The AI & Web3 Superhero Duo: Ed3World Newsletter Issue #26

Can web3 help AI help web3?

Vriti Saraf 🌐 3.0

Jul 3, 2023

This monthly newsletter serves as your bridge from the real world to the advancements of web3 & the metaverse, specifically contextualized for education. If you haven’t already subscribed, join here:

Dear Educators & Friends,

This month has been an explosion of AI & Web3 excitement.

One ah-ha moment came from a podcast conversation between Sam Harris & Marc Andreesen. As they debated whether AI will “save” or “destroy” humanity, Andreesen made a point in passing: You have to decide what kind of life you want to live in order to optimize the potential of AI.

😌 What if we didn’t ask, “how should I use AI?”, which may perpetuate bad habits and produce anxiety. Instead, what if we asked, “what about my life do I want to improve”? Technology, created by humans, is meant to make our lives easier. So let it do just that. Let’s use our goals to backwards map AI utility and focus on what makes our lives better.

Last week at ISTE, I was lucky enough to drive this point home through four sessions about the future of education, with folks from Dell, Microsoft, Google, Denver Public Schools, GettingSmart, & others. I wanted to share two major takeaways.

😰 1) No one really knows what to do about AI privacy & security issues in education

Educators at ISTE weren’t the only ones grappling with this… Microsoft & Open AI were sued a few days ago for allegedly misappropriating data. If the founders are struggling, how will local superintendents identify measures to protect students while preserving their right to access this life-changing technology?

Well, there’s no answer just yet to crafting the perfect AI-use policy, but… I’ve discovered there may be a temporary loophole.

Option 1: Did you know you can stand up an inexpensive, local version of ChatGPT for your organization? You can set up parameters for usage of the product and monitor the data living on your local servers. Some private schools I’ve spoken with have already created local versions… while public schools continue banning it. Imagine the disparity this will continue to create. My organization, Ed3 DAO, stood up a local version in February and it cost us less than $50 to run thousands of queries. Several free tutorials are available online. If you think I should host a live demonstration & tutorial, drop your info here.

Option 2: Did you know there are multiple companies creating AI chatbots that are more secure and focus specifically on education? Although the massive data & computing power of ChatGPT is unparalleled, these other products may be decent alternatives without compromising safety.

Here’s four examples: 1) Merlyn Mind - This one uses education-specific large language models & protects student data through local servers; 2) Stretch AI - ISTE & ASCD are training a local neural network with their own, research-based, education materials; 3) Khanmigo - they’re using OpenAI in their own ecosystem & are particularly good at inquiry-based tutoring; 4) Claude by Anthropic - this one is not education specific but was created with safety as a major goal, by two ex-OpenAI employees.

If you think a meetup to talk about safety & security measures for AI in schools would be useful to you, drop your info here.

Okay, here’s my second takeaway from ISTE.

🔗 2) AI & Web3 may be the best partnership for security, safety, democratization, and ownership.

Did you know that blockchain has the potential to mitigate a lot of our intellectual property and data privacy issues? And that AI may help manifest the real web3?

If you’re wondering how, this month’s issue is all about it. The connection and potential between Web3 & AI. This superhero duo may be the real innovation we’ve been waiting for.

But before you dive in, I’m so proud to share two amazing opportunities from our ever-growing Ed3 DAO, a non-profit serving innovative educators.

💰 We’re giving away $50,000 to educators in our community who want to host IRL or virtual events about web3 in education. You can find out more here.
🧠 We’ve partnered with Idaho State University to launch 12 courses on web3 in education and you can take your first course, for free. You can learn more here.

Thanks for indulging me today with my longer-than-usual intro. Let’s dive into why AI & Web3 can help each other.

Warmly yours,

Vriti Saraf

Learn about the AI & Web3 duo

Blockchain may offer answers for AI Challenges
How AI can help build web3
The convergence of AI & blockchain
AI & blockchain use cases
AI is shaping the metaverse
Five use cases of AI in the metaverse
What are AI NFTs?
How will AI improve NFTs?
How AI will change NFT gaming
Monetizing AI environments with tokens
The potential of AI & blockchain in education
OECD wrote about AI & blockchain helping education in 2021 but now it’s actually possible

📅 Ed3 Events

Web3 & Education Social Networking Event (Aug 1, Ed3verse)
Weekly Coffee Chat on Web3 in Education (every Saturday, Discord)

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This week’s Metaverse for Education newsletter is about AI & Web3. More to come on other Web3 & emerging tech topics. We’re excited to bring education into the Metaverse & to help you leverage the opportunities in the new world.