The Good Stuff, with Pete and Andy - Episode 6: You Can Just Learn Things

Hosts: Pete and Andy (recording at City Beach, Perth in their van)

Episode Overview: Pete and Andy explore how AI is transforming education and learning, discussing the future education, the power of self-directed learning, what kids should be learning and how AI can positively impact high-quality personalized education.

AI and the Future of Learning (02:50-05:43)

• Discussion about what kids should study in a rapidly changing job market

• Pete's children are developing entrepreneurial skills with AI support

• The "Teddy Fashion Boutique" business Pete's daughter has created

• Exploring game development with AI for Pete's son's tabletop gaming interests

Rethinking Traditional Education (05:43-10:30)

• Critique of the industrial-era "assembly line" approach to education

• The importance of play-based and child-led learning approaches

• How AI can enable a shift from classroom instruction to personalized mentoring

• Questioning the value of traditional education when information costs approach zero

• Personal Learning Journeys with AI (10:30-16:17)

• • Coding with AI assistance
  • How AI provides the patience and personalization needed to build learning momentum
• • The importance of having projects you're motivated to build rather than abstract learning

  
  

  The Intelligent Assembly Line of Education (16:17-20:30)

  • School structure mimics industrial assembly lines
  • AI allows for removing the time constraints on education
  • Learning can become more ad-hoc and follow natural curiosity
  • Education doesn't need to be confined to specific years in a person's life

  Learning Through Knowledge Graphs (47:56-52:13)

  • Using AI to break down courses into concepts, topics and abstractions
  • Creating a "map" of both what exists to be learned and what a person knows
  • Navigating a personalized learning path from current knowledge to desired knowledge
  • AI can identify the optimal path through connected concepts for each individual

  Purpose and Agency in Learning (34:40-37:40)

  • Will AI force people to rediscover purpose beyond jobs?
  • The relationship between agency and purpose?
  • AI as a catalyst for pursuing learning aligned with personal interests

  
  

  Democratizing High-Quality Education (52:13-56:33)

  • How AI can provide the benefits of one-to-one tutoring at scale
  • Using AI to create personalized explanations at appropriate complexity levels
  • The value of learning in context rather than in the abstract
  • Creating immersive, engaging learning experiences tailored to individual interests

  Credentialism vs. Learning (01:01:56-01:15:03)

  • Questioning the value of credentials in a world of commoditized expertise
  • The shift from credential-based systems to meritocracy
  • The permissionless nature of learning with AI vs. permission-based traditional education

  "You Can Just Learn Things" (01:11:12-01:15:06)

  • The democratizing power of AI in allowing anyone to learn anything
  • No need to wait feor permission or formal instruction to pursue knowledge
  • How to use AI tools effectively for learning (even without sophisticated tooling)
  • The inevitable bifurcation between those who embrace self-directed AI learning and those who don't

  Memorable Quotes:

  • "You can just learn things." (01:11:24)
  • "The beauty of play is it doesn't feel like work." (30:44)
  • "We spent most of our adult lives trying to track back to that childlike creativity." (31:04)
  • "I think education is going to change quite drastically." (01:01:30)
  • "It doesn't matter what we say to differentiate ourselves in a market. It's more about what we build and how we prove out the values we want to operate by." (09:27)