In this conversation, Jake Hoffman, a senior principal researcher at Microsoft, discusses the intersection of AI, cognition, and education. He explores how machine learning has evolved, the importance of augmenting human cognition with AI tools, and the impact of these technologies on student learning and productivity. Key findings from research on AI’s role in education highlight the effectiveness of tutoring support and the significance of learning strategies that promote long-term retention. The conversation also delves into the productivity effects of generative AI and how these tools can enhance critical thinking and decision-making in educational settings.

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Jake Hofman is a Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research in New York City(opens in new tab), where his work in computational social science involves applications of statistics and machine learning to large-scale social data. Prior to joining Microsoft, he was a member of the Microeconomics and Social Systems group at Yahoo! Research. Jake is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Applied Mathematics at Columbia University, where he has designed and taught classes on a number of topics ranging from biological physics to applied machine learning. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Boston University and a PhD in Physics from Columbia University.