Education Futures
A podcast about the future of education in the age of AI. It brings together interdisciplinary voices to explore how we can shape more desirable futures for learning.
Episodes
Alpha School: 2 hours of academics, the rest for life skills
MacKenzie Price is the co-founder of Alpha School and the AI-driven 2 Hour Learning model that powers it, a Stanford-trained psychologist who left the traditional path the day her daughter came home from second grade and said, simply, "school is boring."In 2014, working alongside the colleague she still calls "the OG, the Original Guide," Price opened the first Alpha campus in Austin, Texas, betti
What AI is doing to a generation of disengaged kids
Jenny Anderson is an award-winning journalist and author with 25 years in the field, including a decade covering finance at The New York Times — where she won a Gerald Loeb Award in 2008 for her coverage of Merrill Lynch ahead of the 2008 financial crisis. She later pioneered coverage of the "science of learning" at Quartz, and now contributes to The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Washingto
What "no tech sundays" can teach us about AI
Bethany Koby-Hirschmann is a designer, social entrepreneur, and co-founder and Chief Vision Officer of Fam Studio, a research and design practice based in Somerset, England. She holds a BA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MSc in Responsibility and Business Practice from the University of Bath, and is completing a PhD on youth co-creation and the uses of enchantment. In 2012, after fin
Education Futures Live: AI & Education Meetup (London)
This special episode is a recording of a live panel discussion from the AI & Education Meetup series, hosted by Education Futures at the London Interdisciplinary School (LIS).Svenia is joined by four guests at the intersection of AI and learning: Ash Brockwell, LIS associate professor and lead of the new Education Futures master's; Niccolò Pescetelli, LIS associate professor leading the AI &am
Why we can't teach AI Literacy yet
Justin Reich is an Associate Professor at MIT and Director of the MIT Teaching Systems Lab, author of Failure to Disrupt (Harvard University Press), host of the TeachLab podcast, and the force behind The Homework Machine — a landmark 7-part podcast series investigating what's really happening with AI in classrooms across the US.We asked him, one of the most respected education technology researche
Measuring the real impact of AI in education
What does it actually take to know if an AI tutor is helping kids learn? Bibi Groot, Chief Impact Officer at Eedi Labs, has spent her career answering exactly that question — first at the Behavioral Insights Team (aka the Nudge Unit, co-founded with Nobel laureate Richard Thaler), then in classrooms across the UK and Latin America.In this episode, Bibi walks us through how Eedi's diagnostic engine
Making AI safe for children before it's too late
Anne-Sophie is the co-founder and Executive Director of everyone.ai, a Silicon Valley nonprofit bridging artificial intelligence and developmental neuroscience. She is also the Chief Program Officer of iRAISE (International Research-driven Alliance for AI Serving Every child), the global coalition she launched at the Paris AI Action Summit alongside 11 governments, UNESCO, UNICEF, and companies in
Future of work: A Gen Z wake-up call
Kashyap "Kash" Rajesh is 20 years old, a Junior at Cornell University studying Information Science and Government with a minor in AI, and he's been working in AI policy since he was 14.He supported the founding of Encode, a non-profit originally founded by young people, focused on how AI is impacting the public and particularly the next generation, which grew to 40 states and every inhabited conti
Sorbonne's AI college for humanities students
What if AI education wasn't just for engineers and computer scientists, but for every student, regardless of their field? That's exactly the bet Camille Salinesi is making at one of the world's most iconic universities.Camille is a full professor of computer science at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, where he has been based since 1999. A specialist in requirements engineering and appl
A Philosopher's case against AI
In this episode, Svenia Busson sits down with Dr. Alex Carter, Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge, Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, and Director of Creativity Research at the Centre for AI Interaction. Alex holds a PhD in philosophy from Essex — with roots in Wittgenstein and the philosophy of language — and has become one of the UK's most provocative thinkers at the intersection of
Measuring what actually matters in Edtech
Dr. Asyia Kazmi, OBE spent 12 years teaching mathematics in some of London's toughest schools, and she loved every minute of it. She went on to advise the UK government, work at PwC, lead Global Education Policy at the Gates Foundation, and is now CEO of WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education, https://www.wise-qatar.org/), a Qatar Foundation initiative that convenes the world's leading minds
