How AI is Changing the Way We Learn

1. The Day I Taught My Nephew to Tie His Shoes (and What It Taught Me About Algorithms)

Let’s start with a story: Last summer, I spent 45 minutes teaching my 6-year-old nephew to tie his shoes. It was chaos—loops went rogue, laces became nooses, and at one point, he declared, “Auntie, this is stupider than TikTok!” But when he finally nailed it? Pure magic. The grin, the pride, the way he sprinted to show his mom… it was a masterpiece of human learning.

Now imagine if I’d handed him an AI-powered “Shoe-Tying Tutor™” that guided him via hologram. Faster? Sure. But would he have felt the same triumph? This is the paradox we’re sleepwalking into: AI promises to revolutionize learning, but at what cost to the messy, glorious humanity of the process?

Hot Take: AI won’t replace teachers. But it might replace the need to struggle
—and that’s where real learning begins.

2. The Three Unsexy Truths About Learning (That Silicon Valley Ignores)

Let’s cut through the hype:
1. Learning is personal—what works for one brain is noise to another.
2. Curiosity can’t be automated—it sparks in the gaps between facts.
3. Human connection isn’t a bug—it’s the operating system.

Yet here we are, herding students into AI-driven “personalized learning” platforms that reduce education to dopamine hits for correct answers. I’ve seen this firsthand: My friend, a high school teacher, caught students bribing ChatGPT to write essays about why plagiarism is wrong. The irony wasn’t lost on her. But when we prize efficiency over engagement, we don’t get geniuses—we get glorified shortcut-takers.

Cue the eye rolls: “But AI makes education accessible!” Absolutely. It also makes shallowness scalable.

3. The Dark Side of “Personalization”: When Algorithms Decide Who You Are

Here’s how most AI tutors actually work: They crunch data to slot learners into pre-built pathways. Struggling with calculus? The system downgrades you to “math-adjacent” career tracks. Write a clunky essay? It suggests template-driven prompts. It’s like a guidance counselor who thinks in binaries—and never lets you reinvent yourself.

I fell into this trap myself. During pandemic lockdowns, I used an AI language app to “relearn” French I’d forgotten since college. It was slick, addictive, and utterly useless for holding a real conversation. Why? Because it taught me to chase points, not meaning. The app’s CEO later admitted their algorithm prioritized “user retention over fluency.” Shocker.

Hot Take (Part 2): If your AI tutor’s parent company profits from ads, you’re not the student—you’re the product.

4. The Elephant in the Virtual Classroom: Who’s Getting Left Behind?

Let’s talk about the 800-pound robot in the room: AI education tools require tech, money, and Wi-Fi. My cousin teaches in rural Montana, where kids share hotspots to submit homework. Meanwhile, elite private schools parade “AI labs” with ethics boards and $200k budgets. This isn’t “democratization”—it’s Darwinism dressed in a machine-learning mask.

Worse? Many AI systems train on data scraped from underfunded public schools. Think about that: Struggling districts essentially donate their students’ struggles to build tools they can’t afford. It’s like charging famine victims for recipes made with their last grains.

5. The TikTok-ification of Knowledge: Why Faster Isn’t Smarter

I recently watched a YouTube short titled “Learn Quantum Physics in 60 Seconds!” (Spoiler: I didn’t.) But it racked up 2 million views, because AI thrives on our craving for quick fixes. We’re raising a generation that expects to “download” expertise—no sweat, no frustration, no late-night library hauls.

But here’s the truth my shoe-tying nephew taught me: Mastery lives in the friction. When we let AI smooth every rough edge, we lose the grit that shapes critical thinkers. Yes, AI can explain the French Revolution in rap form or simulate chemistry experiments. But can it replicate the fire in a student’s eyes when they finally grasp a concept after days of flailing? I’ll answer that when Siri wins a Nobel.

6. A Glimmer of Hope (If We’re Brave Enough to Grab It

To be clear: I’m not anti-AI. I’ve seen it help dyslexic students “write” poetry through voice-to-text tools and watched refugees use translation apps to attend virtual universities. The potential is staggering—if we wield it wisely. Here’s how:
- Tech as a Sidekick, Not a Hero: Use AI to handle rote tasks (grading, drills) so teachers can mentor.
- Guardrails, Not Bans: Require transparency about what data AI collects—and who profits from it.
- Embrace the Analog: Reserve parts of education (debates, art, hands-on labs) as “AI-free zones.”

Will this be messy? Absolutely. But so is tying your shoes.

7. Final Thought: What My 10th-Grade Biology Teacher Knew That AI Doesn’t

Mrs. Rodriguez once let our class spend two weeks debating whether mitochondria should be considered “selfish” (shoutout to anyone who’s read Power, Sex, Suicide). We went down rabbit holes, made terrible arguments, and learned nothing about glycolysis. We also learned everything about thinking.

That’s the magic no algorithm can replicate: Learning isn’t just about answers—it’s about the audacity to ask weird questions. AI might someday ace the SAT, but can it wonder why the sky is blue? Can it weep over a poem? Can it tie a shoe with pride?

The future of learning isn’t about choosing between humans and machines. It’s about fighting to keep the “human” in human curiosity. Let’s not outsource that battle to bots.