Speaker 1: Hello, Hello, Welcome to Smart Talks with IBM, a podcast
Speaker 1: from Pushkin Industries, iHeartRadio and IBM. I'm Malcolm Glabwell. This season,
Speaker 1: we're diving back into the world of artificial intelligence, but
Speaker 1: with a focus on the powerful concept of open its possibilities, implications,
Speaker 1: and misconceptions. We'll look at openness from a variety of
Speaker 1: angles and explore how the concept is already reshaping industries,
Speaker 1: ways of doing business, and our very notion of what's possible.
Speaker 1: On today's episode, doctor Lori Santos sat down with two
Speaker 1: women at the forefront of AI in education. Justina Nixon
Speaker 1: Santil is Vice president and Chief Impact Officer of IBM
Speaker 1: Corporate Social Responsibility, and April Dawson is an Associate Dean
Speaker 1: of Technology and Innovation and Professor of Law at North
Speaker 1: Carolina Central University School of Law. Together, they explore the
Speaker 1: transformative impact of AI on education and the workforce. As
Speaker 1: technology rapidly evolves, industries are being reshaped and the demand
Speaker 1: for new skills is at an all time high. This
Speaker 1: is opening up opportunities for diverse talent, enabling individuals from
Speaker 1: various backgrounds to excel in roles they might not have
Speaker 1: previously considered. They also address the ethical considerations of AI,
Speaker 1: emphasizing the importance of maintaining a human centered approach. Whether
Speaker 1: you're a teacher or student, or someone interested in the
Speaker 1: future of work, it's essential to embrace the role of
Speaker 1: AI in the education landscape. AI is not only changing
Speaker 1: the way we work, but also how we learn, making
Speaker 1: education more accessible, personalized, and aligned with the demands of
Speaker 1: the modern job market.
Speaker 2: Just in anypels great to me both of you. I'm
Speaker 2: so excited for this conversation.
Speaker 3: Thank you for having me and thank you for having
Speaker 3: me Justina.
Speaker 2: To start, could you share some insights on your journey
Speaker 2: to becoming IBM's Chief Impact Officer and how your background
Speaker 2: in engineering shapes your approach to corporate social responsibility.
Speaker 4: So I've had an interest in journey. I'm an immigrant.
Speaker 4: I was one of the only black women who graduated
Speaker 4: from my school's mechanical engineering program many many years ago.
Speaker 4: I started my engineering career at a nuclear facility that's
Speaker 4: around forty five miles outside of Buffalo, New York, and
Speaker 4: eventually worked for one of the largest telecommunications companies in
Speaker 4: the world in engineering, marketing, and eventually in corporate social responsibility.
Speaker 4: I was hired to lead the organization away from traditional
Speaker 4: philanthropy to creating platforms and solutions that leveraged four G
Speaker 4: and five G technologies to positively impact disadvantaged communities, and
Speaker 4: that is what has led me to the work that
Speaker 4: I do at IBM today. I have the honor of
Speaker 4: being the company's first Chief Impact Officer, and is such
Speaker 4: a privilege and a responsibility to be at IBM, which
Speaker 4: has such a huge history in sustainability, in social and
Speaker 4: in the ethical space as well. When I consider how
Speaker 4: my background in engineering ties into the work that I do,
Speaker 4: I actually think engineers are very skilled at analyzing data
Speaker 4: and at innovative problem solving. The other thing where there's
Speaker 4: a lot of alignment with my engineering background is really
Speaker 4: around how do I think about using technology to solve
Speaker 4: some of the biggest issues that we have in society?
Speaker 4: And I get very excited about innovating and creating and
Speaker 4: leveraging technologies like AI and hybrid cloud to really bring
Speaker 4: those into the work that we do and to solve
Speaker 4: some of those big challenges that we have in society
Speaker 4: today around sustainability and education.
Speaker 2: That's fabulous. April, tell me about your path to be
Speaker 2: becoming Associate dean of Technology and Innovation as well as
Speaker 2: a professor in law.
Speaker 3: So I am a child of an educator, actually educators.
Speaker 3: Both my parents are educators. I went to high school
Speaker 3: where my mom taught, and it was in the eighties
Speaker 3: and it was during that time period when teachers were
Speaker 3: given Apple computers, so they were brand new. My mom
Speaker 3: brought one home. I started playing with it. Then I
Speaker 3: just kind of fell in love with the technology. I
Speaker 3: received my undergraduate degree in computer science because of that
Speaker 3: early exposure. I went to Bennett College here in Greensboro,
Speaker 3: North Carolina. It's an HBCU, a historically black college and university.
Speaker 3: I was a programmer after graduating from Bennett, and I've
Speaker 3: always loved technology, but I also had a love for
Speaker 3: the law. So after being a programmer for a couple
Speaker 3: of years, I decided to go to law school. And
Speaker 3: even as a lawyer, I leveraged technology in my private practice.
