WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.037 we have a 10-year-old and so you know we and we actually homeschool and so we we 00:00:03.120 --> 00:00:06.477 we think a lot about this. Um, so I 00:00:06.560 --> 00:00:10.637 think the way to think about the impact of AI on on people on specifically 00:00:10.720 --> 00:00:13.837 people as individuals. I think it's it's it's actually, you know, a lot of people 00:00:13.920 --> 00:00:16.797 just focus on kind of this, you know, this kind of very I would say 00:00:16.880 --> 00:00:20.317 straightforward and or overly simplistic view of just literally job gains, you 00:00:20.400 --> 00:00:23.437 know, job losses, which we could talk about, but there's two specific things 00:00:23.520 --> 00:00:26.637 at the level of like an individual person, an individual kid. So I think 00:00:26.720 --> 00:00:31.037 it's pretty clear that AI is going to take people who are good at doing things 00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:34.077 and it's going to make them very good at doing things, right? And so it's going 00:00:34.160 --> 00:00:37.117 to be a tool that's going to sort of raise the average kind of across the 00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:40.077 board. And you know, look, you see that playing out already. You know, anybody 00:00:40.160 --> 00:00:42.637 who's in a position where they need to, you know, write something or design 00:00:42.720 --> 00:00:45.117 something or write code or whatever, if they're if they're pretty good at it 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:47.757 today, they use they use AI and all of a sudden they're very good at it. And so 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:49.597 there there's sort of that aspect to it. 00:00:49.680 --> 00:00:52.877 And I think that the the way the education system at large is going to is 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:56.717 going to kind of teach AI is is going to be based, you know, hopefully a lot on 00:00:56.800 --> 00:01:00.157 that. But then there's this other thing that's happening which we're also 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:04.397 starting to see and we're really seeing it particularly in coding right now. Um 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:06.237 where the really great people are 00:01:06.320 --> 00:01:08.877 becoming like spectacularly great, 00:01:08.960 --> 00:01:12.317 right? Um and so you just you kind of 00:01:12.400 --> 00:01:16.397 use it use the term you think about like the supermpowered individual, right? So 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:19.037 the individual who is like really good 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:23.837 um at coding or really good at making movies or really good at making songs or 00:01:23.920 --> 00:01:27.277 really good at designing you know making art or whatever whatever those things 00:01:27.360 --> 00:01:31.277 are or or you know or podcasting or you know hopefully venture capital you know 00:01:31.360 --> 00:01:34.797 if if you're very good at it and you can really harness AI you can become 00:01:34.880 --> 00:01:39.837 spectacularly great uh and like super productive right and you know I'm sure 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:43.437 you have a lot of friends in this in this category as well but like you know 00:01:43.520 --> 00:01:45.677 the the really really good coders are experiencing this right now my friends 00:01:45.760 --> 00:01:48.717 who are really good coders are like, "Oh my god, all of a sudden I'm not twice as 00:01:48.800 --> 00:01:53.117 good as I used to be. I'm like 10 times as good as I used to be." And so I think 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:57.677 at the at the unit of like n equals one of like an individual kid, I think the 00:01:57.760 --> 00:02:00.397 question is kind of how do you get them in a position where they're kind of this 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:03.997 kind of supermpowered individual such that they're going to be really kind of 00:02:04.080 --> 00:02:06.557 deep in whatever it is they're going to do, but they're going to they're going 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:09.517 to be deep in a way that's going to let them fully use the power of AI to be not 00:02:09.600 --> 00:02:13.437 just great, but to be like spectacularly great. Um, and and I think that that 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:16.237 that's that's going to be the real, you know, that that that that that's the 00:02:16.320 --> 00:02:18.237 real opportunity and that, you know, at least that's what we're shooting for and 00:02:18.320 --> 00:02:19.677 that's what I would encourage parents to shoot for. 00:02:19.760 --> 00:02:22.317 >> So, what I heard there is essentially agency, this word that we see on Twitter 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:26.157 all the time is building uh agency, them not waiting for someone to tell them 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:27.837 what to do, figuring out what to do. 00:02:27.920 --> 00:02:30.797 >> Yeah. Yeah. So, this this this this thing with this this term agency that's 00:02:30.880 --> 