A Philosopher's case against AI

A Philosopher's case against AI

In this episode, Svenia Busson sits down with Dr. Alex Carter, Associate Professor at Cambridge University [https://www.ice.cam.ac.uk/], Fellow of Fitzwilliam College, and Director of Creativity Research at the Centre for AI Interaction. Alex holds a PhD in philosophy from Essex — with roots in Wittgenstein and the philosophy of language — and has become one of the UK's most provocative thinkers at the intersection of philosophy, creativity, and AI. His central claim: AI cannot be truly creative. Not because it lacks power, but because it "thinks like we think we think", it is a mirror of human thought, not thought itself. In this conversation, we explore: 🔹 Why AI is fundamentally incapable of creativity — and the philosophical argument behind it 🔹 The "race to the middle": as we outsource our thinking to AI, humans get slightly worse while AI appears slightly better, and we meet at mediocrity 🔹 Why education systems have been "teaching algorithmically" for decades — long before ChatGPT. AI didn't create the problem; it just made it impossible to ignore 🔹 Why AI should make problems for students, not solve them — and what "friction maxing" means for learning 🔹 The Gartner Hype Cycle [https://www.gartner.com/en/research/methodologies/gartner-hype-cycle] and why reaching the "plateau of productivity" requires a complete rethink of education 🔹 The Durham Commission on Creativity (2001) — and why 25 years later, nothing has changed in the UK 🔹 What consciousness really is — and why even the engineers building AI don't fully understand what they've made 🔹 Why philosophy should be the connective tissue of every discipline — and why we need more philosophy, not more philosophers References & links mentioned in this episode: * Alex's website: adcphilosophy.com [https://adcphilosophy.com] * The Durham Commission on Creativity and Education: https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/sites/default/files/download-file/Durham_Commission_on_Creativity_04112019_0.pdf * The Gartner Hype Cycle [https://www.gartner.com/en/research/methodologies/gartner-hype-cycle] * PISA — now updated to include a creativity assessment (https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/student-performance-pisa.html) * Bill Lucas [https://www.winchester.ac.uk/about-us/leadership-and-governance/staff-directory/staff-profiles/lucas.php] on creativity skills and perseverance * Simone Weil [https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/simone-weil/] — French philosopher referenced on personalized learning * Philosophy for Children (P4C) [https://www.sapere.org.uk/] by Thoughtful and the PLATO [https://plato-philosophy.org/] organization

Measuring what actually matters in Edtech

Dr. Asyia Kazmi, OBE spent 12 years teaching mathematics in some of London's toughest schools, and she loved every minute of it. She went on to advise the UK government, work at PwC, lead Global Education Policy at the Gates Foundation, and is now CEO of WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education, https://www.wise-qatar.org/ [https://www.wise-qatar.org/]), a Qatar Foundation initiative that convenes the world's leading minds to solve education's hardest problems. In this conversation with Svenia Busson, recorded live in Paris, Asyia shares what the classroom taught her that no policy document ever could and how that foundation shapes every investment decision, every programme she designs, and her vision for the school of the future. We explore: — What it really means to measure learning, and why waiting 2–3 years for impact evaluations is simply unacceptable — How she built an AI and EdTech portfolio at the Gates Foundation that significantly improved the learning of 2.5 million children across India and Sub-Saharan Africa, working with partners like Central Square Foundation, Fab Inc, and EIDU. — What she looks for when evaluating an EdTech product (from pedagogical rigour to data protection for children) — Why teachers are irreplaceable (and how AI might free them to do what only humans can do) — Why motivation may become the new inequity divider in an AI-powered world — Her instinctive vision of a future-proof school, built for the most underserved communities — The WISE Prize — a $1M+ prize open to established education organisations ready to test bold new ideas. Applications close 27 June 2026 (go check it out here: https://www.wise-qatar.org/innovation/wise-prize-for-education [https://www.wise-qatar.org/innovation/wise-prize-for-education]) Organisations & people Asyia recommends exploring: The Citizens Foundation, Pakistan — CEO: Zia Akhter Abbas (2,500+ schools for underserved communities) Pratham Education Foundation— Rukmini Banerji Madhi Foundation — Merlia Shaukat Language and Learning Foundation — Dr. Dhir Jhingran Human Capital Africa — Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, former Minister of Education of Nigeria and co-founder of Transparency International EEDI (for maths) https://www.eedischool.com/us [https://www.eedischool.com/us] EIDU (foundational literacy and numeracy in Africa) https://www.eidu.com/ [https://www.eidu.com/]