Speaker 3: When I decided to begin teaching almost twenty years ago,
Speaker 3: I would ask myself, how could I leverage a technology
Speaker 3: to enhance my teaching to help the students better understand
Speaker 3: the material. And so when our dean at the time
Speaker 3: Brownie Lewis, when she was able to facilitate a five
Speaker 3: million dollar grant to North Carolina Central University School of Law,
Speaker 3: we created the Technology Law and Policy Center, and she
Speaker 3: asked me if I would be interested in serving as
Speaker 3: the inaugural Associate Dean of Technology and Innovation. So suffice
Speaker 3: it to say, I'm in my dream job. I'm able
Speaker 3: to combine my love of technology, my love of law,
Speaker 3: my love of education, and so it's really an exciting
Speaker 3: time to be in a position like I have.
Speaker 2: I love that, April. What inspired you to integrate AI
Speaker 2: and technology into your law curriculum?
Speaker 3: It's interesting, As I mentioned before, I've always used it
Speaker 3: personally as an educator, but the thought of teaching a
Speaker 3: class that really kind of focused on technology and the
Speaker 3: legal implications of that really occurred because Ray Thomas, who
Speaker 3: was an IP lawyer and worked at IBM at the
Speaker 3: time in twenty twenty so around the pandemic, he encouraged
Speaker 3: us to take advantage of the IBM Skills Build Training program,
Speaker 3: the Train the Trainer program. So really, not until that
Speaker 3: time period did I even really even think about teaching
Speaker 3: a tech focused legal class. And during that time period,
Speaker 3: a couple of my other colleagues and I we did
Speaker 3: the train the Trainer blockchain course. I did the data
Speaker 3: science course, and then that next summer we team taught
Speaker 3: the Blockchain for Lawyer's class, which we designed, and then
Speaker 3: I taught a Data Science for Lawyers class, and so
Speaker 3: that was, you know, really kind of the first iteration
Speaker 3: of us really being intentional about teaching technology and law.
Speaker 3: And then one of my other colleagues, doctor Savon Da Grady,
Speaker 3: she is a professor at the School of Library and
Speaker 3: Information Sciences here at NCCU. She reached out to me
Speaker 3: and said, would you be interesting in teaching a joint
Speaker 3: AI and the law class that would include her Masters
Speaker 3: of Information Science students and my law students. So it's
Speaker 3: a wonderful interdisciplinary class where you have master's students and
Speaker 3: law students and we talk about the foundations of AI,
Speaker 3: we talk about the legal implications of policy implications, and
Speaker 3: so really, you know, this kind of all started because
Speaker 3: of the resources that IBM have made available to NCCU.
Speaker 2: That's so cool, and that class sounds amazing. I wish
Speaker 2: I could like drop out of being a professor. I
Speaker 2: dond this class. This sounds awesome soon as the question
Speaker 2: for both of you, in this age of AI and
Speaker 2: open technology, does the role of education change? Are we
Speaker 2: kind of at a different spot with what education should
Speaker 2: be doing now.
Speaker 4: When I look at the rule of education today from
Speaker 4: the corporate point of view, I think it does change.
Speaker 4: I was having a discussion earlier today with some members
Speaker 4: of my team, and we were discussing early professional hires,
Speaker 4: so people would want to hire right out of college,
Speaker 4: and one of the first things that I shared was
Speaker 4: some of the tasks that they would have done previously
Speaker 4: will be automated. We will be using AI for those
Speaker 4: basic tasks that in the past we would have hired
Speaker 4: an intern or a recent college graduate to do. And
Speaker 4: it's so critical now that we look at higher level
Speaker 4: types of tasks that we will need college graduates to do.
Speaker 4: And I can foresee in the future hiring someone from
Speaker 4: college who does not have at least a basic understanding
Speaker 4: of AI. There will be some roles where they will
Speaker 4: have to have an advanced understanding, especially if they're in
Speaker 4: an engineering role or computer science role, but across the
Speaker 4: board they will need to understand AI. So when I
Speaker 4: think about the way that education is changing, whether you're
Speaker 4: a college student, whether you are an adult professional, you
Speaker 4: will need to be a lifelong learner and you will
Speaker 4: need to understand how to continuously upskill and reskill yourself
Speaker 4: to be able to understand technologies like AI because of
Speaker 4: the rapid acceleration of these types of technologies, and I
Speaker 4: think that's very important. I think everyone has to be prepared,
Speaker 4: if they're not doing it today, to upskill and reskill themselves.
Speaker 4: And I can't foresee any roles in the future where
Speaker 4: candidates will not need to have a very basic understanding
Speaker 4: of AI or even advanced understanding of AI.
Speaker 2: That's great, April. Let me ask you a slightly different
Speaker 2: version of the question, what is the significance of AI
Speaker 2: for students and young professionals today?
Speaker 3: When we think about the disruption that JENAI especially has
Speaker 3: caused within the legal profession, students have to be more
Speaker 3: or adept when it comes to feeling comfortable, being uncomfortable,
Speaker 3: and learning something new. The other thing that I would
Speaker 3: just kind of emphasize from an educational standpoint is this
Speaker 3: also means that educators have to approach teaching differently. You know,
Speaker 3: I've been teaching for going on twenty years and things
Speaker 3: are kind of being turned on their heads somewhat, right,
Speaker 3: and I have had to upskill and reskill. We can't
Speaker 3: teach that what we don't know. We can't monitor that
Speaker 3: what we don't know. Just as the students have to
Speaker 3: understand generative AI, the educators have to understand it as well.
