Designing Schools Future Focus | AI Isn’t the Shortcut. It’s the Test: What Schools Must Redesign Now | Week of January 26, 2026
In this episode, Dr. Sabba Quidwai reflects on a story about Sri Lankan tea to explore how intention, design, and human judgment matter more than tools alone, especially in an AI-driven world. Drawing from insights by leaders at Anthropic, OpenAI, and education research, the episode challenges schools to move beyond banning or blindly adopting AI and instead redesign learning so humans and AI work together thoughtfully.
Timestamps
- 00:00–03:00 — A story from Sri Lanka: Dilmah tea, intention, and resisting commoditization
- 05:00–09:00 — The “adolescence of technology” and why AI power is outpacing our systems of judgment
- 09:30–13:30 — An NPR classroom story and the real problem with “going analog”
- 16:00–19:00 — Introducing the SPARK framework and redesigning tasks for human–AI collaboration
- 20:00–26:00 — Sam Altman, judgment, and why high agency matters more than technical skills
Resources Mentioned
- Dario Amodei Essay: The Adolescence of Technology
- OpenAI Town Hall
- Why AI Can’t Make Decisions
- The Story of Ceylon Teamaker
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