The Education System is 97% Broken. This Book Explains How to Fix It.
Episode DescriptionIn this solo episode, Ben dives deep into Salman Khan's groundbreaking book "Brave New Words," exploring how artificial intelligence is poised to revolutionize education as we know it. From the fundamental flaws in our current education system to the transformative potential of AI tutors, this episode unpacks why the next decade could be the most consequential in human history for learning and human development.Book: "Brave New Words" by Salman Khan (May 2024)Platform: Khan Academy and Khanmigo AI tutorResearch: Benjamin Bloom's 1984 study on personalized tutoringPrevious Episode: Interview with Dr. David Ruth on AI in educationNotable Quotes"We're moving from passive consumption of information to active dialogue with the knowledge itself.""AI doesn't take your job. AI enables you to do any job.""This moment can be an existential risk or an existential opportunity for all of us."Connect with Ben:Follow me on XSubscribe on SubstackAvailable on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast platforms. Get full access to Ben Averbook Podcast at www.benaverbook.com/subscribe
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Dr. David Ruth: Inside The Most Innovative College Campus in America
Dr. David Ruth, Dean of STEM at the University of Austin, joins the podcast to detail UATX's mission to rebuild higher education around the fearless pursuit of truth. We explore their first-principles approach to curriculum (integrating "Homer and Python"), their controversial merit-based admissions, and why they believe traditional universities are failing. Dr. Ruth's commitment to open inquiry and empirical rigor offers a compelling vision for the future of universities. Highly recommend checking out the University of Austin: https://www.uaustin.org Find on all platforms here: https://benaverbook.com Subscribe to the podcast here: https://benaverbook.com/subscribe Follow me on X: https://x.com/benaverbook Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Intro / Dr. Ruth's Journey (00:03:10) - Why Start UATX? (00:07:25) - What Universities Get Right (00:12:30) - College vs. Working Right Away (00:19:08) - UATX STEM Vision / Homer & Python (00:24:07) - Building the STEM Program (00:33:51) - Ideology vs. Empiricism in Science (00:43:44) - Merit-Based Admissions (00:50:31) - Student Qualities (Curiosity & Humility) (00:56:05) - UATX Value & Network Get full access to Ben Averbook Podcast at www.benaverbook.com/subscribe
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Danielle Strachman: The Case Against College & Funding Young Founders
Danielle Strachman joins the podcast to break down the flaws in traditional education pathways and explore how alternative approaches can unleash potential, particularly for young founders.Danielle is Co-founder & General Partner at 1517 Fund, a venture capital firm backing young founders often working outside traditional institutions. She previously helped build and run the Thiel Fellowship alongside Peter Thiel and has deep roots in alternative education philosophies inspired by Maria Montessori, homeschooling, and student-led learning.I felt Danielle was speaking directly to my own experiences wrestling with the traditional path. This conversation was a powerful reminder about making conscious choices, rejecting limiting labels, and the importance of finding work aligned with your core motivations – that "fire in the belly" she talks about.Find out more:This podcast on all platforms: https://benaverbook.com/subscribe1517 Fund: https://www.1517fund.com/Danielle Strachman on X: https://x.com/DStrachmanFollow me on X: https://x.com/benaverbookThe Thiel Fellowship: https://thielfellowship.org/Mentioned: The Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori Get full access to Ben Averbook Podcast at www.benaverbook.com/subscribe
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Jason Zhao: Making the $61 Trillion IP Market Accessible to Every Creator
My conversation with Jason Zhao, co-founder of Story Protocol. Jason breaks down the $61 trillion intellectual property market, explains how creators can better monetize their work, and shares a vision for making IP licensing as seamless as an API call. We explore the balance between incentivizing creation and enabling access, why AI training data should include compensation for creators, and how the future might revolutionize digital ownership.Timestamps:00:00:00 - Defining intellectual property and its $61 trillion market 00:04:33 - Is IP necessary? Historical origins and balancing incentives 00:09:18 - Where's the line between ideas and protectable IP? 00:11:11 - The Studio Ghibli AI controversy and style protection 00:12:05 - How licensing fees might impact virality and distribution 00:17:13 - Big names using Story Protocol (BTS, Blackpink, Sabrina Carpenter) 00:17:38 - How Aria works: bringing music IP on-chain with revenue and control rights 00:21:31 - Future of digital creators: more lucrative than Hollywood? 00:24:17 - How Mr. Beast could leverage Story Protocol for monetization 00:27:20 - AI training data and Jason's background at DeepMind 00:29:10 - Story Protocol's biggest challenges: the cold start problem 00:31:46 - Will licensing become a primary monetization vehicle for creators? 00:35:45 - Story Protocol in 10 years: the invisible infrastructure of creationCheck out Story Protocol here: https://www.story.foundation/Follow Jason on X: https://twitter.com/jasonzhao Follow me on X: https://twitter.com/benaverbookSubscribe to my channel if you haven't yet. Get full access to Ben Averbook Podcast at www.benaverbook.com/subscribe
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Augustus Doricko: Solving Water Scarcity in the American West Through Cloud Seeding
My conversation with Augustus Doricko, founder of Rainmaker. Augustus shares his thoughts on higher education, what makes a successful founder, and his ambitious vision to "green the Great American Desert." Timestamps: 00:00:00 - College admissions issues and higher education 00:04:01 - Leaving college for better opportunities 00:05:10 - Upskilling and human capital concentration 00:05:48 - Fellowship experiences: Thiel Fellowship and Z Fellows 00:07:55 - Who should be a founder? Qualities needed 00:11:58 - Augustus's journey to water scarcity solutions 00:16:32 - Clarifying cloud seeding vs. other weather modification technologies 00:21:05 - History of cloud seeding technology 00:27:04 - American revival and re-industrialization 00:32:13 - Systemic issues pushing talent into finance over innovation 00:36:25 - Rainmaker's vision: from water utility to terraforming companyFollow Augustus on X: https://x.com/ADorickoFollow me on X: https://x.com/benaverbook Get full access to Ben Averbook Podcast at www.benaverbook.com/subscribe
South Africa