Speaker 2: Yeah, this is something I've felt in the classroom myself
Speaker 2: as a psychology professor, right, is that I'm realizing how
Speaker 2: much I need to kind of go back to school
Speaker 2: and learn about all these AI tools, not just so
Speaker 2: that I can teach it, but just so I can
Speaker 2: understand how my students are using these things, right, but
Speaker 2: also to figure out how I can enhance the educational
Speaker 2: experience of my own students in psychology right by giving
Speaker 2: them access to these tools. And so, yeah, I'm curious
Speaker 2: in your experience, how does AI actually enhance the educational
Speaker 2: experience for your law students. And I'm curious if you
Speaker 2: could give an example of the type of thing you
Speaker 2: do in your classroom.
Speaker 3: Yes, So one of the things that I tell my
Speaker 3: students is you got to get your hands dirty. You
Speaker 3: can't understand these tools if you don't kind of dig
Speaker 3: in and just see how they work, so one giving
Speaker 3: them permission and encouraging them to do it. In terms
Speaker 3: of how they might be able to use these tools
Speaker 3: to help them learn better, I encourage them to as
Speaker 3: they're wrestling maybe with concepts that are confusing, they haven't
Speaker 3: completely wrapped their heads around it. And when we think
Speaker 3: about large language models, these tools are really helpful in
Speaker 3: that sense. Right, if there's a passage in the book
Speaker 3: and you're not quite following it, or there's a case
Speaker 3: right and you need some assistance in breaking it down,
Speaker 3: running that information through a large language model and then
Speaker 3: asking questions about it can be really beneficial. Also in
Speaker 3: the law score the legal contexts, large language models are
Speaker 3: really helpful for that as well. But one thing I
Speaker 3: do caution my students is that any understanding that you
Speaker 3: think you have gained through the use of these tools,
Speaker 3: you need to circle back to your professor and make
Speaker 3: sure that your understanding is correct.
Speaker 2: I love that, and I've seen the importance of that
Speaker 2: in my own classroom too. You mentioned so many of
Speaker 2: the things that these tools are great at, but I
Speaker 2: think another thing that AI in the classroom can help
Speaker 2: us with is democratizing the classroom, and so Justina, I'm curious,
Speaker 2: in what ways do you think integrating AI into education
Speaker 2: is help us going to bridge these gaps and actually
Speaker 2: democratize access to education even more.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I think it's going to really make a difference
Speaker 4: in providing access to education in many different ways. I
Speaker 4: want to give you an example through alla IBM Skills
Speaker 4: Bill program, we're infusing AI technology into the platform to
Speaker 4: create a more personalized enhance experience for learners in every language.
Speaker 4: So we are creating personalized learning pathways, we are tailoring
Speaker 4: the access to our learners to meet their individual needs,
Speaker 4: and we are also using AI to answer questions in
Speaker 4: a more timely and accurate manner. If you really think
Speaker 4: about it, you will need a significant staff to be
Speaker 4: able to respond quickly to questions to make sure the
Speaker 4: questions are accurate. With AI, we can answer questions immediately,
Speaker 4: we can answer them in a more sophisticated way than
Speaker 4: we did in the past, and we can also offer
Speaker 4: cost recommendations and learning pathways that meet their needs. We
Speaker 4: have courses such as AI Ethics and prompt Writing and
Speaker 4: getting started with machine learning all the way to actually
Speaker 4: use in coding to help create these large language models.
Speaker 4: So When you think about the average learner that we
Speaker 4: are working with, they may want just an introductory course
Speaker 4: on AI ethics or understand it and how to use
Speaker 4: AI in their day to day work, or they actually
Speaker 4: may want to understand how do you really leverage or
Speaker 4: code for a large language model, And I think it's
Speaker 4: important to give them all the different options and create
Speaker 4: those personalized learning pathways for them. The other thing around
Speaker 4: really democratizing opportunities to provide free access to this kind
Speaker 4: of learning, and we do that again through our Skills
Speaker 4: Bill program. If you have courses that you can only
Speaker 4: pay to access, then you're really not giving the opportunity
Speaker 4: for everyone to advance and to learn. So by leveraging
Speaker 4: AI on our platform but also providing that free access,
Speaker 4: we're really helping to bridge the gap for learners and
Speaker 4: make sure they can upskill and reskill themselves and help
Speaker 4: them also increase social and economic mobility.
Speaker 2: It sounds like an amazing program, Justina. Can you describe
Speaker 2: the vision behind IBM Skills Built and how it's built
Speaker 2: to reach so many learners around the world.
Speaker 4: So IBM has always been committed to investing in the
Speaker 4: future of work, and we've offered educational experiences for many,
Speaker 4: many years. And IBM Skills Built is a program. Again,
Speaker 4: it's free, it's open, anyone can access it. But it's
Speaker 4: really around getting access to the right technical skills and
Speaker 4: workplace learning skills so that you could be prepared for
Speaker 4: a career in technology, but in any industry and any field.
