Sep 14, 2026 · 50 min · 12 segments
Technology has been promising to revolutionize education for a long time. Online learning, smartphones, and even asynchronous classes during COVID seemed for a while like they might finally transform…
Leah BelskyGuestMolly GrahamHost
You know, what's really just struck me is I've been on this journey since starting in OpenAI to figure out, like, what do students actually do with this technology? 'Cause the narrative out there is that they cheat, but what you actually see is that so many students when they learn how to use it are looking at sort of problems in the world that they wanna solve and building solutions and not waiting for permission and not looking to hire engineers or VCs or networks or any of these things you and I had to do and sh- probably still do.
One of the side effects in working in tech for a long time is that you get a little cynical about revolution, or at least I do.
We've been promising that technology was gonna revolutionize education for a long time, online learning, MOOCs, smartphones, then COVID forced everything remote.
I feel like the main thing we've learned is that changing education is slower and harder than anyone wants it to be.
So when people talk about AI transforming learning, my honest first reaction is, "Sure it is." That said, there is one thing that feels different to me this time.
For the first time, it feels like we might actually be getting close to what edtech has been promising for 20 years, a genuinely patient, personalized tutor.
Not an app that adapts a quiz, something that can answer your question, notice when you're confused, explain it to you three different ways, and never get tired of you.
And if that's true, it feels like it could change something fundamental, not just in schools, but in the way we learn, and it makes me wonder what we'll gain and what we'll lose.
She's been close to every wave of this changes everything in edtech, which means she knows exactly where the hype has fallen short.
I wanna know if she thinks this time is actually different, and if it is, what does it mean for us and for our kids? I'm Molly Graham, and this is Work Life, where we untangle the messy human side of work.
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You know, what's really just struck me is I've been on this journey since starting in OpenAI to figure out, like, what do students actually do with this technology? 'Cause the narrative out there is that they cheat, but what you actually see is that so many students when they learn how to use it are looking at sort of problems in the world that they wanna solve and building solutions and not waiting for permission and not looking to hire engineers or VCs or networks or any of these things you and I had to do and sh- probably still do.
One of the side effects in working in tech for a long time is that you get a little cynical about revolution, or at least I do.
We've been promising that technology was gonna revolutionize education for a long time, online learning, MOOCs, smartphones, then COVID forced everything remote.
I feel like the main thing we've learned is that changing education is slower and harder than anyone wants it to be.
So when people talk about AI transforming learning, my honest first reaction is, "Sure it is." That said, there is one thing that feels different to me this time.
For the first time, it feels like we might actually be getting close to what edtech has been promising for 20 years, a genuinely patient, personalized tutor.
Not an app that adapts a quiz, something that can answer your question, notice when you're confused, explain it to you three different ways, and never get tired of you.
And if that's true, it feels like it could change something fundamental, not just in schools, but in the way we learn, and it makes me wonder what we'll gain and what we'll lose.
She's been close to every wave of this changes everything in edtech, which means she knows exactly where the hype has fallen short.
I wanna know if she thinks this time is actually different, and if it is, what does it mean for us and for our kids? I'm Molly Graham, and this is Work Life, where we untangle the messy human side of work.