Final Thoughts on the ASU-GSV Air Show

Final reflections on ASU+GSV AIR Show and ASU+GSV Summit in four areas.

𝗠𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗕𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗻𝘀
At the AIR Show there was a lot of "magic buttons". Products that had a really nice UX wrapper (thin veneer of innovation) sitting on top of some version of a widely available LLM (GPT4, Claude, etc.). Click on this magic button and it will solve all your problems in (insert) - student engagement, personalization, lesson planning, coaching, scheduling...the list goes on.
It's still early and we're in a generative stage. Few moats in the products, most business models are subscription, a mix of B2C and B2B. I'm already looking forward to this time next year to see how the intervening 12 months push possibilities forward.

𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆
The release of new innovations can often focus on study, compliance, and structured adoption plans. Instead, I saw a consistent and widespread theme of "play" - get started by playing around with the tools and see what's good, helpful, interesting, useful, etc.
While I think this is mostly a result of it still being early and no one truly knows where it is going, I hope this theme sticks. It is turning teachers and students into builders and there is a greater sense of "if I don't see it, I can build it". There still is lots to be done - creating training standards, research on IMPACT, data privacy, and many other things.
Big picture, it's refreshing that right now for AI in education, the way we know humans learn best - through play and experimentation - is actively being encouraged across the board.
Shoutout to Ann Kozma at Microsoft - "Push all the buttons"

𝗔𝗜 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸
In my effort to understand what's out there, I've been building and refining a framework for the different use cases (what's possible) for AI and education. I refined it more this week based on products I saw, research shared, and conversations with others. On the plane ride home I made a quick sketch of the five broad areas of for impact - experiential learning, adaptive/personalized learning, administrative/efficiency gains, inclusion, and access to new data.
More detail tomorrow on the framework where I would love your thoughts and feedback.

𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲
I do love hybrid work. Getting people together in an intense format for several days builds an energy and magic of ideas and possibility. Huge thanks to all those I connected with in the last (almost week) for your ideas, creativity, and curiosity. Let's keep it going!