On Monday, October 7, we hosted our annual Board Dinner at the Cornell Club in NYC. Our CEO, Gary Z. Linnen, moderated a fireside chat with special guest Rishi Jaitly, a distinguished entrepreneur, executive, educator, and Senior Advisor to OpenAI. Two of our rockstar Peer Leaders from the High School for Law and Public Service, Lima Islamova and Jennifer Gonzalez, joined the discussion, which focused on the thought-provoking role AI plays in education today.
Gary started it off by raising some important points about the rapidly changing economy and how a postsecondary credential prepares students for the future. He noted, “The World Economic Forum reports that roughly 75 million jobs that require no credential now will disappear within five years. However, as technology rapidly develops in the next 10 years, more than 130 million jobs that require a credential will be created. So, jobs are going away but NEW jobs are coming in, with a different kind of caliber. Thus, guiding low-income students – many of whom are the first in their families to attend college – to postsecondary education opens the door to opportunity and breaks cycles of poverty, lifting families and communities for generations to come. This is the work of PeerForward!”
The Peer Leaders and Rishi shared their thoughts and experiences with AI.
Lima, who wants to study Neuroscience and Fine Arts, uses AI to help structure her ideas and manage her schedule. She proudly shared how she used it to develop an SAT prep course to fill a gap at her under-resourced school. “This is a perfect way that AI can be used to diminish the inequity we face,” she said. However, she is concerned about how some of her peers may be over-relying on it to write essays and could risk losing their ability to fully express themselves.
Jennifer, who wants to double major in History and English and eventually get on a Pre-Med track, uses AI to research career options and find various programs at colleges that align to her interests. It accelerates her research on school projects as well. She is excited about its impact on improving community service in places like her neighborhood in the Bronx and wants to learn more about how to use it to its fullest potential.
Rishi asserted that AI fluency is a critical skill for future success and should be equally available to all young people. But he also emphasized the importance of what he referred to as human superpowers, noting “When I was listening to Lima and Jennifer reflect on their use of AI, what I heard was the very best of PeerForward and a glimpse of what the future is. The superpowers of the future will certainly revolve around AI but will also orbit around the skills of storytelling, story listening, introspection, imagination, and intuition that I see on display here.” He continued, “Concurrent to our over-rotation on AI, there needs to be a rotation to what it means to be human. I’m delighted to be in the company of an organization – PeerForward – that has been way ahead of the curve in cultivating the muscles of authenticity and vulnerability since the 90s! That’s the opportunity with AI – understanding that it can be your co-pilot but not losing sight that the real superpower lies in staying true to yourself.”
Thank you to all who joined us for this enlightening discussion and to all of our supporters! Your donations will help us continue to close the education equity gap and guide the students we serve into a prosperous future.
