Summary – Collaboration with Claude AI
In this blog post, I am sharing my thoughts on Khan Academy’s innovative approach to education through AI.
In my post, I explore Sal Khan’s mission of “providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere” and how artificial intelligence is accelerating this bold vision. I highlight Khan’s optimistic perspective on AI from his 2023 TED Talk, where he argues that we must “fight like hell” for positive AI applications rather than surrendering to fear.
I share how this aligns with my twin’s and my perspective on Generative AI – we must acknowledge risks while embracing potential. The work Khan Academy is doing is genuinely making a difference in education, and curiosity and progress are essential despite the challenges of change.
I discuss my recent discovery of Khanmigo, Khan Academy’s AI initiative to transform education delivery and reduce teacher workload. This platform is being tested in school districts, creating impressive possibilities for improving education for children globally.
I provide resources for readers to learn more, including links to Khan Academy’s website and YouTube channel. The latter now boasts 8.74 million subscribers and 8,600 learning videos. Fifteen million worldwide use Khan Academy monthly for math and economics subjects.
I conclude by framing Khan’s work as both technological innovation and philosophical approach – one that demonstrates how AI can enhance human potential rather than diminish it. The question isn’t whether AI will transform education, but how we direct that transformation.
Full Original Writing
Many are familiar with Sal Kahn’s work and his mission of “providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.” The mission is bold and audacious, yet progress has been made over years. Now, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is accelerating the pace of progress!
Sal is a proponent of optimism and leveraging possibilities to solve some challenges in the education system. In this post, I will share links and videos that take a deeper look at Kahn Academy’s evolving work. Don and I encourage siding with the optimists regarding the potential transformative future of AI.
This excerpt from the transcript of Sal’s April 2023 TED Talk, How AI Could Save (Not Destroy) Education, provides a compelling perspective on moving forward in the future of AI:
In the video linked below, I encourage you to watch from 13:33 to 15:29 where Sal addresses risks of bad actors and his thoughts on the importance of optimists “fighting like hell” for the good of AI [Bold emphasis are mine].
13:33 | Now, just to take a step back at a meta level, obviously we heard a lot today, the debates on either side.
13:39 | There’s folks who take a more pessimistic view of AI, they say this is scary, there’s all these dystopian scenarios, we maybe want to slow down, we want to pause. On the other side, there are the more optimistic folks that say, well, we’ve gone through inflection points before, we’ve gone through the Industrial Revolution.
13:57 | It was scary, but it all kind of worked out. And what I’d argue right now is I don’t think this is like a flip of a coin or this is something where we’ll just have to, like, wait and see which way it turns out. I think everyone here and beyond, we are active participants in this decision. I’m pretty convinced that the first line of reasoning is actually almost a self-fulfilling prophecy, that if we act with fear and if we say, “Hey, we’ve just got to stop doing this stuff,” what’s really going to happen is the rule followers might pause, might slow down, but the rule breakers, as Alexandr [Wang] mentioned, the totalitarian governments, the criminal organizations, they’re only going to accelerate. And that leads to what I am pretty convinced is the dystopian state, which is the good actors have worse AIs than the bad actors. But I’ll also, you know, talk to the optimists a little bit.
14:49 | I don’t think that means that, oh, yeah, then we should just relax and just hope for the best. That might not happen either. I think all of us together have to fight like hell to make sure that we put the guardrails, we put in — when the problems arise — reasonable regulations. But we fight like hell for the positive use cases.
15:10 | Because very close to my heart, and obviously there’s many potential positive use cases, but perhaps the most powerful use case and perhaps the most poetic use case is if AI, artificial intelligence, can be used to enhance HI, human intelligence, human potential and human purpose. Thank you.
Kahn’s perspective aligns with the message that my twin and I share about Generative AI. We must pay attention and be aware of the risks that “bad actors” can bring forth using AI, yet throwing up our hands, dismissing potential outright, and choosing not to do anything is reckless.
The work that Kahn Academy is doing in pursuit of its mission of “providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere,” is making a difference in the education world. We must stay curious and encourage progress on this mission. Change is difficult, but it is the only constant that is for sure.
Thanks to Terri Tomoff alerting me, I recently watched a 13-minute feature on Kahn Academy’s AI initiative to advance the education process. Sal Kahn and his team’s vision is impressive, and the possibilities for leveraging AI to improve education for all children AND the teacher workload are shifting to more value-added and meaningful work.
The initiative is an AI platform called Kahnmigo. With the help of the Custom ChatGPT (GPTs) Video Summarizer, I gained an impressive overview of the 60 minutes recent 13-minute episode, Meet Khanmigo: The Student Tutor being tested in school districts.
The YouTube video is linked below:
The link to the Video Summarizer analysis is an impressive recap that enables a deeper dive interaction. For example, I asked the video summarizer to provide a conclusion diagram to help increase my awareness of the topics covered in the episode.
I am inspired to see Kahn Academy striving to leverage AI to change the future of education and improve the lives of learning for children [hopefully] around the world!
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For more information about the beginnings of Kahn Academy, please check out this 60-minutes 2012 highlighting Kahn Academy:
Teacher to the World – March 11, 2012 (60 Minutes):
Video Conclusion Diagram generated by ChatGPT:
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Kahn Academy website: www.khanacademy.org
Kahn Academy on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy
As of January 8, 2025, the presence includes 8.74 million subscribers and 8,600 learning videos.
About
Khan Academy is a nonprofit providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Our interactive practice problems, articles, and videos help students succeed in math, biology, chemistry, physics, history, economics, finance, grammar, and many other topics.
Khan Academy provides teachers with data on how their students are doing so they can identify gaps in learning and provide tailored instruction. We also offer free personalized SAT and LSAT practice in partnership with the College Board and the Law School Admission Council.
Our resources have been translated into dozens of languages, and 15 million people around the globe learn on Khan Academy each month.
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(Conclusion in collaboration with Claude AI)
Sal Khan’s work with AI through Khanmigo represents technological innovation and a philosophical approach that balances awareness of risks with determined optimism. As we navigate this transformative period in education, Khan Academy continues to exemplify how thoughtful AI implementation can enhance human potential rather than diminish it. The progress made since their beginning in 2012 – now reaching millions worldwide with their learning resources – demonstrates the power of persistence in pursuing their mission. By embracing AI as a tool for educational equity rather than fearing its challenges, Khan Academy invites us all to become active participants in shaping a future where technology amplifies human intelligence, expands access to quality education, and ultimately fulfills the promise of providing “a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.” The question isn’t whether AI will transform education, but how we choose to direct that transformation – and Khan Academy is showing us one inspiring path forward.
