In this issue, we dig into the question of how AI affects expertise and skills: how AI affects mastering a complex field like coding, preserving human expertise in the age of AI, and a conversation with Matt Beane about his book, The Skill Code.
AI's impact on skill development: Balancing productivity gains with long-term expertise. Explore how AI changes apprenticeships, challenges traditional learning, and affects industries. Learn strategies to integrate AI while preserving crucial human skills and mentorship.
A conversation with UC Santa Barbara Assistant Professor Matt Beane about his book "The Skill Code: How to Save Human Ability in an Age of Intelligent Machines."
Is technology good or bad for children? How should parents think about technology in their children’s lives? Are there different answers depending on the age of the child and their stage of development? What can we apply from what we know about children’s play and activity in the analog world to the digital world? How should product designers think about designing technology to be good for kids? How does AI and generative AI affect the answers to these questions, if at all?
As parents of five kids, we’re interested in these questions both personally and professionally. We are particularly interested in Katie’s concept of “loose parts” and how we might apply this idea to digital product design, especially AI design. We think anyone who has children or has an interest in technology’s impact on children will find Katie’s book highly informative and a great read.
Katie Davis is Associate Professor at the University of Washington Information School, where she is a founding member and Co-Director of the UW Digital Youth Lab. She is the coauthor of The App Generation: How Today’s Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, Imagination in a Digital World and Writers in the Secret Garden: Fanfiction, Youth, and New Forms of Mentoring.
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Dave Edwards is a Co-Founder of Artificiality. He previously co-founded Intelligentsia.ai (acquired by Atlantic Media) and worked at Apple, CRV, Macromedia, Morgan Stanley, and Quartz.
Helen Edwards is a Co-Founder of Artificiality. She previously co-founded Intelligentsia.ai (acquired by Atlantic Media) and worked at Meridian Energy, Pacific Gas & Electric, Quartz, and Transpower.