Conversation with Cohen-Thin Family about AI and Education - May 18, 2025

Overview

This conversation with mentor Lisa Cohen, her husband Win Thin, their son Gabe (Columbia University junior), and his girlfriend Chloe covered Gary's work with AI-focused educational models, particularly the Alpha Schools initiative. The discussion explored themes of educational purpose, the role of AI in learning, arts integration, and special needs education. Gary shared details about current Alpha School operations and expansion plans, while the Cohen-Thin family offered their perspectives as legal professionals, parents, and current students.

Key Points

Gary's Current Educational Work

Gary detailed his involvement with an AI-focused educational model:

"So he requested the billionaire that I didn't really know how the whole thing was working. But the billionaire was like, hey, let's meet. And we just talked about, he said, he made the case to me why working on AI-first education was the most important thing that I could work on."

The model's core approach integrates AI with personalized learning:

"So he had a lot of skin in the game. And the model is you get through the Common Core curriculum in the first two hours of the day with the help of an AI tutor. And then the whole rest of the day is loving adults, guiding you, supporting you in your purpose."

The initiative includes multiple current and planned locations:

"Yeah, it's been doing it for 10 years in Austin. And we're opening one in Phi Di... There's one in Miami that has one cycle of a school year so far, and the second one is the fall. But most of them are going to be pilots around the country."

Gary is also exploring a potential school project in the Pasadena/Altadena area:

"And so we have been asked to help out with the, to create a school in the midst of the Altadena Pasadena fires... But Kendrick Lamar's team has, you know, had a, it's like a film festival for like kids of the hood that got funding from parents and stuff in that area. And they lost all their funding because everything."

Educational Philosophy Discussions

Lisa questioned the metrics of educational success:

"How do you measure success of those schools?... What does it mean to be successful?"

Gary emphasized human flourishing as his ultimate goal:

"That's why I'm glad that the church was happy to support from day one for many years this initiative to just define what human flourishing is. Because to me, it's always about human flourishing, right? Everything's about human flourishing. So I don't think that kids that end up being very depressed because of school are flourishing, right?"

Lisa emphasized student-to-student learning as crucial:

"You know, the other thing that I have come to believe is that students excite each other. Yeah. You're in an environment where everybody is really focused on what they're doing and want to do really well and they're supportive of one another... It's the students around you."

The group discussed the importance of aligning values throughout a school:

"And I think part of how even that can happen is that the whole of the school, including the principal, including the mentors, are all aligned with the same worldview, philosophy on what better is."

AI in Education and Legal Fields

Gabe offered insights on AI use among college students:

"But yeah. I mean, it's brought up all sorts of interesting questions about AI in college. Because like everyone's using it. I mean, I don't. I personally don't really use AI. But like most people I know use AI for at least like something."

He shared a story about an AI cheating tool created by a Columbia student:

"He was like, we had like an orientation group chat with our orientation leaders. He was like, yo, like I got a bottle of vodka. Let's get lit... So I find out a couple months later that he built this AI cheating tool... He basically like made a software that like screen records the prompt and then like spits out an answer in real time."

Lisa explained her perspective on AI in legal work:

"It's not that I am anti. I think it's good for certain things. But unless you, A, you need to get the clients. So you need to be able to show success at what you're doing. It kind of runs counter to what we do, which is bespoke cases... But it's not for brief writing. It's mostly for research."

Gary reflected on the changing nature of human work alongside AI:

"I think it's more important to ask the questions like, at this current state of technology, what should humans still be doing?... And it's always going to change. The answer is going to change over and over again."

Special Needs Education

Lisa raised important questions about accommodating special needs students:

"So Anna teaches severe special needs kids... So what do you do with that?"

She described the challenges her daughter faces:

"Tough, because the funding is getting cut left and right. And she's being in San Diego with a largely immigrant community who are afraid to send their kids to school because they may get mad... Some of them are non-verbal... Some of them, these school days are the best days of their lives. Because once they gradually leave the system, they can't get a job."

Gary acknowledged the complexity:

"So are these situations where no adult help can even do anything about it?... Well, I think in this case– I was thinking this out loud. It's adult education of the special needs kids."

Arts Education

Chloe shared her experience at an arts-focused high school in Los Angeles:

"It was just like half the day was academics, half the day was like... It wasn't fulfilling academically, which is kind of why I went to Columbia, because I needed something different, for sure. But I think in terms of the people, it was great."

She explained how the school fostered community:

"There was a common thread of like... artistic passion that I think brought us together... And it was a very, pretty close-knit community. It was a small school, so like it was easy for it to be that way. There were like 130 students in it."

Despite academic limitations, she developed self-discipline:

"But I think in the fact that I was missing so much academically, like it forced me to chase things on my own clock. And like push myself. Not because like there were any, I don't know, like school standards pushing me. It was just like I had to do it because I cared about it and I wanted to."

White House Faith Office Connection

Gary mentioned his recent meeting at the White House:

"I was at the White House this week. What were you doing at the White House? Talking about how we defeat the Democrats. So I was invited, because an update has actually gone pretty deep in my non-denominational Christian faith, and I was invited to meet with the White House faith director."

Win questioned the moral consistency:

"I have to ask an obvious question. How does the faith director of the White House deal with – how do they even justify what's going on? Working with – Yes, I mean there's no – I don't see any sign of Christian values in what they're doing."

Gary acknowledged the tension but explained his focus on improving faith-based education:

"There are parents that are already sending their kids to, like, Catholic school or whatever. There's so many Catholic schools, right? I think they suck, and I want to make better Catholic schools, for example."

Observations

1. Gary is deeply involved in an educational model that integrates AI for curriculum efficiency while focusing human attention on purpose development and guidance.

2. The Cohen-Thin family provides a valuable multi-generational perspective on education: Lisa as a legal professional and parent, Gabe as a current college student, and Chloe as someone who experienced alternative education.

3. There's shared concern about measuring educational success beyond traditional metrics, with Lisa emphasizing happiness and Gary focusing on human flourishing.

4. The discussion revealed important gaps in current educational innovations regarding special needs students and highlighted the importance of student-to-student learning environments.

5. Gary's work spans multiple domains - from AI education to religious institutions - with a common thread of seeking purpose-driven approaches to human development.

6. There's tension between embracing technological advancement and maintaining human elements in education, which reflects larger societal questions about AI integration.

7. The philosophical discussion about art, education, and purpose bridges practical implementation questions with deeper concerns about human development and flourishing.