00:02:35.037 become very very um you know, very popular um certainly California for the 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:37.677 last couple years. It's really interesting because it's it's I had a 00:02:37.760 --> 00:02:39.837 lot of trouble with this early on because I'm like agency, what are they 00:02:39.920 --> 00:02:41.837 talking about? And what what they're kind of talking about is like, you know, 00:02:41.920 --> 00:02:44.637 initi, you know, initiative, you know, 00:02:44.720 --> 00:02:46.237 um you know, willingness to, you know, 00:02:46.320 --> 00:02:49.197 you could just do things. Um you know, 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:53.677 uh what is it? Uh the the demo has the great term live player. Um you know, you 00:02:53.760 --> 00:02:57.357 you you can be like a primary participant in events. And at first I 00:02:57.440 --> 00:03:01.677 was like, well, yeah, like that's kind of obvious, right? like of course and 00:03:01.760 --> 00:03:05.677 and and then I'm like oh actually it's not so obvious anymore because kind of 00:03:05.760 --> 00:03:08.877 your your point I think so much of our society is based on like there are all 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:12.717 these rules and everybody gets taught kind of by default you're supposed to 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:16.397 follow all these rules right and then everybody if you like break the rules 00:03:16.480 --> 00:03:19.037 like everybody gets freaked out it's like oh my god he broke the rules and so 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:22.797 like we we we have somehow worked our our way our way kind of you know I don't 00:03:22.880 --> 00:03:26.317 know psychologically sociologically you know kind of into a state in which I 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.437 guess the natural assumption for a lot of people is you know the thing that you 00:03:29.520 --> 00:03:32.317 for example the thing you want train kids to do is like follow all the rules. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:35.037 Um, and you know, you could argue that kind of you know, for example, the you 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:37.517 know, the school system, the K through2 school system or whatever has gotten 00:03:37.600 --> 00:03:40.157 kind of more and more focused on that over time. And it's like, yeah, it's 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:43.757 like no, you you should actually and again, especially at unit unit n equals 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:47.757 1, like of your kid, it's like and look, there's there's something to be had. We 00:03:47.840 --> 00:03:50.717 I just had this conversation with my 10-year-old last night, actually. I I I 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:55.437 rolled out uh [snorts] uh the concept of uh you know, in order to lead, you must 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:58.717 first learn to obey, right? In order to you know, issue orders, you must learn 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:03.357 how to follow orders. and you know you kind of trying to keep keep him with 00:04:03.440 --> 00:04:07.037 some level of structure in his life and not just and not just pure agency but 00:04:07.120 --> 00:04:09.597 yeah I mean and so look you know some rules are important and so forth but 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:12.717 yeah no look there there is like a huge pre there there's just a huge premium in 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:16.077 life on being somebody who is able to like fully take responsibility for 00:04:16.160 --> 00:04:19.757 things fully take charge run an organization lead a project create 00:04:19.840 --> 00:04:24.637 something new um and you know maybe yeah that that has been maybe a little bit 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:29.117 diminished in our culture over the last 30 years it you know it's it's healthy 00:04:29.200 --> 00:04:32.557 you know that that you know that that there's now a term for that that that is 00:04:32.640 --> 00:04:36.237 coming back back into vogue and then and then and again that's how I view AI for 00:04:36.320 --> 00:04:39.837 kids is like okay AI should be the ultimate letter on the world for a kid 00:04:39.920 --> 00:04:43.997 with agency to be able to say okay I can actually be a primary contributor right 00:04:44.080 --> 00:04:46.877 whether that's I can be a primary contributor in everything from you know 00:04:46.960 --> 00:04:50.877 developing new areas of physics to writing code to being an artist uh you 00:04:50.960 --> 00:04:53.597 know to writing you know to writing novels like you know whatever that thing 00:04:53.680 --> 00:04:56.797 is I I can fully participate in the world I can really change things and I 00:04:56.880 --> 00:04:59.997 and I that that feel that The combination of that idea combined with 00:05:00.080 --> 00:05:01.597 this technology feels very healthy to me. 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:04.237 >> What is that quote about? Give me a lever and I'll move the world. 