I'd encourage you to play with Google's NotebookLM - you put your own documents (including YouTube videos, webpages, PDFs, etc.) in, it produces (1) written summaries, (2) a terrific, 2 voice audio summary, and, best, (3) you can ask it questions and its answers include links to where in the documents you provided it got the answers. I'm finding it useful in my own work (professor) and I am experimenting with students using it in my classes (so far, successfully).
Social science research is messy. Some hesitate to call it social science at all. Certainly Mr. Kling has made versions of that argument when criticizing the tendency of economics to devolve into sociology. With that in mind, I looked around for the "soon to be published" article about Nigerian kids making amazing advances thanks to AI. The thing that puzzles me is that the kids randomly assigned to the after-school program were given four treatments, not one. They had four things which the comparison group did not:
1) Teachers who were recruited and trained to teach them how to use AI
2) A training manual booklet for both students and teachers that included English instruction components for interacting with CoPilot
3) A free license for CoPilot and access to computers with appropriate software
4) Six weeks of a collaborative course to teach them English
The press release makes it sound like #3 is solely responsible for their success but if you gave me specially trained tutors, a workbook, and six weeks to do specialized language instruction, I'd expect to post some gains too! Point is, if you're going to try and isolate the effects of using AI, this study does not appear to do it well. All of this is, of course, under the caveat that the study is not published so we don't know everything they did or did not do. I can only go off the various press releases.
I just asked Deepseek what it thought about Arnold…
Arnold Kling is an economist, author, and blogger known for his work in various areas of economics, particularly in the fields of financial markets, education, and the intersection of economics with culture and technology. Here are some of his major ideas and contributions:
1. **Patterns of Sustainable Specialization and Trade (PSST):**
Kling has developed the concept of PSST as an alternative to the traditional economic models that focus on aggregate demand and supply. PSST emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurial discovery and the matching of skills and resources in a dynamic economy. According to Kling, economic growth and development are driven by the discovery of new patterns of specialization and trade, rather than just by changes in aggregate demand.
2. **The Three Languages of Politics:**
In his book "The Three Languages of Politics: Talking Across the Political Divides," Kling argues that progressives, conservatives, and libertarians each have their own distinct way of viewing the world and discussing politics. He suggests that these groups speak different "languages" and that understanding these differences is crucial for productive political discourse.
3. **Education and Human Capital:**
Kling has written extensively on the economics of education, advocating for reforms that would make the education system more responsive to the needs of the labor market. He has criticized the traditional model of higher education and has proposed alternatives such as online education and competency-based learning.
4. **Financial Markets and Regulation:**
Kling has analyzed the causes and consequences of financial crises, including the 2008 financial crisis. He has been critical of certain regulatory approaches and has argued for more market-based solutions to financial stability.
5. **Health Care Economics:**
Kling has also contributed to the discussion on health care economics, advocating for market-oriented reforms to improve efficiency and reduce costs in the health care system.
6. **Technological Change and Employment:**
Kling has explored the impact of technological change on employment and the economy. He has discussed how automation and artificial intelligence might affect job markets and has considered the implications for economic policy.
7. **Cultural and Social Issues:**
Kling often writes about the intersection of economics with cultural and social issues, examining how economic principles can help explain various social phenomena.
Arnold Kling's ideas are often presented in a way that challenges conventional wisdom and encourages readers to think critically about economic issues. His work is characterized by a focus on individual choice, market processes, and the importance of institutions in shaping economic outcomes.
Commenting to add to my own above comment, it is quickly getting to the point where I can get summaries of all the books that I have read which are better than my own summaries.
Take home essays have been useless for years. There has long been services to write these. Essays written in the classroom and oral exams are what is needed for demonstrating mastery of a subject.
One can not evaluate whether an LLM has BSed you without already knowing the field. Placing your own book in the AI and then agreeing with its essay answers says more on one's ability to identify Eddie Haskells than the ability of an AI to actually understand and give good answers.
Stock prices for companies with any kind of AI connection are tanking today, apparently because the Chinese have been eating SV's lunch. Somehow, I am unsurprised by this.
I would lean toward the ability to speak clearly and convincingly being more essential since AI can assist with most writing but the point is largely the same.
It's worth noting that most scientist-types go in that direction in part because they aren't as good at writing and speaking. (And people good at both communicating and science/math often go in other directions.) It seems possible AI will help their communication and provide benefit in that way that is greater than any losses within general education of writing and speaking
Unclear writing is a symptom of unclear thinking in most cases though, and that goes for scientific writing too. If they need AI to write well then they don't really understand their ideas.
I'd encourage you to play with Google's NotebookLM - you put your own documents (including YouTube videos, webpages, PDFs, etc.) in, it produces (1) written summaries, (2) a terrific, 2 voice audio summary, and, best, (3) you can ask it questions and its answers include links to where in the documents you provided it got the answers. I'm finding it useful in my own work (professor) and I am experimenting with students using it in my classes (so far, successfully).
