- Feb 21, 2025
- 4 min read
Hello, AI Enthusiasts.
Friday night AI rewind—long week? Let’s ease into the weekend with the latest in AI. 💬
Cognitive science expert Ben Riley joins the Class Disrupted podcast to explore how AI measures up to human learning. As the founder of Cognitive Resonance and former leader of Deans for Impact, Riley discusses both the potential and the pitfalls of AI in education. 📚
On another note, outdated business applications are creating major obstacles for companies looking to implement AI, primarily due to poor data retention and integration issues. Meanwhile, a Chinese AI startup has demonstrated how an AI distillation technique can rapidly create models that rival top-tier systems from OpenAI and other industry leaders at a fraction of the cost. 🚀
Here's another crazy day in AI:
Cognitive science expert takes on the challenges of modern education
Why outdated business apps are slowing AI progress
Why DeepSeek’s AI distillation has Silicon Valley on alert
Some AI tools to try out
TODAY'S FEATURED ITEM: What AI Gets Wrong About Thinking
Image Credit: Wowza (created with Ideogram)
Is AI truly thinking, or just predicting?
In part two of their AI mini-series, Class Disrupted hosts Michael B. Horn and Diane Tavenner sit down with cognitive science expert Ben Riley to explore how AI compares to human cognition. Riley, founder of Cognitive Resonance, offers an informed yet cautious perspective—acknowledging AI’s strengths while raising important questions about its limitations, especially in education.
A closer look at the conversation:
AI’s promise in education is often overstated—without a true understanding of human thought, can it really personalize learning?
Schools may change because of AI, but whether it disrupts or reinforces traditional teaching is still uncertain.
The biggest risk isn’t AI replacing teachers—it’s students outsourcing their thinking to automation.
AI’s differences from human cognition could actually help us understand how we think and learn.
Educators don’t have to embrace AI completely, but ignoring it isn’t an option either.
Riley pushes back against the idea that AI is a breakthrough for personalized learning, arguing that while it can analyze vast amounts of data, it doesn’t truly “know” anything. It lacks a sense of understanding, intuition, and the ability to read between the lines—things that are essential in education. This raises important concerns about how AI is introduced in schools. While some see it as a tool that will finally make personalized learning a reality, Riley questions whether it can ever replicate the depth of human connection that makes teaching effective.
One of the biggest risks, he suggests, is how AI might change students’ approach to learning. If AI makes it easier to bypass effortful thinking, what impact does that have on problem-solving skills, curiosity, and long-term knowledge retention? At the same time, there’s potential for AI to be useful in education—as a research assistant, a way to analyze complex information, or even a tool for better understanding cognition itself.
As AI continues to evolve, schools and educators will have to make deliberate choices about how to use it. This conversation doesn’t settle the debate, but it highlights the need for thoughtful engagement—both in understanding AI’s capabilities and in recognizing where human intelligence remains irreplaceable.
Read the full article here.
OTHER INTERESTING AI HIGHLIGHTS:
Why Outdated Business Apps Are Slowing AI Progress
/Grant Gross on CIO
Legacy business applications are creating major obstacles for companies looking to implement AI, primarily due to poor data retention and integration issues. Many older systems were built when storage was expensive, limiting the amount of data they collect—making them incompatible with AI-driven analytics. Additionally, the high cost of maintaining outdated software reduces funding available for AI initiatives. IT leaders emphasize the need for modernization, whether through direct upgrades, middleware, or data lakes, to unlock AI’s full potential.
Read more here.
Why DeepSeek’s AI Distillation Has Silicon Valley on Alert
/Jasmine Wu & Deirdre Bosa on CNBC
AI distillation—a technique that allows smaller teams to train advanced AI models using existing ones—is shaking up the industry. Chinese AI startup DeepSeek demonstrated how this approach can rapidly create models that rival top-tier systems from OpenAI and other industry leaders at a fraction of the cost. Researchers have already replicated major AI breakthroughs for as little as $50 in compute credits. As open-source AI gains momentum, companies are rethinking their strategies, with OpenAI itself acknowledging the need for a different approach to remain competitive.
Read more here.
SOME AI TOOLS TO TRY OUT:
Landing - Create branded landing pages in minutes.
Deckd - Convert Figma slides into polished presentations.
AutoDiagram - Turn ideas into professional visuals with AI.
That’s a wrap on today’s Almost Daily craziness.
Catch us almost every day—almost! 😉
EXCITING NEWS:
The Another Crazy Day in AI newsletter is now on LinkedIn!!!
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