I recently met with a remarkable American man named Cameron King. Cam has built an enormously successful multi-million-dollar coaching business … and he’s throwing it away.
The impetus for this decision was a minor argument with his 14 year-old son about attending a concert. Cam’s son lost the argument and went to his room in a none too pleased mood.
As with many teens these days he turned to a trusted friend for comfort and advice … ChatGPT.
ChatGPT was happy to let him know that the reason for his father’s stance was that he’s too religious and hyper authoritarian. ChatGPT was happy to provide the six steps that would better his chances of success with Dad the next time around.
Cam’s new mission in life is to develop a values-based GPT tool for kids that would never subvert a parent-child relationship. Personally, I wish him well.
Cam and I got talking about his values-driven intention and we ended up with a question we couldn’t answer. It was, “Whose values?”
Cam is indeed a religious guy and I’m not. We wouldn’t necessarily want our kids adopting the same value set. We concluded that values were the wrong currency for such a GPT project.
Values are instilled in us not by AI, but by people. Cam and I agreed that the primary purpose of the GPT should be to inform and shepherd kids into conversations with real people who share their values. I really wish him well with that.
Here at Real Schools, we’ve developed a plethora of GPT tools for our partner schools. We’ll keep running that project too. One GPT helps draft the principal’s newsletter, one provides student behaviour advice, one crafts messages from teachers to parents, and another ‘restorifies’ any teacher’s lesson plan.
But our avatar for using these tools is ‘the avatar of two’. A senior teacher with an AP, a Real Schools Expert Facilitator with a graduate … even a principal with a parent.
I’ve got Cam to thank for at least that determination to preserve the humanness in our schools that many wielding AI like a weapon would target.
Keep fighting that good fight,
P.S. I mentioned last week an exciting new project I’ve been working on and today I’m excited to share it with you. Real Schools of Thought is now available wherever you get your podcasts! It’s me having a chat with some super smart, super motivating individuals who all care about education just as passionately as I – and, I suspect you – do. Check it out here – I hope you enjoy it!
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