🧑‍🏫 Microsoft and OpenAI get a hall pass

Hi AI Futurists,

OpenAI and Microsoft are piloting a specialized version of ChatGPT for educators to use in real classrooms. The AI helps with lesson planning, content creation, and personalized student engagement. It’s a strategic push to get AI adopted not just as a novelty, but as infrastructure for daily education workflows. Let’s take a look.

Here’s our agenda.

• Our Sponsor: Columbia Business School Executive Education

• Top AI news

• Microsoft and OpenAI launch tools for the classroom

• Top 3 selected AI tools

• AI in the wild

Best,
Lex

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Top AI news

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AI upside still largely overlooked by markets.

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🛍️ AI‑Powered Checkout Hits Lush
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🤖 AI as Boss
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🧩 European AI Server Build-out
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🌪️ AI to the Rescue (and Risk) in Disasters
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🧠 Meta Snatches Apple AI Chief
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🛒 GenAI Shopping Boom on Prime Day
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🧑‍🏫 Microsoft and OpenAI get a hall pass

OpenAI and Microsoft are quietly testing a new version of ChatGPT specifically designed for teachers, aiming to bring generative AI deeper into classrooms across the U.S. The New York Times reports that over 100 educators, from kindergarten to college, are working with early versions of the tool. Rather than just acting as a homework helper, this new version emphasizes lesson planning, personalized instruction, and support for non-English-speaking students. It’s part of a broader strategy to weave AI into the daily rhythm of teaching, with OpenAI’s COO Brad Lightcap describing it as “a high-touch initiative” to learn directly from educators.

This move is OpenAI’s most focused attempt yet to adapt its technology to real-world educational settings. Notably, the effort follows a wave of anxiety among teachers who initially saw tools like ChatGPT as enablers of plagiarism. But the tone has shifted: many educators now see potential in AI as a creative collaborator. As highlighted in the Times, the project aims to offer concrete support: think tailored writing prompts, dynamic feedback on essays, and new ways to reach students with different learning needs.

Some teachers are cautious about becoming dependent on a system owned by two tech giants, Microsoft and OpenAI. But others say the time savings are too valuable to ignore. “The tech won’t replace me, but it might give me back my evenings,” one pilot user quipped. The tension here isn’t about automation; it’s about control, and whether teachers or platforms will ultimately shape the classroom experience. The stakes echo a broader shift in knowledge work: the people who learn to collaborate with AI may soon define the future of work.

Takeaways at a Glance:

• Pilot includes 100+ teachers across grades and regions

• Tool focuses on classroom tasks like creating prompts and adapting materials

• Project is part of OpenAI’s effort to tailor ChatGPT for specific professions

• Microsoft supports integration into classroom devices and platforms

• Key tension: empowerment vs. dependence on private tech platforms

What We Think About It:

• This is OpenAI’s most practical vertical push yet, and education is a smart target. Teachers are overloaded and under-resourced, making this a clear value add. But whoever sets the AI defaults could also shape learning in subtle ways.

What You Can Do Right Now:

• If you're a parent, ask your child’s school whether they’re exploring AI tools for learning. This shift is already happening in pilot classrooms.

• If you’re an educator, explore the free version of ChatGPT and experiment with prompts for lesson plans, student feedback, or adapting texts for different reading levels.

• If you’re curious, try giving ChatGPT a typical teacher task (like "create a reading quiz for 5th grade students") and see what it can produce. You might be surprised at how it thinks.

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Vapi

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AI in the wild

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