Making computer science tangible for children
Linda Liukas spent her early career surrounded by engineers in Silicon Valley, working at Codecademy and dreaming of a different kind of computer science education — one that felt tangible, joyful, and human. In 2014, she launched a Kickstarter for Hello Ruby, a children's storybook teaching the big ideas of computer science through characters and storytelling. She asked for $10,000. She got nearl
SuperSkills: The 7 human skills AI can't replace
What skills will remain irreplaceable as AI takes over more and more of the work we do? That's the question that led Rahim Hirji to write SuperSkills — a book about the human capabilities that will define who thrives in the age of AI.Rahim has spent over two decades at the intersection of technology and education. He ran Maths Doctor, one of the UK's first online tutoring businesses. He co-founded
AI, companions & EdTech: A VC's perspective
What separates an AI companion from an AI agent? And when does a "sticky" learning app actually make you smarter?In this episode, Svenia Busson sits down with Rhys Spence, Head of Research & Platform at Brighteye Ventures — one of Europe's leading EdTech and future-of-work VC funds, with over €220 million under management.Rhys shares the key insights from Brighteye's report Me, Myself and My A
From AI readiness to human flourishing
What if education wasn't about delivering content, but about preparing young people for human flourishing in the age of AI?In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson sits down with one of the earliest visionaries on AI in K-12: Babak Mostaghimi. Back in 2019, long before ChatGPT, he convinced one of the largest school districts in the US that AI would be a Netflix-style disruption for edu
MOON: A new pedagogy for the age of AI
What does education need to become when AI can replicate most of our cognitive abilities, and what human skills must we protect, develop, and teach now, before it's too late?In this episode, Svenia Busson sits down with Delphine Le Serre, engineer turned behavioral scientist, founder of EdHu 2050 and creator of the MOON Pedagogy.After starting her career in microelectronics, Delphine gave her firs
Socratic Dialogue in the age of AI
What can Socrates teach us about artificial intelligence? In this episode, Svenia Busson sits down with Alexander Montag, a scholar of ancient Greek philosophy finishing his doctorate at Tulane University, and soon to teach at St. John's University in New York as well as to conduct research at the New School for Social Research. Together they explore the concept of Socratic dialogue.We unpack what
When teachers become co-architects of AI
What if teachers stopped being passive consumers of AI, and started shaping how it's built?In this episode, Svenia Busson sits down with Stephen Jull a true EdTech veteran who started his career teaching in the remote woodlands of Northern Canada, went on to co-found GeoGebra GmbH — the free dynamic mathematics software that reached over 500 million users worldwide — and now leads EdTech and AI st
A new blueprint for AI in higher education
What does it actually look like when a higher education institution takes AI seriously, as something to integrate into the very design of how students learn, are assessed, and grow?In this episode, Svenia Busson sits down with the founder of Forward College, Boris Walbaum, who walks us through one of the most concrete and thoughtful AI-in-education frameworks we've encountered. From an in-house AI
How AI chatbots reshape children's brains
In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson sits down with Pilyoung Kim, Professor of Psychology at the University of Denver and Director of the Center for Brain, AI, and Child (BAIC). Pilyoung's research bridges developmental science and AI design to understand how generative AI is shaping the social, emotional, and neural development of children.We dive into:Why general-purpose chatbots
Protecting children in the age of AI
In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson sits down with the founder of the Safe AI for Children Alliance, Tara Steele, a former intelligence officer who spent a decade assessing long-term risks before turning her attention to one of the most urgent and least-discussed issues of our time: the impact of AI on children.From conversational AI optimized for intimacy (not just attention) to d
Is AI safe for children? Inside KORA's benchmark
What happens when millions of children start talking to LLMs every day and no one knows whether it's safe?In this episode, Laurent Jolie sits down with Stéphie Herlin, co-founder and Research & Product Lead at KORA, the first independent, non-profit, open-source benchmark measuring how safe LLMs are for children. Before KORA, Stéphie spent 8+ years as a government economist, then moved into ed
AI in education: separating the hype from the evidence
In this episode, Svenia Busson sits down with Wess Trabelsi, a Tech Integration Specialist at Ulster BOCES in New York, where he supports eight rural school districts. Wess is neither a cheerleader nor a doomsayer when it comes to AI in education, he's something rarer: an evidence-driven practitioner who actually read the research.Wess shares his deep dive into the science (or lack thereof) behind
