Warm Data in a Time of AI
Warm Data Labs have been in practice for more than a decade as a way to explore together in analogue conversation. The structure of these conversations uniquely creates conditions for people to bring together multiple perspectives they had not considered, revealing the fantastic complexity of each person, in their culture, in the biological world.
AI is rapidly emerging in exciting and confusing ways. While the nature of cognition and learning have been deeply researched, there is still much that is unknown about the delicate cognitive processes of living human beings. Already it has been established that use of AI can damage people’s, especially young people’s, ability to connect, communicate and make sense of their relations ‘in real life.’
Out of concern for the known as well as unknown harms that AI can produce, Warm Data and the Warm Data Lab/ People Need People Online practices have been suggested to re-attune to the invisible but vital processes of human-to-human communication… through mutual learning.
At present, schools around the world are facing the complicated landscapes of AI and its influence on students’ mental, emotional, and educational flourishing. “School”, as an institution of learning, holds a responsibility for transcontextual conjoining of both health needs and societal preparation through the complex process of becoming adults in a world undergoing the upheaval of rapid change.
Students are seriously struggling now in many countries, expressing the nihilism of feeling isolated and unseen by the demands of their elders and the school systems. The state of environmental and political affairs has left them feeling that their futures are pointless. Into this despair, AI is all too easily usurping the roles of being a lonely student’s confidant, teacher, friend, psychologist and even romantic interest… further rendering the depth of human relations as too difficult to face. Learning, and well-being are significantly undermined by this isolation.
Parents, educators, counselors and even governmental agencies are not sure how to balance the benefits of technology use with the urgent need to protect the next generations.
Warm Data practices offer up a nourishing possibility to meet (not match) the predicament we find ourselves in. The necessary response must come from another context besides those inflamed in the situation, with an entirely different aesthetic, tone, feel, and logic.
Joining Nora Bateson on this training will be guest speakers, Dr. Zachary Stein, Olli-Pekka Heinonen and Tim Logan
Dr. Zachary Stein is a leading authority on the future of education and contemporary issues in human development. Founder & Executive Director, AI Psychological Harms Research Coalition
Olli-Pekka Heinonen is the eighth and current Director General of the International Baccalaureate (IB), taking office in May 2021. A former Finnish Minister of Education and Director General of the Finnish National Agency for Education, he leads the IB’s efforts in developing inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring students across 159 countries.
Tim Logan is an education leader, connector, and facilitator. Tim has worked with prominent clients around the world to develop new and innovative approaches to learning, well-being, and youth engagement. Tim is also the host/producer of the Future Learning Design podcast.
