Our group investigating the consequences of Artificial Intelligence (AI) met on Tuesday 09 December 2025 to look at the consequences for education. We started with a quick re-cap of the previous sessions before starting with an analysis of the Benjamin Bloom 2-sigma problem – a study which had evaluated the progress students can make with one-to-one coaching compared to traditional instruction in classrooms.
Sal Khan then featured with his TED Talk from April 2023, given in Vancouver BC. Khan Academy and Khanmigo were new to many of those present, but the talk stimulated a lot of discussion with the members. After seeing what can be achieved with AI (2 years is a long time in AI!), we moved on to an examination of the consequences for the Teachers and Lecturers, for the Examiners and Assessors, and for the Pupils and Students.
Key speakers on video included Geoffrey Hinton, Justin Reich, Hugo Herr and a teacher using NotebookLM to generate teaching materials. We then had a practical demonstration of the teaching materials produced by NotebookLM on the topic of “Neuroplasticity” – the brains ability to adapt and change. The ‘Infographic’ led to much debate amongst the members.
We then looked at the task set for the Examiners and the Assessors, and a study conducted in October 2024 to review the accuracy with which AI work presented by students on projects and dissertations had been detected. The conclusion of the group was that only a live examination – without technical aids – can determine how well the student has read, learned and inwardly digested the topic.
The last section was devoted to the assistance and coaching that AI can provide to pupils and students. Examples included learning a foreign language using AI as a coach, and using videos in foreign languages with transcripts to develop foreign language vocabulary skills.
The group concluded that some of what AI can provide for education is good, but some needs to be behind rigorous regulatory guardrails if education is to continue to deliver value to society.
Our next session will be on 13 January 2026 at 2pm and will investigate the consequences for the Legal World.