Making computer science tangible for children

Linda Liukas spent her early career surrounded by engineers in Silicon Valley, working at Codecademy [https://www.codecademy.com/] and dreaming of a different kind of computer science education — one that felt tangible, joyful, and human. In 2014, she launched a Kickstarter for Hello Ruby [https://www.helloruby.com/], a children's storybook teaching the big ideas of computer science through characters and storytelling. She asked for $10,000. She got nearly $400,000 — and a community of 10,000 believers. Since then, Linda has been doing exactly that: making computer science accessible to children through picture books, drawing workshops, and — most recently — computational playgrounds. The first one, a six-meter-tall computer you can actually crawl through, opened in Helsinki two years ago. More are being built across Europe, each one locally designed, intensely participative, and built to last 20 years. In this episode, Linda and Svenia discuss: * Why "learn to code was never about learning to code" — and what it was really about * Why, in the age of AI, teaching the foundations of computer science matters more than ever (not prompting, not tools — the underlying ideas) * How she designs computational playgrounds that make technology learnable through the body * The Reggio Emilia philosophy [https://www.reggiochildren.it/en/] — and why she turns to it whenever she feels lost in the noise around AI * Lessons from the Finnish education system — its rise, its PISA scores, and the worrying trends (Pasi Sahlberg's work [https://pasisahlberg.com/] for those who want to go deeper) * What three things the French education system is teaching her son that will serve him well in the age of AI Linda also recommends a future guest: Annabel Blake, an Australian researcher who has done fascinating PhD work on young people and AI companions — neither pessimist nor optimist, but deeply nuanced: https://www.annabelblake.com/ If you missed it, we also refer to our Episode 37 with philosopher Alex Montag on Socratic dialogue — well worth a listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/socratic-dialogue-in-the-age-of-ai/id1847420474?i=1000767131871

SuperSkills: The 7 human skills AI can't replace

What skills will remain irreplaceable as AI takes over more and more of the work we do? That's the question that led Rahim Hirji [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahimhirji/] to write SuperSkills [https://www.thesuperskills.com/] — a book about the human capabilities that will define who thrives in the age of AI. Rahim has spent over two decades at the intersection of technology and education. He ran Maths Doctor, one of the UK's first online tutoring businesses. He co-founded EtonX [https://www.linkedin.com/company/etonx], which brought soft skills education to students across China and beyond. He then joined Quizlet [https://www.linkedin.com/company/quizlet/] to lead its international growth, and served as Executive Vice-President at Avallain [https://www.avallain.com/], a Switzerland-based learning platform. He is now advising AI and EdTech businesses. He is also a school governor at Channing School [https://uk.linkedin.com/company/channing-school] in North London. In this episode, Rahim walks us through his SuperSkills Ladder, a framework that goes from survival skills all the way up to what he calls the 7 super skills: curiosity, change readiness, big picture thinking, principled innovation, empathy, global adaptability, and the augmented mindset. His research draws on the findings of the World Economic Forum and McKinsey on the future of work. He explains why the "specialist skills" layer — the vocational knowledge we've spent careers building — is the one being disrupted hardest by AI, and why developing super skills is now an urgent priority for anyone in the workforce. We also explore what it means to raise teenagers in the age of AI (including Rahim's own hard rule with his 14-year-old), why school curricula need a fundamental redesign, and why the augmented mindset — knowing when to use AI versus when to think for yourself first — may be the most important skill of all. Go further: https://superskillsbook.com/ [https://superskillsbook.com/] - Rahim's book, pre-order it now! https://www.thesuperskills.com/about [https://www.thesuperskills.com/about] - more about Rahim https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-i-tell-kids-ai-rahim-hirji-bs5re/ [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-i-tell-kids-ai-rahim-hirji-bs5re/] - His article "What I Tell Kids About AI" https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-i-tell-parents-ai-rahim-hirji-mcurf/ [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-i-tell-parents-ai-rahim-hirji-mcurf/] - His article "What I Tell Parents About AI" https://boxofamazing.substack.com/ [https://boxofamazing.substack.com/] - Rahim's substack

AI, companions & EdTech: A VC's perspective

What separates an AI companion from an AI agent? And when does a "sticky" learning app actually make you smarter? In this episode, Svenia Busson sits down with Rhys Spence [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhys-spence/], Head of Research & Platform at Brighteye Ventures [https://www.brighteyevc.com/] — one of Europe's leading EdTech and future-of-work VC funds, with over €220 million under management. Rhys shares the key insights from Brighteye's report Me, Myself and My AI: The Rise of AI Companions [https://www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/me-myself-and-my-ai---the-rise-of-ai-companions], exploring how AI companions are reshaping education, health, and finance — and why vertical, regulated tools are safer and more defensible than general-purpose AI. They also dig into the role of behavioral science in making people genuinely want to learn, the tension between product stickiness and real learning outcomes, the rise of VR and smart glasses in vocational training (cutting qualification times by up to 99%), and Rhys's "Fix the Pothole" thesis: why AI should rebuild broken systems from the ground up, not layer efficiency gains on top of them. Rhys also shares what Brighteye Ventures is actively looking for from early-stage EdTech founders today — and what it means to invest for impact without being an impact fund. To go further: Me, Myself, and My AI - the rise of AI companions: [https://www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/me-myself-and-my-ai---the-rise-of-ai-companions] https://www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/me-myself-and-my-ai---the-rise-of-ai-companions Brighteye Ventures [https://www.brighteyevc.com/]: https://www.brighteyevc.com/ Rhys Spence on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhys-spence/ https://www.brighteyevc.com/sidekick-posts/fix-the-pothole (Blog post about the Fix the Pothole reference)