LLMs as Personal Coaches

We hope you’re enjoying the holiday season with family, friends, and loved ones. We’ll be releasing new episodes again in the new year – in the meantime, today, we’re re-running a fascinating episode on The future of AI coaching. The past few years have seen an incredible boom in AI and one of our colleagues, James Landay, a professor in Computer Science, thinks that when it comes to AI and education, things are just getting started. He’s particularly excited about the potential for AI to serve as a coach or tutor. We hope you’ll take another listen to this conversation and come away with some optimism for the potential AI has to help make us smarter and healthier. 

Have a question for Russ? Send it our way in writing or via voice memo, and it might be featured on an upcoming episode. Please introduce yourself, let us know where you're listening from, and share your question. You can send questions to thefutureofeverything@stanford.edu.

Episode Reference Links:

• Stanford Profile: ​​James Landay

Connect With Us:

• Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website
• Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon
• Connect with School of Engineering >>> Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook

Chapters:

(00:00:00) Introduction

Russ Altman introduces guest James Landay, a professor of Computer Science at Stanford University.

(00:01:44) Evolving AI Applications

How large language models can replicate personal coaching experiences.

(00:06:24) Role of Health Experts in AI

Integrating insights from medical professionals into AI coaching systems.

(00:10:01) Personalization in AI Coaching

How AI coaches can adapt personalities and avatars to cater to user preferences.

(00:12:30) Group Dynamics in AI Coaching

Pros and cons of adding social features and group support to AI coaching systems.

(00:13:48) Ambient Awareness in Technology

Ambient awareness and how it enhances user engagement without active attention.

(00:17:24) Using AI in Elementary Education

Narrative-driven tutoring systems to inspire kids' learning and creativity.

(00:22:39) Encouraging Student Writing with AI

Using LLMs to  motivate students to write  through personalized feedback.

(00:23:32) Scaling AI Educational Tools

The ACORN project and creating dynamic, scalable learning experiences.

(00:27:38) Human-Centered AI

The concept of human-centered AI and its focus on designing for society.

(00:30:13) Conclusion

Connect With Us:

Episode Transcripts >>> The Future of Everything Website

Connect with Russ >>> Threads / Bluesky / Mastodon

Connect with School of Engineering >>>Twitter/X / Instagram / LinkedIn / Facebook

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