TheFlippedScientist

Dan Fitzpatrick’s recent article on Ben Gomes, Google’s Head of Learning and Sustainability, raises an important question for education at a time when AI is dominating so much of the conversation. The article argues that while AI may improve access, efficiency, and even aspects of teaching and learning, it cannot solve education’s deepest problem because that problem is ultimately human, not technological. It explores ideas around teacher burnout, motivation, purpose, and the kind of learner schools may need to nurture in the future, including Gomes’ idea of the “Renaissance learner.” To be clear, there was a lot in the article that I agreed with. At its heart, it makes a point that I think teachers have always known, even if the current AI conversation sometimes forgets it. Learning has never just been about access to information. It has never just been about better content, faster feedback, or more efficient delivery. Those things can help, but they are not the thing itself. What ma...