00:05:04.320 --> 00:05:06.557 >> And I'll move the world. Yeah, that's exactly right. Well, so it's actually 00:05:06.640 --> 00:05:11.117 funny you mentioned that. So the the um the uh the early kind of scientists 00:05:11.200 --> 00:05:14.237 including like Isaac Newton were super obsessed with with you know this concept 00:05:14.320 --> 00:05:17.277 of alchemy, right? It's like you know they you know they you know they 00:05:17.360 --> 00:05:19.917 developed like you know Newton he's like developed Newtonian physics and he 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:21.997 developed like calculus and all these things but the thing he was really 00:05:22.080 --> 00:05:25.357 obsessed with was alchemy which was the thing he could never get to work right 00:05:25.440 --> 00:05:28.717 and and and alchemy was the transmutation of lead into gold which 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:32.157 meant the transmutation of something that was very common which was lead into 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:34.477 something that was very rare and valuable which was gold. And you know 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:37.677 they there was this the he spent you know decades trying to figure out this 00:05:37.760 --> 00:05:41.117 thing called the philosopher stone which would be basically the the machine or 00:05:41.200 --> 00:05:44.157 the process that would would be able to transmute the rare you know the common 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:47.437 thing into the rare thing led into gold and he never figured it out and you know 00:05:47.520 --> 00:05:51.197 it's incredibly frustrating nobody ever figured that out and now we literally 00:05:51.280 --> 00:05:57.030 with AI have a technology that transfers sand into thought [laughter] 00:05:57.200 --> 00:06:00.397 >> just blew my mind >> right the the the most common thing in 00:06:00.480 --> 00:06:04.317 the world which is sand converted into the most rare thing in the world which is 00:06:04.400 --> 00:06:09.037 Right. And and so AI is it is it is the it is the philosopher stone. Like it it 00:06:09.120 --> 00:06:12.617 is that it it actually is that and it's just this incredibly powerful tool. 00:06:12.700 --> 00:06:15.277 [snorts] Um and and that's where I that's where I get so excited. I mean 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:17.277 and again this is what we're doing with our 10-year-old which is like all right 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:20.797 a primary thing that we want to make sure to to do is to make sure that he 00:06:20.880 --> 00:06:24.477 knows fully how to leverage and and get and get benefit out of the philosopher 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:27.997 stone, right? Which is uh you know which is to say AI and that that and then you 00:06:28.080 --> 00:06:29.997 know that's certainly central to everything we're teaching him. You know, 00:06:30.080 --> 00:06:32.717 there's there's this meme going around that um you know, Silicon Valley people 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:36.477 don't let their kids use computers. And I I just I I there may be a handful of 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:39.677 people who are like that. I I don't you know, I don't know. Um I I think it's 00:06:39.760 --> 00:06:43.037 more honestly the other way around, which is uh the you know, the more 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:45.517 you're kind of plugged into stuff in Silicon Valley, the more important it is 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:47.757 to make sure that your kids actually fully understand this and know how to 00:06:47.840 --> 00:06:50.397 use it. And that's certainly the mode that we're in. And that's that's 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:52.557 certainly the mode that I would encourage parents to think about. 00:06:52.640 --> 00:06:55.197 >> I did not know your kid was homeschooled. That is super interesting. 00:06:55.280 --> 00:06:59.677 There it's almost a statement on, you know, education in today's day. Maybe is 00:06:59.760 --> 00:07:02.957 there any thoughts there? I'm just for folks that maybe aren't in your tax 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:07.277 bracket that want to help their kids be successful, maybe homeschool, maybe not. 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:08.717 What what advice would you have? 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:11.597 >> This is the challenge and again this this kind of goes to how you're you know 00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:16.637 kind of your original question which is education there's two completely 00:07:16.720 --> 00:07:20.717 different ways to talk about think about education. The way that's usually 00:07:20.800 --> 00:07:24.077 thought about and talked about is kind of at the level of like a nation, right? 