Speaker 4: We know now that understanding technology, understanding AI or cybersecurity
Speaker 4: or any of those tech topics are needed whether you're
Speaker 4: working in a tech company, or whether you're working in
Speaker 4: retail or in legal or any of these different industries,
Speaker 4: so we want to make sure we could provide that
Speaker 4: access to learners. In twenty twenty one, we launched a
Speaker 4: global commitment to skill thirty million people by twenty thirty
Speaker 4: and we are making significant progress against that goal. Just
Speaker 4: last year we reported that we skilled eleven point five
Speaker 4: million learners around the world, and these are learners that
Speaker 4: enrolled in IBM courses, including access in our platform, IBM
Speaker 4: Skills Build, and it's really the cornerstone of our education
Speaker 4: work at IBM. We're really focused on scaling our work
Speaker 4: through partnerships, so we partner with historically black colleges and universities,
Speaker 4: and that's how of course we got the chance to
Speaker 4: meet April. We partner with nonprofit organizations across the globe.
Speaker 4: We also partner with governments to make sure we provide
Speaker 4: that free access to the communities that are aligned with
Speaker 4: their national agenda around skilling and those communities that are
Speaker 4: most in need. It's really important that we scale the
Speaker 4: program through those premier partnerships, so that's extremely important to us.
Speaker 1: The vision behind IBM Skills Build is truly inspiring. In
Speaker 1: a world where technology is changing every industry, having access
Speaker 1: to these crucial skills is more important than ever. This
Speaker 1: initiative is breaking down barriers and ensuring that people from
Speaker 1: all walks of life can participate in the future of work.
Speaker 1: In order to effectively scale a platform, the strategic collaborations
Speaker 1: with educational institutions, nonprofits and governments are key. It's clear
Speaker 1: that IBM is deeply invested in creating long lasting change
Speaker 1: in communities around the world. This approach will strengthen the
Speaker 1: workforce globally, helping to bridge the digital divide and create
Speaker 1: more equitable opportunities in the tech space.
Speaker 2: So now we're shifting gears to think a little bit
Speaker 2: about the real world insights. Justina What can you tell
Speaker 2: us about the skills first movement? This seems to be
Speaker 2: an open approach to attracting top talent. What are you
Speaker 2: hearing from students and partners.
Speaker 4: Yeah, So, IBM has been leading the skills first movement
Speaker 4: full quite some time. And one of the things that
Speaker 4: we realize, and we actually tested this out, is that
Speaker 4: you don't always need a four year degree to be
Speaker 4: successful at a tech job. So when we looked at
Speaker 4: the job postings that we had, we decided to make
Speaker 4: a commitment to have at least fifty percent of our
Speaker 4: job postings not requiring a four year degree. And when
Speaker 4: we started hiring people without a four year degree in
Speaker 4: certain roles, we realized that they were as successful as
Speaker 4: those with a four year degree. Now, this doesn't work
Speaker 4: across the board, but this is really a way to
Speaker 4: get access to what I consider to be untapped talent
Speaker 4: that are skilled in different ways. Maybe they've had some
Speaker 4: experiences already, maybe they have a different set of badges
Speaker 4: and certificates or other credentials that can support them getting
Speaker 4: access to some of the roles that are offered by companies.
Speaker 4: So this is really a way to help address the
Speaker 4: opportunity gap and provide a pathway for diverse talent.
Speaker 2: What impact do you think AI has had on global
Speaker 2: learning standards broadly so far?
Speaker 3: I think from the perspective of a law student realizing
Speaker 3: that this little universe in which we kind of thought
Speaker 3: we might operate has expanded. When we think about AI
Speaker 3: and we think about the implications of AI, it goes
Speaker 3: far beyond our state national I mean, you have to
Speaker 3: have an understanding of what's going on in other countries.
Speaker 3: So even when we're thinking about the regulation of AI
Speaker 3: and the governance of AI and policies surrounding AI, it
Speaker 3: means you have to be open to learning about what's
Speaker 3: happening in other countries where AI is disrupting those spaces
Speaker 3: as well. So again, I think it really underscores for
Speaker 3: our law students how you have to see yourself as
Speaker 3: part of a larger team. Lawyers don't work in isolation,
Speaker 3: and it's really good that law students are recognizing that
Speaker 3: while they're still in school.
Speaker 2: So it really seems like these technologies are kind of
Speaker 2: changing the learning experience and law by making kind of
Speaker 2: broader and maybe more global. Justina, can you share an
Speaker 2: example of how IBM skills Build has made a significant
Speaker 2: difference in other kinds of learning journeys.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 4: Absolutely, I mean this is one of the most rewarding
Speaker 4: parts of my job. What I get excited about is
Speaker 4: when I travel and I meet with students who have
Speaker 4: been a part of IBM Skills Build and they have
Speaker 4: been able to use the learning, the certificates, the opportunities
Speaker 4: that we've provided them around mentorship as well to be
Speaker 4: able to move into a better paying job or a
Speaker 4: new job that they did not have the opportunity previously.