Teaching and measuring soft skills in the age of AI
In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson is joined by Michaela Horvathova, founder of Beyond Education and former policy analyst at the OECD.For more than a decade, Michaela has worked on an important and misunderstood challenge in education: how to define, develop, and assess metacognition and soft skills.As AI makes knowledge abundant and easily accessible, these competencies are beco
Rethinking assessment in the age of AI
What does it mean to assess learning in a world where AI can generate answers instantly?In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson is joined by Alina von Davier, Chief of Assessment at Duolingo, and Elie Bechara, who works on institutional partnerships for the Duolingo English Test.Together, they bring a rare combination of assessment science, product innovation, and real-world university
From knowledge to durable skills: rethinking higher education
What should universities teach in the age of AI?In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson speaks with Art Markman, Chief Academic Officer at Minerva University and a leading expert in cognitive science, decision-making, and learning.With a career spanning academia, research, and applied learning design, Art brings a powerful perspective on how education must evolve — not just to keep up
The trust crisis in education and the role of AI
What happens when students start trusting AI more than their teachers?In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson speaks with Mary Burns, researcher at the Brookings Institution and co-author of the report “A New Direction for Students in an AI World: Prosper, Prepare, Protect.”With over 40 years of experience in education — from classroom teaching to advising ministries of education acros
AI in education: a conversation with an 11-year-old
What if we asked children how to design the future of education?In this special episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson is joined by Selena Marwaha, an 11-year-old builder, coder, and speaker who has already presented at global events such as COP28, COP29, and WISE Summit Qatar.She is joined by François Taddei, co-founder of the Learning Planet Institute, whose work focuses on collective intel
Rethinking Edtech: where is the evidence?
Are we building educational technology faster than we can prove it actually works?In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson speaks with Natalia Kucirkova, professor at the University of Stavanger and co-founder of the International Centre for EdTech Impact.Natalia has spent years researching how children learn, and how digital tools can (or cannot) support that process. Her work sits at
What schools must protect in the age of AI
What should we protect in education, as AI transforms how we learn, think, and work?In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson speaks with Nick Krichevsky, a high school teacher and Head of Digitalization at the German International School Johannesburg in South Africa.With over 15 years of teaching experience across Germany and South Africa, Nick brings a grounded, classroom-based perspec
Rethinking university in the age of AI
In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson speaks with education entrepreneur Ed Fidoe, founder of London Interdisciplinary School and co-founder of School 21 in London.Ed has spent the last decade building new kinds of educational institutions from the ground up. His work challenges one of the core assumptions of higher education: that students should specialize in a single discipline.I
Peace building and education in the age of AI
In this episode, Svenia Busson speaks with Guila Clara Kessous, a UNESCO Artist for Peace and Harvard teacher, about the intersection of art, education, and peace-building. They explore how performing arts and literature can heal trauma and how "diplomatic entrepreneurship" can help the next generation navigate a world shaped by AI and social media.Key Topics Guila’s Journey: From performing arts
How Khan Academy is designing AI for learning
In this episode of Education Futures, we speak with Kristen DiCerbo, Chief Learning Officer at Khan Academy, where she leads the teams responsible for content, product design, assessment, and learning science.With a PhD in educational psychology, Kristen brings a rare perspective to the AI conversation: learning science first, technology second.We explore how Khan Academy is building Khanmigo, its
AI, literacy, and the global learning gap
By 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa will be home to nearly 1 billion people under 18.Today, 90% of 10-year-olds in the region cannot read a simple paragraph (according to the World Bank)What happens when artificial intelligence accelerates, but foundational literacy remains out of reach for millions of children?In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson speaks with Paul Atherton, founder of Fab A
AI governance and child safety in education
AI is already in classrooms. The real question is: who is responsible for governing it?In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson sits down with Clara Hawking, founder of Kompass Education, to explore what AI governance actually means for schools and educators.As governments roll out new regulations, including the EU AI Act, schools are facing urgent questions around compliance, safety, p
How AI exposes inequities in modern schooling
In this episode of Education Futures, host Svenia Busson sits down with Ken Shelton, a 20-year teaching veteran and global thought leader in educational technology. Drawing from his experience working with schools in over 50 countries, Ken challenges the "all gas, no brakes" approach to AI, as well as the knee-jerk "ban and block" mentality seen in many governments.Key topics discussed in this epi
Insights into Estonia’s OpenAI rollout
In this episode of Education Futures, we explore the "AI Leap"—Estonia's ambitious national strategy to roll out a specialized version of OpenAI across the entire country. Our guest, Jaan, is a neuroscientist and psychologist at the University of Tartu who is leading the scientific team overseeing and evaluating this project.Unlike standard implementations, Estonia has collaborated with OpenAI to
Using AI as a motivational translator
In this episode of Education Futures, host Svenia Busson sits down with Alex Sarlin, the founder of EdTech Insiders and Global Edtech lead at the ASU GSV Summit . With over 15 years of experience at giants like Coursera and Skillshare, Alex provides a masterclass on where learning is headed in the age of generative AI.Alex challenges the dystopian view of AI as an isolating force, arguing instead
Why hope is our greatest educational asset
In this episode, we sit down with François Taddei, Chief Exploration Officer of the Learning Planet Institute, to discuss the radical shifts needed in global education. François shares his vision of "ethical dream-weaving"—the process of building futures that are a nightmare for no one—and argues that in a world of polycrisis, hope and collective wisdom are the only tools that can truly scale.Key
Translating AI research into educational reality
AI in education is evolving at a pace that often overwhelms teachers, school leaders, and policymakers. New tools appear weekly. Research lags behind practice. Hype fills the gap.So how do we make good decisions when certainty is impossible?In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia is joined by Chris Agnew, who leads the AI Hub for Education at the Stanford Accelerator for Learning.Chris brings
AI denial is the real risk
In this episode of Education Futures, we welcome Louis Rosenberg — technologist, entrepreneur, and long-time researcher in virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.Louis has spent decades building technologies designed to augment human intelligence and warning about the risks when we fail to understand what we are building.In this conversation, we focus on a phenomenon Louis
Education for the stewardship of the commons
What is education actually for, in a world where AI can increasingly do things for us?In this episode of Education Futures, recorded at the Learning Planet Institute in Paris, we sit down with Seth Frey, professor at UC Davis working at the intersection of computer science, social science, and self-governance.Seth’s work focuses on a rarely discussed question:what skills do humans need to run thin
When AI forces Universities to face reality
What if artificial intelligence isn’t the real threat to higher education?In this episode of Education Futures, we speak with Michael Burgess, a sharp and uncompromising voice on the future of higher education, to unpack a provocative idea:Universities don’t have a technology problem, they have a strategy problem.Michael argues that AI isn’t breaking universities.It’s revealing what has been broke
Imagining better futures in the age of AI
Are we really living through the worst moment in history, or are we actually in the best position ever to build a better future?In this episode of Education Futures, we welcome Beatrice Erkers, Existential Hope Program Manager at the Foresight Institute.Beatrice works at the intersection of technology, long-term thinking, and societal progress, helping people move beyond doom narratives to imagine
A student's take on learning in the age of AI
What does school look like through the eyes of a 15-year-old who actually uses AI to learn, not just to finish homework faster?In this episode of Education Futures, Laurent & Svenia sit down with Hudson, a high school student from San Diego who is already doing computer science education research, and working with a UCSD mentor on learning science–informed approaches to teaching.Hudson shares
Why teach coding in the age of vibe coding
Is learning how to code still relevant when AI can generate code for us?In this episode of Education Futures, we sit down with Dora Palfi, founder of imagi, to explore what computer science education should become in an AI-driven world — and what must not be lost along the way.Dora has a background in computer science and neuroscience and has spent years working at the intersection of education, t
🇩🇪 A youth dialogue on keeping the future human
(EPISODE IN GERMAN - FOR THE ENGLISH SUBTITLES CHECK OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://youtu.be/tiLh9Jq1ApU)In dieser preisgekrönten Folge der Podcast-Serie "A youth dialogue on keeping the future human" spricht Gastgeberin Svenia Busson mit drei Schülern aus Berlin und Hamburg: Flor (13), Luca (15) und Sofia (15). Während sich die globale Debatte oft auf zukünftige Risiken konzentriert, leben diese Sc
🇫🇷 A youth dialogue on keeping the future human
(EPISODE IN FRENCH - ENGLISH SUBTITLES AVAILABLE ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/iR5IhYTjYA4)Dans cet épisode de la série primée "A youth dialogue on keeping the future human", Svenia Busson s'entretient avec trois élèves français : Alaïs (11 ans), Sarah-Léa (15 ans) et Arthur (16 ans). Alors que beaucoup craignent une IA dangereuse ou "méchante", ces jeunes redoutent quelque chose de plus subtil : q
🇺🇸 A youth dialogue on keeping the future human
In this episode Svenia sits down with Hudson (15), Joseph (15), and Violet (17), high school students in San Diego and members of their high school’s AI Club.She decodes Anthony Aguirre’s "Keep the Future Human" essay and ask these high school students burning questions around AI. Moving far beyond surface-level tech talk, they tackle the hardest ethical questions facing Silicon Valley today.In th
🇬🇧 A youth dialogue on keeping the future human
In this special award-winning series for the Future of Life Institute's Keep the Future Human contest, host Svenia Busson sits down with teenagers from across Europe and the US.In this episode, host Svenia Busson sits down with three international students based in Paris and Barcelona: Emma (13), Jack (14), and Hector (16). Moving between metaphors of movies and video game controllers, they tackle
AI Safety: Protecting kids, schools, and society
In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia & Laurent speak with Erin Mote, Co-Founder and Executive Director of InnovateEDU, about the urgent intersection of AI safety, youth online protection, and the future of learning systems. Erin, a leading technologist and policy voice — and a mother of two — explains why safety must come first in the EDSAFE AI Alliance framework and why protecting chi
Raising an AI-literate generation
In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia sits down with Corey Layne Crouch, educator and Chief Program Officer of AI for Education, to explore what it really means to build AI literacy across school communities. Corey shares her journey from high-school English teacher to school leader, EdTech designer, and ultimately advocate for responsible, human-centered AI adoption.She unpacks her C-Frame
How to think critically in the age of AI
Tech philosopher and author Tom Chatfield joins Education Futures for a deep exploration of what it really means to learn, think, and stay human in an age of powerful AI systems.We talk about the central paradox of our era: the skills required to use AI wisely are the very ones AI risks eroding. Tom explains why LLMs should prompt us rather than replace our thinking, and how critical thinking, dia
What is school for in the age of AI?
In this episode, Svenia Busson and Laurent Jolie speak with Chris Bush, an Australian teacher, school leader, and Churchill Fellow exploring how artificial intelligence can make education more equitable and human.Chris shares how he built Mitch, an empathetic AI tutor that answered 1,500 student questions in one night—proving that well-designed AI can extend teachers’ reach while caring for studen
A father and AI engineer on parenting in the age of AI
In this episode of Education Futures, host Svenia Busson sits down with Samuel Path, a senior engineer in AI and a father of four, to explore the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence and its impact on parenting. Samuel shares his journey from a curious child hacking video games to becoming a passionate AI enthusiast. They discuss the transformative power of AI in the workplace, the import
Empowering teachers in the age of AI
In this episode of Education Futures, Svenia Busson and Laurent Jolie engage with Diana Knodel and Ksenia Sokolyanskaya from Fobizz to explore the future of education in the age of AI. They discuss Fobizz's initiatives in AI literacy, the importance of lifelong learning, and the ethical considerations of AI in education. The conversation highlights the need for AI literacy, the role of technology
What is AI doing to our kids' brains?
In this episode, neuroscientist Grégoire Borst discusses the intersection of neuroscience and education, particularly in the context of AI's impact on young minds. He emphasizes the importance of critical thinking, the role of memorization, and the necessity of teaching students how to learn effectively. Grégoire also explores the future of education, the role of teachers, and the need for lifelon
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