This week, we check in on the state of artificial intelligence in education. We talk with a co-founder of Alpha Schools, MacKenzie Price, about how her private K-12 schools are using A.I. to generate personalized lesson plans and enabling teachers to spend their time motivating rather than teaching students. Then, the Princeton historian D. Graham Burnett joins us to discuss the existential threat that A.I. poses to the traditional humanities degree and why he believes we’ll see thousands of new schools emerge outside the university system to carry on the exploration of what it means to be a person in the world. And finally, we hear directly from students who are on the front line of technological change.Guests:<ul><li><a href="https://2hourlearning.com/founder/#:~:text=MacKenzie%20Price%2C%20Co%2DFounder%20of,for%20a%20change%20was%20now.">MacKenzie Price</a>, co-founder of Alpha Schools</li><li><a href="https://history.princeton.edu/people/d-graham-burnett">D. Graham Burnett</a>, historian of science and technology at Princeton University</li></ul>Additional Reading:<ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/27/us/politics/ai-alpha-school-austin-texas.html">A.I.-Driven Education: Founded in Texas and Coming to a School Near You</a></li><li><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/will-the-humanities-survive-artificial-intelligence">Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence?</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/technology/chatgpt-teachers-openai-microsoft.html">OpenAI and Microsoft Bankroll New A.I. Training for Teachers</a></li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/07/technology/chatgpt-openai-colleges.html">Welcome to Campus. Here’s Your ChatGPT.</a></li></ul>We want to hear from you. Email us at <a href="mailto:hardfork@nytimes.com">hardfork@nytimes.com</a>. Find “Hard Fork” on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/hardfork">YouTube</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@hardfork">TikTok</a>.
Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

A.I. School Is in Session: Two Takes on the Future of Education

Hard Fork

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews