The GSV Big 10: Invincible and Invisible

SciFi Becomes Reality, Duolingo Soars, and Google Gets Gaming...

#1 PODCAST: Prime Time: Ed on the Edge | Dr. Mark Naufel

Michael Crow’s 30 year dream from “The Diamond Age” becomes a reality with Primer. 

#2 NVIDIA's CEO Thinks That Our Kids Shouldn't Learn How to Code As AI Can Do It for Them | 80 Level

Hmm. So it seems now that everybody shouldn’t be a coder?!  This was like a big hanging curveball coming across home plate, as it was clear that technology was going to replace the technologist. The demand imbalance for coders was being met by the supply…and now AI is going to take a lot of that demand away from humans. 

#3 More than half of job postings don’t have education requirements: Indeed | The Hill 

It’s about knowledge, not college…it’s what you know, not where you go.  More than half of college grads are working jobs that don’t use their degrees…so it makes sense that we expand the definition of what it means to be qualified.

#4 Google’s Genie AI Can Make You a Custom Video Game | Lifehacker 

The Empire is fighting hard to strike back.  Even with egg on its face from Gemini, Genie seems like it has a huge opportunity in leveraging YouTube’s 2.5 Billion Monthly Active Users.  Invisible learning is the future…companies that are able to create an engaging and effective learning experience will thrive. 

#5 The Scientology of College Admissions | Gap Letter By Ryan Craig

Fun read from our friend Ryan Craig on the genesis of Scientology and its parallels in higher ed.  The college admissions cartel is starting to face increasing scrutiny…and alternatives. 

#6 Duolingo stock soars as online learning surge and AI boost forecast | Reuters 

Invisible learning leader and AI pioneer Duolingo knocks it out of the park again.  Daily Active Users up 65% YoY, revenue up 45% YoY, and the stock is up 31% this week. Come see ASU+GSV lifetime achievement award winner and Duolingo CEO Luis Von Ahn at the ASU+GSV Summit.

#7 Why the Kids Aren’t Alright | Honestly With Bari Weiss

Truth Teller Bari Weiss (come see her at ASU+GSV) interviews Abigail Shrier about her new book “Bad Therapy.” Whether you agree with every take or not, it’s a truly gripping 90 minute conversation on a prescient topic. We’re living in a time where we simultaneously have “peak therapy” and the trough of mental health. To the hammer, the whole world is a nail.  Shrier talks about how mental health professionals, despite good intentions, have gone too far…particularly in schools.

#8 Peter Thiel’s $100,000 Offer to Skip College Is More Popular Than Ever | WSJ 

Universities have some major headwinds, with an increasing number of students and parents questioning the return on investment.  Thiel’s giving some of the best and the brightest an offer they can’t refuse.  The PayPal Mafia is All In on education. 

#9 How We Re-Capture Big Tech & Universities: One-on-One with Tech Entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale | Verdict With Ted Cruz

Senator Ted Cruz hosts Joe Lonsdale, who is making his mark not just as an entrepreneur and elite VC, but as a policy influencer.  And unlike most influencers, he’s actually doing something about it.  The Cicero Institute and The University of Austin are both fighting for freedom of speech and liberty.  We can agree to disagree, but having a well-rounded conversation makes us all smarter.  Another member of the PayPal Mafia challenging the status quo in education. 

#10 Innovations in Finance, Medicine, and Education | Capital Allocators with Ted Seides 

If there’s a smarter person on the planet than Michael Milken, we haven’t met them.  Important interview.