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Nonsense There will however be a gigantic gulf between kids who use AI to learn vs those who use AI to aid learning Objective review of Alpha school in Austin

Nonsense There will however be a gigantic gulf between kids who use AI to learn vs those who use AI to aid learning Objective review of Alpha school in Austin: https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-review-alpha-school https://www.astralcodexten.com/p/your-review-alpha-school

UtopiaPunk 9mo ago
What is the distinction between using "AI to learn" and using "AI to aid learning?"
- j45 9mo ago
  Imagine a tutor that stays with you as long as you need for every concept of math, instead of the class moving on without you and that compounding over years. Rather than 1 teacher for 30 students, 1 teacher can scale to 30 students to better address Bloom's 2 sigma problem, which discovered students in a 1:2 ratio with a tutor full time ended up in the 98% of students reliably. LLMs are capable of delivering this outright, or providing serious inroads to it for those capable and willing to do the work beyond going through the motions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom's_2_sigma_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom's_2_sigma_problem (1984)
  - quietbritishjim 9mo ago
    I don't think this answers the question in the comment you're replying to.
  - hkpack 9mo ago
    > Imagine a tutor that stays with you as long as you need for every concept of math, instead of the class moving on without you and that compounding over years. I remember when I was at the uni, the topics I learned the best were the ones I put effort to study by myself at home. Having a tutor with me all the time will actually make me do the bare minimum as there always were other things to do and I would love to skip the hard parts and move forward.
    - j45 9mo ago
      The tutor is available for you all the time to learn. If you read the article the other post shared, I think you might be surprised to find it's exactly what you are describing.
fn-mote 9mo ago
Calling the Alpha school "AI" or even "AI to aid learning" is a massive stretch. I've read that article and nothing in there says AI to me. Data collection and on-demand computer-based instruction, sure. I don't disagree with your premise, but I don't think that article backs it up at all.
blibble 9mo ago
> There will however be a gigantic gulf between kids who use AI to learn vs those who use AI to aid learning yeah, but not the way you are thinking you think the rich are going to abolish a traditional education for their kids and dump them in front of a prompt text box for 8 years that'll just be for the poor and (formerly) middle-class kids
- throwyawayyyy 9mo ago
  In the rosiest view, the rich give their children private tutors (and always have), and now the poor can give their children private tutors too, in the form of AIs. More realistically, what the poor get is something which looks superficially like a private tutor, yet instead of accelerating and deepening learning, it is one that allows the child to skip understanding entirely. Which, from a cynical point of view, suits the rich just fine...
- paulsutter 9mo ago
  I think what?
mholm 9mo ago
This is absolutely not an objective review. The person who wrote this is a very particular type of person who Alpha School appeals strongly towards. I'm not saying anything in particular is wrong with the review, but calling it unbiased is incorrect.

UtopiaPunk 9mo ago

What is the distinction between using "AI to learn" and using "AI to aid learning?"

j45 9mo ago
Imagine a tutor that stays with you as long as you need for every concept of math, instead of the class moving on without you and that compounding over years. Rather than 1 teacher for 30 students, 1 teacher can scale to 30 students to better address Bloom's 2 sigma problem, which discovered students in a 1:2 ratio with a tutor full time ended up in the 98% of students reliably. LLMs are capable of delivering this outright, or providing serious inroads to it for those capable and willing to do the work beyond going through the motions. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom's_2_sigma_problem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom's_2_sigma_problem (1984)
- quietbritishjim 9mo ago
  I don't think this answers the question in the comment you're replying to.
- hkpack 9mo ago
  > Imagine a tutor that stays with you as long as you need for every concept of math, instead of the class moving on without you and that compounding over years. I remember when I was at the uni, the topics I learned the best were the ones I put effort to study by myself at home. Having a tutor with me all the time will actually make me do the bare minimum as there always were other things to do and I would love to skip the hard parts and move forward.
  - j45 9mo ago
    The tutor is available for you all the time to learn. If you read the article the other post shared, I think you might be surprised to find it's exactly what you are describing.

fn-mote 9mo ago

Calling the Alpha school "AI" or even "AI to aid learning" is a massive stretch. I've read that article and nothing in there says AI to me. Data collection and on-demand computer-based instruction, sure. I don't disagree with your premise, but I don't think that article backs it up at all.

blibble 9mo ago

> There will however be a gigantic gulf between kids who use AI to learn vs those who use AI to aid learning yeah, but not the way you are thinking you think the rich are going to abolish a traditional education for their kids and dump them in front of a prompt text box for 8 years that'll just be for the poor and (formerly) middle-class kids

throwyawayyyy 9mo ago
In the rosiest view, the rich give their children private tutors (and always have), and now the poor can give their children private tutors too, in the form of AIs. More realistically, what the poor get is something which looks superficially like a private tutor, yet instead of accelerating and deepening learning, it is one that allows the child to skip understanding entirely. Which, from a cynical point of view, suits the rich just fine...
paulsutter 9mo ago
I think what?

mholm 9mo ago

This is absolutely not an objective review. The person who wrote this is a very particular type of person who Alpha School appeals strongly towards. I'm not saying anything in particular is wrong with the review, but calling it unbiased is incorrect.