The "Dean of AI" on AI and Education, AI vs. Academia, and What Students Actually Need to Know

How is AI reshaping higher education? What do students actually need to learn in the age of large language models? And why might skills-based learning soon rival or even replace the traditional degree? In this episode of AI-Curious, we speak with Ben Tasker, "Dean of AI" at Southern New Hampshire University. 

Ben walks us through the structure of his “applied AI” curriculum, how his team uses AI to build courses in just 14 days, and why prompt engineering is becoming an essential literacy. We also break down the CREATE framework for prompting, designed to help users—students and professionals alike—level up their use of tools like ChatGPT.

Other topics include:

• The tension between AI adoption and academic cheating
• Human skills vs. AI skills, and the World Economic Forum’s two-skill model
• The future of education: personalization, affordability, and AI-enabled scale
• How executives should rethink AI integration—with intention, not just experimentation
• Why OpenAI Academy’s recent pivot could signal a broader shift in how we teach AI

Whether you’re a student, educator, or business leader trying to find your footing in the in-between era of AI, this conversation offers a grounded, pragmatic perspective.

Ben Tasker:

https://www.bentaskerai.com/bens-ai-portfolio-thought-leadership

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