Speaker 4: We had one of our learners, his name was Oscar
Speaker 4: and he arrived in California from Mexico when he was
Speaker 4: around five years old, and he worked and he attended
Speaker 4: college full time. But during his last semester he was
Speaker 4: introduced to the IBM Skills Build program through the Hispanic
Speaker 4: Heritage Foundation, one of our partners, and through the career
Speaker 4: assessment tool of the program identified areas where he could
Speaker 4: excel and it allowed him to dig deeper into learning
Speaker 4: paths that matched his interests and his skills. So he
Speaker 4: started taking courses such as AI Fundamentals, He earned credentials
Speaker 4: and he was able to get a better role when
Speaker 4: he graduated from college. So we have so many beneficiaries
Speaker 4: of the program who have been able to access the training,
Speaker 4: also access the mentorship that we provide through the program,
Speaker 4: and able to get a better pain on new job
Speaker 4: because of it.
Speaker 2: That's fabulous, Peopril, I know your students have used IBM
Speaker 2: Skills Build. Can you give us an example of how
Speaker 2: it's made an important impact on a student's journey.
Speaker 3: Yes, absolutely so. I mentioned that we taught a Blockchain
Speaker 3: for Lawyers class and one of the students had a
Speaker 3: big interest in blockchain cryptocurrency. He actually also had a
Speaker 3: master's in information science and so he was a dual
Speaker 3: degree student. He was also in my AI and the
Speaker 3: law class, so we not only got the blockchain certificate,
Speaker 3: he got the AI Foundation certificate. He wound up being
Speaker 3: the editor in chief of the law journal and he
Speaker 3: is a legal tech lawyer. And so this kind of
Speaker 3: goes back to what Justina was saying about making sure
Speaker 3: that the talent that's there has access to the resources.
Speaker 3: It really does make a big difference in so many
Speaker 3: of our students' lives.
Speaker 2: That's such an inspiring story, Justina. I'm curious what impact
Speaker 2: Skills Build has had on the communities you work with,
Speaker 2: maybe even beyond just students.
Speaker 4: Yeah, so it has had a tremendous impact in our communities.
Speaker 4: I think one of the big things about digital skills
Speaker 4: and upskill in and reskilling is not just in certain areas.
Speaker 4: For example, I mentioned the story of Oscar who was
Speaker 4: graduating from college got access to Skills Build. It helped
Speaker 4: him get a better paying job. But we have programs
Speaker 4: in sustainability as well where we are working with farmers
Speaker 4: in the middle of Texas and we are providing access
Speaker 4: to skills Build as well so that they can use
Speaker 4: the technology and understand the technology that we are bringing
Speaker 4: to them throughout Sustainability Accelerator program. And what's so interesting
Speaker 4: about this is we need to upskill and reskill them
Speaker 4: as well. So if you think about certain jobs where
Speaker 4: you just need to better understand the data or the technology,
Speaker 4: our partnerships with nonprofits to be able to bring it
Speaker 4: to people in different fields and sustainability is one that
Speaker 4: we focus on as well. That has been inspiring to me.
Speaker 4: We also have programs where we focus on girls, especially
Speaker 4: in India, and make sure we're giving them access to
Speaker 4: this kind of training and mentorship. Again to make them
Speaker 4: competitive in the marketplace, to make sure that they have
Speaker 4: an opportunity at a good paying job and that they
Speaker 4: could be independent. So our global partners work with us
Speaker 4: on leveraging skills, build curating it in a way that
Speaker 4: makes sense for their communities that they want to impact.
Speaker 4: And we focus on women who have left the workforce
Speaker 4: and they want to return. We focus on veterans. We
Speaker 4: focus on black communities in the US or Hispanic communities.
Speaker 4: So we really look at those really great global partnerships
Speaker 4: and make sure we are bringing in people who would
Speaker 4: have been otherwise left out of the tech field and
Speaker 4: giving them the opportunity to reskill and upskill themselves and
Speaker 4: helping them through our partnerships, connect to good paying jobs
Speaker 4: as well.
Speaker 2: So so far we've been focused on students in their learning,
Speaker 2: but now I want to turn to both of your learning.
Speaker 2: I'm curious, what are some challenges that you've faced in
Speaker 2: your careers and how have you overcome them?
Speaker 3: Yeah. Sure, So. One of the things that I quickly
Speaker 3: found out was that law school was not as I envisioned.
Speaker 3: You kind of go in you think it's one thing,
Speaker 3: it's another. The curriculum can be very surprising it's not
Speaker 3: like the undergraduate curriculum, and I just had to kind
Speaker 3: of reach out and develop mentors. And I was very
Speaker 3: lucky in that I had a number of individuals who
Speaker 3: provided me with a tremendous amount of support. And I
Speaker 3: think that's one of the reasons why I love teaching
Speaker 3: so much, is to be able to support the students
Speaker 3: and just help them kind of build their community and
Speaker 3: their network so they can excel, and then they can
Speaker 3: reach back and help others excel as well.