Social science research is messy. Some hesitate to call it social science at all. Certainly Mr. Kling has made versions of that argument when criticizing the tendency of economics to devolve into sociology. With that in mind, I looked around for the "soon to be published" article about Nigerian kids making amazing advances thanks to AI. The thing that puzzles me is that the kids randomly assigned to the after-school program were given four treatments, not one. They had four things which the comparison group did not:
1) Teachers who were recruited and trained to teach them how to use AI
2) A training manual booklet for both students and teachers that included English instruction components for interacting with CoPilot
3) A free license for CoPilot and access to computers with appropriate software
4) Six weeks of a collaborative course to teach them English
The press release makes it sound like #3 is solely responsible for their success but if you gave me specially trained tutors, a workbook, and six weeks to do specialized language instruction, I'd expect to post some gains too! Point is, if you're going to try and isolate the effects of using AI, this study does not appear to do it well. All of this is, of course, under the caveat that the study is not published so we don't know everything they did or did not do. I can only go off the various press releases.
I just asked Deepseek what it thought about Arnold…
Arnold Kling is an economist, author, and blogger known for his work in various areas of economics, particularly in the fields of financial markets, education, and the intersection of economics with culture and technology. Here are some of his major ideas and contributions:
1. **Patterns of Sustainable Specialization and Trade (PSST):**
Kling has developed the concept of PSST as an alternative to the traditional economic models that focus on aggregate demand and supply. PSST emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurial discovery and the matching of skills and resources in a dynamic economy. According to Kling, economic growth and development are driven by the discovery of new patterns of specialization and trade, rather than just by changes in aggregate demand.
2. **The Three Languages of Politics:**
In his book "The Three Languages of Politics: Talking Across the Political Divides," Kling argues that progressives, conservatives, and libertarians each have their own distinct way of viewing the world and discussing politics. He suggests that these groups speak different "languages" and that understanding these differences is crucial for productive political discourse.
3. **Education and Human Capital:**
Kling has written extensively on the economics of education, advocating for reforms that would make the education system more responsive to the needs of the labor market. He has criticized the traditional model of higher education and has proposed alternatives such as online education and competency-based learning.
4. **Financial Markets and Regulation:**
Kling has analyzed the causes and consequences of financial crises, including the 2008 financial crisis. He has been critical of certain regulatory approaches and has argued for more market-based solutions to financial stability.
5. **Health Care Economics:**
Kling has also contributed to the discussion on health care economics, advocating for market-oriented reforms to improve efficiency and reduce costs in the health care system.
6. **Technological Change and Employment:**
Kling has explored the impact of technological change on employment and the economy. He has discussed how automation and artificial intelligence might affect job markets and has considered the implications for economic policy.
7. **Cultural and Social Issues:**
Kling often writes about the intersection of economics with cultural and social issues, examining how economic principles can help explain various social phenomena.
Arnold Kling's ideas are often presented in a way that challenges conventional wisdom and encourages readers to think critically about economic issues. His work is characterized by a focus on individual choice, market processes, and the importance of institutions in shaping economic outcomes.
Commenting to add to my own above comment, it is quickly getting to the point where I can get summaries of all the books that I have read which are better than my own summaries.
4. and 5. are virtually contentless.
"Maybe Large Language Models lower the value of writing an essay to show your competence in a subject."
It will also lower the value of acquiring competence in a subject.
Take home essays have been useless for years. There has long been services to write these. Essays written in the classroom and oral exams are what is needed for demonstrating mastery of a subject.
One can not evaluate whether an LLM has BSed you without already knowing the field. Placing your own book in the AI and then agreeing with its essay answers says more on one's ability to identify Eddie Haskells than the ability of an AI to actually understand and give good answers.
Because of the number of people who don't really seem to know what AI is, I've put together a 3-minute intro: https://undisciplinedconversations.com/p/what-is-artificial-intelligence
Stock prices for companies with any kind of AI connection are tanking today, apparently because the Chinese have been eating SV's lunch. Somehow, I am unsurprised by this.
Unfortunately, writing is still essential to making progress in many subjects. How are students going to train that skill?
I would lean toward the ability to speak clearly and convincingly being more essential since AI can assist with most writing but the point is largely the same.
It's worth noting that most scientist-types go in that direction in part because they aren't as good at writing and speaking. (And people good at both communicating and science/math often go in other directions.) It seems possible AI will help their communication and provide benefit in that way that is greater than any losses within general education of writing and speaking
Unclear writing is a symptom of unclear thinking in most cases though, and that goes for scientific writing too. If they need AI to write well then they don't really understand their ideas.