’m so sorry, but I am in a bit of a rush, can I get around you?”
Now, do you get what I am trying to say?
A final thought on the state of boring, rigid curriculums:
One cannot appropriately hold the stance that playing is essential and also believe that the near antithesis of which is effective for learning.
I understand that there is not enough of human capital to fix this issue, but that issue is seemingly being solved.