Speaker 2: I love that. Justina, same question, What are some key
Speaker 2: challenges that you've faced in your career and how have
Speaker 2: you overcome them?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm smiling because what April mentioned is exactly the
Speaker 4: experience I've had. I was one of the only black
Speaker 4: women to graduate from my school's mechanical engineering program, and
Speaker 4: when my children were very young, I also stepped away
Speaker 4: from the workforce for several years to focus on them.
Speaker 4: And I don't think I would be successful today without
Speaker 4: the help of mentors. They're the ones that really helped
Speaker 4: me to be successful, to understand the corporate environment, to
Speaker 4: connect me with other opportunities, and I think it's important
Speaker 4: to me to make myself available to others, and that's
Speaker 4: a really big part of what I do. I want
Speaker 4: to make myself at my field more representative of the
Speaker 4: work that we do, and I want to make sure
Speaker 4: that I provide access to others and give others the
Speaker 4: same types of opportunities I have. And that's why I
Speaker 4: do enjoy leading this type of work at IBM.
Speaker 2: Here here to both of you giving back to the
Speaker 2: students that we were back in the day. It's so important, Justina.
Speaker 2: IBM has a goal of equipping thirty million learners with
Speaker 2: technology skills by twenty thirty as part of the IBM
Speaker 2: Skills Build programming. Why is this initiative important and how
Speaker 2: is IBM planning to exactly achieve this?
Speaker 4: Yeah, we believe the talent gap is one of the
Speaker 4: biggest challenges that we face in society today. So AI
Speaker 4: of course is accelerating this movement and there's more of
Speaker 4: a sense of urgency. However, we know that there is
Speaker 4: a significant talent gap and that there are many people
Speaker 4: that are disadvantaged who are not getting access to the
Speaker 4: right opportunities, and that's why we made the commitment to
Speaker 4: skill thirty million people by twenty thirty and that's why
Speaker 4: we're providing free access to programs like IBM Skills Build
Speaker 4: with over a thousand courses in twenty languages, to make
Speaker 4: them accessible to all and to give others the chance
Speaker 4: to be successful. Last year, we also announced the commitment
Speaker 4: to train two million people in AI over the next
Speaker 4: three years, because again, we understand the importance of AI
Speaker 4: and understanding it to be successful in any job, especially
Speaker 4: an entry level job. So we're continuing to expand our
Speaker 4: AI offerings because we know that it is exacerbating the
Speaker 4: talent gap and we know that these skills will be
Speaker 4: in demand significantly by.
Speaker 2: Cop So April, Justina just mentioned, you know, all the
Speaker 2: changes that we're seeing at AI. I'm curious what role
Speaker 2: you think educators play in terms of making students aware
Speaker 2: of all these technological and societal changes happening in their fields.
Speaker 3: Yeah, educators are so vital. And one of the things
Speaker 3: that I've noticed is that students who have not engaged
Speaker 3: with the tech have not done so either because an educator,
Speaker 3: a teacher or professor has told them not to that
Speaker 3: you know, they just say, you know, no, you can't
Speaker 3: use it, or they haven't said anything at all. They
Speaker 3: haven't encouraged them to look into it, to try it.
Speaker 3: And we have to encourage students to become familiar with
Speaker 3: these tools for all the reasons that Justina mentioned in
Speaker 3: terms of what the workforce is demanding, but also if
Speaker 3: we don't provide them with guidance, then there's the real
Speaker 3: chance that they will use them inappropriately. So we have
Speaker 3: to provide them with permission to dive in. We have
Speaker 3: to teach them how to use these tools ethically, with integrity,
Speaker 3: what are the best practices, And again that kind of
Speaker 3: goes back to something I mentioned before, which I speak
Speaker 3: about a lot, is that it requires educators to themselves
Speaker 3: learn about these tools. And that's one of the reasons
Speaker 3: why I was so appreciative of the Trainer program because
Speaker 3: again we started offering courses at the law school, because
Speaker 3: these courses were provided free of charge, of course to
Speaker 3: our faculty, so we were able to upskill and reskill
Speaker 3: and then turn around and share that with our students.
Speaker 3: So educators are vital. But I also think that we
Speaker 3: need to make sure we do a better job as
Speaker 3: a society of supporting our educators so that they can
Speaker 3: gain the knowledge and then pay that forward to the students.
Speaker 2: Right, because not everybody's providing the kinds of free resources
Speaker 2: the IBM provides. Were teachers who really need it, April,
Speaker 2: in what ways has IBM Skills Build changed your perspective
Speaker 2: on the potential of AI and education?
Speaker 3: Well as far as the potential, it makes it so
Speaker 3: much easier, right, I mean, it lightens the lift for educators.
Speaker 3: If I had to design the AI Foundations class ground up,
Speaker 3: there's no way I could have done that. And if
Speaker 3: we're thinking about exposing students, regardless of their area of
Speaker 3: study to AI or to technology, those that are experts
Speaker 3: in those particular spaces, they're not going to be able
Speaker 3: to build those courses. So having something like IBM Skills
Speaker 3: Build available so that we can, you know, design a
Speaker 3: course around those modules that are already put together is
Speaker 3: incredibly helpful. And so it means the potential of providing
Speaker 3: AI education to all students. It just really increases the possibility,
Speaker 3: which is good for for all of us.
Speaker 2: Justina, as you think about your work at IBM, how
Speaker 2: do you balance the need for technological innovation with the
Speaker 2: importance of maintaining a human centered approach and education.
Speaker 4: I really like how April touched on ethics earlier because
Speaker 4: it is so important that we continue to make sure
Speaker 4: that human is at the center of everything that we
Speaker 4: do and that we are protecting people even as we
Speaker 4: foster innovation with AI and the way that IBM has
Speaker 4: done that, we've had reasonable policies and guardrails in place
Speaker 4: around everything that we do around AI. I'm actually a
Speaker 4: part of our AI Ethics Board. We meet on a
Speaker 4: regular basis to discuss cases, to discuss technology, and we
Speaker 4: actually have discussions and make decisions on what is the
Speaker 4: right thing to do, and we are always considering a
Speaker 4: human centered approach. How do we make sure that we
Speaker 4: are protecting people and how do we make sure that
Speaker 4: that we have their voice in every decision that we make.
Speaker 4: We have three principles around trust and transparency, and the
Speaker 4: first is the purpose of AI is to augment human intelligence,
Speaker 4: not replace it. The second is that data and insights
Speaker 4: belong to their creators, So with anyone that we work with,
Speaker 4: we make sure that we protect their data insights and
Speaker 4: it belongs to them, it doesn't belong to us. And
Speaker 4: then any new technology, including any AI products, systems, platforms,
Speaker 4: must be transparent and explainable. So I think that's important
Speaker 4: to have those types of principles in place. I'm proud
Speaker 4: to be a part of the AI Ethics Board making
Speaker 4: decisions around how AI is deployed, and I think making
Speaker 4: sure that we continue to keep humans people at the
Speaker 4: center of every decision we make around innovation is how
Speaker 4: we protect them.
Speaker 2: So we've talked so much about all the changes that
Speaker 2: are happening right now. Just you know, I kind of
Speaker 2: want you to put on your future prediction cap what
Speaker 2: future developments do you anticipate in the realm of open education.
Speaker 4: I think that and I've been in education a very
Speaker 4: long time, and I remember us talking about personalized learning
Speaker 4: maybe ten years fifteen years ago, and I'm not sure
Speaker 4: it ever came to fruition in the way that we imagined.
Speaker 4: And we know that the teacher will always be the guide.
Speaker 4: They will always be the one that's needed. I don't
Speaker 4: think any technology will ever replace teachers. But I think
Speaker 4: what AI can do is enhanced that experience by really
Speaker 4: creating personalized learning content and experiences in the education space.
Speaker 4: I think that is one of the things that I
Speaker 4: would say should be something we see in the very
Speaker 4: near future around the acceleration of AI April.
Speaker 2: You've done so much elegant work teaching your students about
Speaker 2: AI and technology. I'm curious what advice you have for
Speaker 2: other educators and technologists looking to advocate for a skills
Speaker 2: first approach or more AI training for their students. What
Speaker 2: advice would you have for them.
Speaker 3: The first piece of advice that I always give is
Speaker 3: don't feel overwhelmed because you can. I mean, there's a
Speaker 3: lot going on. It's hard to keep up with how
Speaker 3: fast things are moving, even for those of us that
Speaker 3: love this space. You don't have to do everything at once,
Speaker 3: just you know, baby steps, and that's that's absolutely fine.
Speaker 1: Thank you.
Speaker 2: As a professor, I have to say I needed to
Speaker 2: hear that, so giving myself grace taking that one to heart.
Speaker 3: In fact, I have in my PowerPoint presentation the first
Speaker 3: slide I put up is of a turtle and it
Speaker 3: says slow your role. And it's like, I'm going to
Speaker 3: be talking about a lot of things, but I want
Speaker 3: you to remember this slide, just slow your role. It's okay.
Speaker 3: The other thing that I encourage professors to do is
Speaker 3: to join an educator community group, and there are a
Speaker 3: lot that have popped up as a result of jin
Speaker 3: Ai and the disruption that we're seeing just in the
Speaker 3: education space. And so how can crowdsource our advice without
Speaker 3: a doubt If you're thinking about a particular assignment, and
Speaker 3: how you might use Jenai in crafting that assignment or
Speaker 3: incorporating it in the assessment, there is a professor out
Speaker 3: there who has either already done it or they're also
Speaker 3: thinking about it. So you know, let's be more collaborative.
Speaker 3: And I will say that's been really wonderful for me
Speaker 3: as a law professor, being able to collaborate with professors
Speaker 3: from other disciplines. And the last thing that I would say,
Speaker 3: you know, sometimes it can be hard to convince your
Speaker 3: colleagues within your institution to be progressive. And if you
Speaker 3: can bring an outside speaker to come in and kind
Speaker 3: of just share what's going on, that can oftentimes get
Speaker 3: people moving even if you within the building aren't able
Speaker 3: to get that same traction. So those are kind of
Speaker 3: the three pieces of advice that I'll typically give.