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:27.357 So, so you know it's like a national level issue or maybe a state level issue 00:07:27.440 --> 00:07:30.477 in the US which is basically like how do you educate all the kids and of course 00:07:30.560 --> 00:07:33.037 that's incredibly important and of course you're going to need like some 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:36.077 level of large scale system like the you know the national K through2 school 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:39.997 system or something like that you know in order in order to do that um but then 00:07:40.080 --> 00:07:43.917 there's this other question which is like at n equals 1 for an individual kid 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:48.317 like what can you do with with an individual kid um and so I'll just give 00:07:48.400 --> 00:07:50.877 you kind of the ultimate you know kind of the ultimate answer to that question 00:07:50.960 --> 00:07:53.917 which is it's been known for centuries 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:57.117 that the ideal way to teach a kid at the 00:07:57.200 --> 00:08:02.157 unit of n equals 1, by far the ideal way to do it is is with one-on-one tutoring. 00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:04.797 Like if you just have an individual kid and the goal is to maximize an 00:08:04.880 --> 00:08:08.637 individual kid, by far you get the best results with one-on-one tutoring. And 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:12.557 and this is something that like every royal family knew in history. It's 00:08:12.640 --> 00:08:15.757 something that every aristocratic class knew in history. There's all these 00:08:15.840 --> 00:08:19.277 amazing examples. Alexander the Great was tutored by Aristotle. He took over 00:08:19.360 --> 00:08:23.437 the world, right? like you know many of the great kings and queens and you know 00:08:23.520 --> 00:08:26.557 royal families and aristocrats and so forth you know over the course of 00:08:26.640 --> 00:08:30.397 centuries um you know kind of always had always had this approach. There's 00:08:30.480 --> 00:08:33.997 actually also statistical evidence um analytical evidence that this is 00:08:34.080 --> 00:08:37.437 correct. Um there there's this you know massive question in the field of 00:08:37.520 --> 00:08:40.397 education which is how do you improve educational outcomes and basically it 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:42.877 turns out it's just it's very hard to improve educational outcomes except 00:08:42.960 --> 00:08:45.757 there's one method that always does it which is called the it's called the 00:08:45.840 --> 00:08:49.037 bloom two sigma effect which is there's one method of education that routinely 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:52.877 raises student outcomes by two standards of deviation and will take a kid from 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:56.717 the 50th percentile to the 99th percentile and that's oneonone tutoring 00:08:56.800 --> 00:09:00.477 right so again if you go back to like at n equals one you have like a kid and a 00:09:00.560 --> 00:09:03.757 tutor and they're in this like you know very tight loop with each other you know 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:06.557 where the kid is able to constantly kind of be on the leading edge of what 00:09:06.640 --> 00:09:08.717 they're capable of doing and they can they, you know, they they can move 00:09:08.800 --> 00:09:11.677 incredibly fast and they get kind of correction in real time, you get these 00:09:11.760 --> 00:09:13.917 better outcomes. But, you know, to your question, like it's never been 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:17.117 economically feasible for anybody other than the richest people in society to be 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:21.357 able to provide one-on-one tutoring for kids. AI provides the very real prospect 00:09:21.440 --> 00:09:24.797 of being able to do that, right? Because obviously now, right, if you have a kid 00:09:24.880 --> 00:09:27.677 that's like super interested in something and they can talk to, you 00:09:27.760 --> 00:09:31.357 know, an LLM about it and they can ask an infinite number of questions and they 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:35.117 can get instantaneous feedback. Um, and in fact, you can even tell an LLM it's 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:37.997 like, you know, teach me how to do the following. And you can say, you know, 00:09:38.080 --> 00:09:39.917 wow, that's like I don't quite understand what you're saying. Like, 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:43.357 dumb it down for me a little bit. Um, okay, now quiz me, you know, do I 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:47.677 actually understand this? Like people can just do this today, right? Um, and 00:09:47.760 --> 00:09:51.437 so I I think there's this like massive opportunity for for parents, you know, 00:09:51.520 --> 00:09:54.317 in in many walks of life to be, you know, with with with a little bit of 00:09:54.400 --> 00:09:57.757 time and focus, uh, to be able to say, okay, you know, my my kids's probably 00:09:57.840 --> 00:09:59.837 still going to go through a traditional education system, but I'm going to 00:09:59.920 --> 00:10:03.117 augment this with AI tutoring. Um, and of course there, you know, and of course 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:06.560 there's going to be tons of startups, right?