Should Chatbots Teach Our Children? With Khan Academy CEO Sal Khan

Capitalisn't

University of Chicago Podcast Network

Stigler Center, Chicago Booth, Socialism, Antitrust, University Of Chicago Podcast Network, Growth, 087667, Policy, Monopoly, Professors, Distortion, Research, Competition, Capitalisnt, Inequality, Promarket, Politics, Policymaking, Special Interest, Economics, Efficiency, Regulations, Chicago, Business, Markets, University Of Chicago, Kate Waldock, Capitalism, Friction, Bethany Mclean, Government, Macroeconomics, News, Education, Waldock, Georgetown, Microeconomics, Luigi Zingales, Zingales, Finance, Ucpn

4.5 • 584 Ratings

🗓️ 7 August 2025

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What is the right way, if there is one at all, to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) technology into our education system? For Sal Khan, CEO of one of the world’s largest nonprofit education technology platforms, the answer is to take a step back and ask: Where can AI best complement current pedagogy? If a problem can be solved by pencil and paper, should we really be using AI instead? Khan joins Bethany and Luigi to discuss his recent book, “Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (And Why That’s a Good Thing),” in which he makes the case for why the education sector will not only survive but thrive in the age of AI. He shares his 17-year journey to build and grow his organization, which now provides over 10,000 videos on everything from integral calculus to art history, reaching more than 170 million registered users in over 20 languages, mostly for free. Together, the three talk about how and where AI can enhance the learning process: how AI has shifted Khan’s philosophy and approach to pedagogy, how it could democratize educational and economic opportunity, and what this all means for traditional modes of learning and instruction in schools and universities. They also discuss concerns about data ownership, Khan’s partnerships with tech companies, and the guardrails he proposes to protect education against the monetization of students’ data and the concentration of benefits to privileged children. Ultimately, he makes the case for why teachers aren’t going anywhere—and leaves aspiring nonprofit and civic leaders with advice on how to build a successful, mission-driven organization.

Transcript

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0:00.0	just like know why you're doing something. It shouldn't be about AI. It should be about like,
0:03.3	what problem are you trying to solve? And if the problem you're trying to solve can be solved with pencil and paper, solve it with pencil and paper. But if it's AI, use AI. Because people keep, not just at schools, but everywhere keep falling into this trap. You know, when the iPad came out, Los Angeles spent some ridiculous amount, you know, I'm tempted to say it was something like, it was something like $500 million on iPads.
0:24.5	And then they just gathered dust because they didn't know what they were going to use them for.
0:29.6	I'm Bethany McLean.
0:31.1	Did you ever have a moment of doubt about capitalism and whether greed's a good idea?
0:36.4	And I'm Luigi Zengalis.
0:37.7	We have socialism for the very rich, rugged individualism for the poor.
0:43.2	And this is Capital Isn't, a podcast about what is working in capitalism.
0:47.2	First of all, tell me, is there some society you know that doesn't run on greed?
0:51.7	And most importantly, what isn't?
0:53.7	We ought to do better by the people
0:55.2	that get left behind. I don't think we shouldn't kill the capital system in the process.
1:00.4	Of the many aspects of capitalists we discuss on our podcast, some are particularly dear to us.
1:06.2	One is how AI will affect capitalists. The second is the role that non-for-profit institutions play in
1:12.3	capitalists. The third is how we can offer equal opportunities in a world that is very unequal.
1:18.8	And finally, we're very interesting in the future of universities. Is the business model broken?
1:23.8	What is the future? What will substitute it? It's rare to find a person who encompasses all four themes at once.
1:30.5	One of these people is Sal Khan, the founder of the eponymous Khan Academy.
1:34.9	If you lived on Mars for the last 20 years, let me tell you that Khan Academy is a not-for-profit
1:39.6	organization dedicated to providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere.
1:46.6	So Luigi, when did you first encounter Khan Academy?
1:49.6	It was more than 10 years ago when my daughter was in the last year of high school,
	...

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