The Cusp with Paul Fain

MIT's Work of the Future initiative is researching how generative AI can contribute to higher-quality jobs. Ben Armstrong, an MIT research scientist and the initiative's co-lead, talks with Paul Fain in this must-listen episode. Ben describes what he and his colleagues are finding, offering a highly informed reality check on AI and its impacts. Following Ben is an interview with Katy Knight, executive director and president of the Siegel Family Endowment. Katy shares her take on the research from MIT, with an eye toward helping educators and workforce development pros prepare for the ripple effects across society as the technology takes hold. Subscribe to The Cusp wherever you get your podcasts. And check out Work Shift and The Job newsletter for agenda-free, sophisticated reporting on connections between education and work.

Host Paul Fain explains what to expect on The Cusp and why you should listen.

George Siemens is a trusted, veteran thinker about technology’s impact on learning. A professor of psychology who has taught at several universities around the world, Siemens these days is helping to lead a project on artificial intelligence at Southern New Hampshire University. In this episode, Paul Fain talks with George about why he thinks AI will have a profound effect on teaching and learning. George frames this opportunity as a systems-change event, one college leaders must take on more proactively, including with strategies for workplace skills, social impacts, and more. Subscribe to The Cusp wherever you get your podcasts. And check out Work Shift and The Job newsletter for agenda-free, sophisticated reporting on connections between education and work.

Recorded live at SXSW EDU, this episode features three experts who are digging into AI’s impacts on education and work: Riddhima Mishra, research director at Learning Collider; Edith Yang, senior associate at MDRC; and Debbie Wasden, senior vice president at the Burning Glass Institute. Paul Fain talks with the three panelists about research questions they’re exploring, including how AI is reshaping jobs and what that means for educators. The conversation encompasses K-12, higher education, and the workforce, with a focus on how to ensure that lower-income learners aren’t left behind. Subscribe to The Cusp wherever you get your podcasts. And check out Work Shift and The Job newsletter for agenda-free, sophisticated reporting on connections between education and work.