In this episode of the In AI We Trust? AI Literacy series, Miriam Vogel and co-host Rosalind Wiseman welcomed back one of the world’s leading voices in artificial intelligence, Dr. Andrew Ng.
As the founder of DeepLearning.AI and chairman and co-founder of Coursera, Ng is renowned for his work democratizing access to computer science and AI education. He is also the Executive Chairman of LandingAI, Managing General Partner at AI Fund, an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at Stanford, and the author and co-author of over 200 research papers.
Last year, he joined the podcast to speak about everything from the promise of generative AI to the role of regulation, and in this episode, he returns to share practical insights and bold ideas about how AI will shape the future of work and education, and the importance of AI literacy. He issues two important calls to action to enable more of us to take full advantage of AI’s potential: (1) learn to code and (2) build with AI.
“Everyone should learn to code.”
Ng got straight to the point when asked how he defines AI literacy: “Everyone should learn to code,” he said, countering the growing narrative that AI will make coding obsolete. “When they learn to code they can more precisely direct a computer to do exactly what they want it to do.”
In this way AI tools don’t negate the need for coding knowledge—they amplify it. Rather than replacing the need for programming, AI-assisted coding tools have made the practice more powerful, and accessible, than ever. Learning the basics of coding, at a minimum, Ng stresses, is essential to unlocking economic opportunity and productivity across all sectors.
Countering Fear
Throughout the episode, Ng makes sure to address AI-related fears often expressed by students, parents, and educators as well as widespread misconceptions, some that are based on lack of AI education and others based on intentional efforts. He emphasizes how important it is to focus on the real risks of AI, rather than fearmongering and hype of more distant or less probable concerns, like the threat that AI will lead to human extinction.
While he acknowledges education- and work-related anxieties, he encourages listeners to embrace AI as a tool for their empowerment. Whether you’re a marketer, financial analyst, or recruiter, he believes knowing how to write simple code and prompt a large language model (LLM) can make you vastly more effective and valuable in the workplace.
Reimagining Education for Greater AI Literacy
For Ng, AI literacy requires changes in our education system.
He strongly believes computer science should be a mandatory part of the school curriculum across all fifty states and that teachers need to be provided with the tools to teach it. He shares the example of what Kira Learning, a company he’s involved with, is doing to help teachers learn to code and provide more personalized feedback to their students.
Ng argues that the quality and return on investment of higher education should match rising tuition costs and that universities should do more to support their students.
Empowering People to Build with AI
Beyond AI’s impact on education and the workforce, Ng shares his broader vision for AI as a catalyst for larger societal change. He shares his personal focus on applications in climate modeling research in his spare time, and outlines the thoughtful and thought-provoking argument that AI is making intelligence less expensive and more accessible.
Ng is enthusiastic about the decreased cost of building with AI, providing more people with the opportunity to innovate. Miriam notes Ng’s generosity and work ethic, and asks how he decides which projects to prioritize. Ng shares his approach of prioritizing his projects based on three factors: how much impact he can achieve, how much he can learn from the effort, and how they will affect people.
Ng leaves listeners with a second call to action to build: “I want to empower everyone to build with AI because that unleashes a lot of people to go do all of these wonderful things that are now possible.”
Enjoy the full episode here:
