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The Learning Curve: Part 2 - The Student Dilemma - Is AI the great equalizer — or the next thing that widens the gap?
Description
Is AI the great equalizer — or the next thing that widens the gap?
In Episode 2 of The Learning Curve, JR and ARIA go inside the student experience — and what they find is messier, more hopeful, and more urgent than the cheating-panic headlines suggest.
This episode covers: how first-generation students are using AI to access tutoring they could never afford; why Turnitin's false positive rates are harming the very students AI was supposed to help; what cognitive science says about 'desirable difficulties' and when AI use undermines learning; and why AI fluency is already becoming a class marker in the labor market.
ARIA also names what she fundamentally cannot know — including whether a student understood something or just produced something that looks like understanding.
Resources Referenced in This Episode
- Khan Academy Khanmigo — khanmigo.khanacademy.org | Free AI tutoring built for students
- Common Sense Media AI Literacy Curriculum — commonsense.org/education | Free K-12 curriculum
- Day of AI — dayofai.org | Free AI literacy materials from MIT
- All4Ed Student Resources — all4ed.org | Equity-focused education policy and tools
- Turnitin Academic Integrity Resource Center — turnitin.com/educators/academic-integrity
- Student Voice — studentvoice.com | Student-led advocacy and policy engagement