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Writer's pictureBryan Setser

Why do People-First Practices Matter in the Age of AI?


Let’s start our educational optimization in two areas for people development: personalized learning and knowledge management. AI has the ability to tailor learning experiences for each student. We already know from applications on our phones every day that we expect our bodies, minds, and travels to be automated. Recent inventions like Whoop, a longevity technology, gained attention during the COVID-19 pandemic with its focus and attention on personalized healthcare, from boosting immunity to tracking sleep, diet and temperature. Apps that feed their data into larger platforms and communities have the potential to reveal aging and wellness trends that could accelerate geroscience research.



When you pair these technologies with David Sinclair’s Book, Life Span, we know that people are going to live much longer than ever before. Imagine connecting such experience to tutoring online or mentorship programs. No longer do these services need to happen at the school house or at a senior center, rather we can partner with companies like Better Up to bring workforce coaching and support to high school seniors or college students on demand. We can even track those interactions and have recommendation engines powered by AI connect students with what they need when they need it.


As for travel, everything is about to change when it comes to translation technologies and AI. In recent years, machine translation has had huge breakthroughs thanks to the use of artificial intelligence through the application of neural networks. Statistics and probability in translation are therefore a thing of the past. At present, an AI translator runs a neural and artificial computer process based on how neurons in the human brain are interconnected to obtain reasoning and analysis that resembles that of a person. And yet people must always provide the emotion or cultural context of any language.


For example, at companies like Pangeanic, they use advanced AI technology in combination with the supervision and reviewing of experts and certified translators. By doing so, they guarantee the accuracy and quality of our translations. Much in the same way ChatGPT requires better questions, people have a way of tuning and training the AI in ways that can be beneficial both for the technology and for the user.


In terms of instant feedback in higher education and AI, we are very compelled by Jisc’s 2020 Learning and Teaching Reimagined report, where higher education experts called for technology to bring about new levels of how people experience authentic assessment, accessibility and inclusion, and automation. Jisc defined these area as:

  • Authentic assessment prepares students for work, meeting employer needs and testing knowledge and skills in a realistic, contextualized, and motivating way.

  • Accessible assessment means inclusive design that can be used by all students, including those with additional needs, both long-term and short-term. This is particularly relevant right now.

  • Automation of assessment centers around easing marking and feedback workload, with potential for using technology such as natural language processing and AI to provide alternative formats of assessment.

Several k-12 education organizations have also started to answer the call. A few examples that include putting people first in the process include this list from Getting Smart:

  • AIClub offers a variety of courses for students as well as a lot of free resources for educators to choose from to get started. There are also PD sessions for teachers to sign up to learn more.

  • AI4K12 is a great resource to spark curiosity for learning about AI and has resources and is developing guidelines for AI curriculum for use in grades K through 12.

  • DayofAI org launched the first-ever Day of AI on May 13th. It was a day for classrooms around the world to participate in learning about AI through a variety of resources provided for teachers from MIT. Teachers can receive lesson plans and videos for all grade levels.

  • Google AI Experiments Google offers a lot of wonderful experiments based on AI and machine learning that students can interact with. Students also can create their own experiments and submit them to Google for possible inclusion on the site.

  • Human vs AI Test A fun activity to try with students that have you decide whether art, music, writing, or photos were created by a human or AI.

  • Wombo Dream With this site, you can create art that is generated through artificial intelligence by choosing a prompt and art style, and a work of art is created, which can also be purchased. With Wombo AI, an AI-powered Lip Sync, you take a selfie, it scans your face and merges your face with that of the singer. Even if students are wearing a mask, it still layers your face onto the singer with facial expressions and movements.

  • There are also virtual summer camps available for students that vary depending on length and cost of the program. Code Connects has summer camps available on topics like Emerging Tech and AI and Big Data. AICamp has a three-week summer camp available for students ages 13-18 which is focused on AI and a one-week camp on data science. AIClub also offers summer camps for students in grades 4 through 12.

In addition, workforce tools are on the rise to automate hiring and conduct pre-assessments that allow for screeners to spend more time with the people part of the connection once in a real or virtual interview room. Vervoe is one such example.

Vervoe’s mission is to help recruiting teams see if a candidate can do the job before they get the job. To do this, Vervoe’s artificial intelligence uses three different models to measure and predict a candidate’s performance:

  1. The “How” model: the AI tracks and analyzes the way a candidate interacts with the assessment, recording metrics such as how long it takes for someone to answer a question or if they go back to make revisions.

  2. The “What” model: the AI analyzes the candidates’ responses and benchmarks them against millions of others. Natural language processing helps the AI analyze those answers, which are compared to existing blind data sets.

  3. The “Preference” model: the AI is trained to understand what a great answer looks like to your business and according to your preferences. It uses the Naive Beyes method to predict probability.

Vervoe is nearly industry-agnostic: it can be used at companies of all sizes for graduate hiring, high-volume hiring, technical hiring, remote hiring, and diversity hiring. And, Vervoe offers assessment questions tailored to specific roles in marketing and advertising, customer service, healthcare, retail, and more.


As leaders in education and workforce development, we must confront the challenges and opportunities AI presents:

  • Are we ready to adapt our curricula and teaching methods to the AI-driven future?

  • How can we prepare students and workers for jobs that may not yet exist?

  • Can we leverage AI to create a more equitable and accessible educational system?

  • How do we ensure that the workforce remains adaptable and prioritized in the face of rapid technological advancements?

The world is changing at a breathtaking pace, fueled by the power of AI + People. As school and workforce leaders, we have the responsibility and the privilege to shape this brave new world.


The future awaits – let’s start now!

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