Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

I imagine this document will be eviscerated by the anti-AI crowd, and it won't be entirely without cause. The basic premise is correct, in my view: "while AI is by no means perfect, it does have the potential to reduce barriers and allow people to learn more effectively than before." However, the picture of education offered here is what we might call 'the Davos picture' - based on the so-called 'science of learning'  and littered with phrases like "enabling more personalized and focused support while reducing cognitive load" and "target learners at the right level to close understanding gaps" and "foundational knowledge, study skills, motivation" and "a resilient labor force" and "new forms of instruction or assessment" and "look beyond today's labor market to anticipate the skills tomorrow's economy will demand" and more of the meaningless talk that does not resemble at all any of the serious work being done in education and technology today.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Nov 10, 2025 10:37 a.m.

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