Speaker 2: Par So, this has been a fabulous conversation that we
Speaker 2: are reaching the end of our time. But before we wrap,
Speaker 2: let's do a speed round. Ready, First question, April First,
Speaker 2: complete this sentence in five years, AI will blank.
Speaker 3: In five years, AI will be more fully leveraged to
Speaker 3: help lawyers better serve their clients more efficiently, and will
Speaker 3: help close the access to justice gap.
Speaker 2: Nice justin the same question.
Speaker 4: In five years, AI will have disrupted every industry and
Speaker 4: there would have been significant advancements made in education and
Speaker 4: sustainability with the use of AI.
Speaker 2: Okay, speed round question number two. What is the number
Speaker 2: one thing that people misunderstand about AI?
Speaker 4: Justinat you first, The number one misunderstanding about AI is
Speaker 4: that it's going to destroy everyone's jobs. I think that
Speaker 4: people with AI skills or understanding of AI will have
Speaker 4: some advantages in the workplace.
Speaker 3: April, the number one thing people misunderstand about AI is
Speaker 3: that only computer scientists or mathematicians or engineers can understand it.
Speaker 3: You can gain an understanding again through baby steps, and
Speaker 3: there are so many resources available. If you explore the
Speaker 3: information and bite sized pieces, you can begin to wrap
Speaker 3: your head around it.
Speaker 2: Okay, next speed around question. What advice would you give
Speaker 2: yourself ten years ago to better prepare you for today? Justina,
Speaker 2: you first.
Speaker 4: The advice I would give myself ten years ago is
Speaker 4: to continue learning. I always love understanding technology. I always
Speaker 4: dove deep into whether it's machine learning or four G
Speaker 4: and five G technologies. Understanding AI and hybrid cloud today
Speaker 4: is something that I also enjoy doing, so I would
Speaker 4: say continue learning, continue diving into these technologies, continue understanding
Speaker 4: what it means for you and your future career, April.
Speaker 3: Be more interdisciplinary, so stay current with the evolution of
Speaker 3: computer science, but also incorporate the study of data and
Speaker 3: ethics and sociology because the challenges they're opposed by AI,
Speaker 3: they're multifaceted and you have to have an understanding in
Speaker 3: these areas to really address the promise and the challenges
Speaker 3: of AI.
Speaker 2: Final speed round question, how are you already using AI
Speaker 2: in your day to day life today? April.
Speaker 3: So I use it in my teaching. The other way
Speaker 3: that I plan on using it in the future is
Speaker 3: serving the students and then using the data analysis tool
Speaker 3: to help me gather that information and figure out how
Speaker 3: best to address the information that I've received for my students.
Speaker 4: Nice Justina, Yeah, So the way that we're using AI
Speaker 4: today is to actually analyze complex and large data sets
Speaker 4: in our sustainability work to provide insights to some of
Speaker 4: our partners on how they can increase crop yield, for example,
Speaker 4: or how they can deliver clean energy solutions to rural areas.
Speaker 4: So were actively using it in the programs that we
Speaker 4: have within our corporate Social Responsibility portfolio and also integrating
Speaker 4: it into our Skills Bill platform.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you both so much. You did excellent in
Speaker 2: the speed round, but it was just so fabulous to
Speaker 2: talk to you both today. I think this is a
Speaker 2: time of so many exciting challenges in the field of education,
Speaker 2: and it was fabulous to hear more about how AI
Speaker 2: and IBM Skills Build and so many technologies can help
Speaker 2: us out. Thank you both so much for this fun conversation.
Speaker 4: Thank you for having us. It was great.
Speaker 3: Yes, thank you, Thank you.
Speaker 1: What an insightful conversation with Justina and April. This discussion
Speaker 1: demonstrated how technology and education can intersect to create a
Speaker 1: meaningful impact in today's educational landscape. Students must utilize AI
Speaker 1: in the classroom in order to prepare for the modern workforce,
Speaker 1: and educators must use the technology, including IBM Skills Build,
Speaker 1: to train students for the complexities of tomorrow's challenges. As
Speaker 1: April and Justina emphasized, impact starts by centering the humans
Speaker 1: using the tool. Ensuring their empowered to access, adopt, and
Speaker 1: excel with the technology is just as critical as the
Speaker 1: power of the tool itself. Justina and April's work is
Speaker 1: a powerful reminder that as we continue to integrate AI
Speaker 1: technology into our educational systems, we have the opportunity to
Speaker 1: create more equitable and accessible learning environments. It's clear that
Speaker 1: the future of learning and technology is right and the
Speaker 1: adoption of AI is crucial in shaping that future. Smart
Speaker 1: Talks with IBM is produced by Matt Romano, Joey Fishground,
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Speaker 1: gene Kott. Our engineers are Sarah Bugaer and Ben Tolliday.
Speaker 1: Theme song by Gramoscope. Special thanks to the eight Bar
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