Thoughts from the AI Playground
How can AI help us be more human in the classroom?
Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the AI Playground Summit, hosted by Yeshiva University's Azrieli Graduate School of Education at Frisch High School in New Jersey. The day was focused on a deceptively simple premise: How can we empower Jewish educators to confidently step into the world of AI?
Spoiler: there's no easy answer. But there is a community beginning to form.
First, deep thanks to Dr. Michael Berger, Dean of Azrieli, for convening this day-long event, and to the three educators who made it happen on the ground—Rabbi Tzvi Hametz, Rabbi Avi Blum, and Rabbi Binyamin Segal. The 20–30 people in the room represented a powerful mix of educators, EdTech specialists, and AI-curious leaders, all grappling with what AI might mean for the Jewish classroom.
I wasn't there as a teacher. I was invited to observe and speak from the outside—from my work building and teaching AI systems across sectors, including education. But mostly, I came to listen.
Tools Galore… and Then What?
The final session, "Firehose of AI EDU Tools," is a perfect descriptor for the day itself. Rabbi Hametz speed-walked us through dozens of AI tools now available to educators—mostly free—to support differentiated instruction, streamline lesson planning, create immersive learning experiences, and reduce teacher burnout.
Among the tools I found especially compelling:
MagicSchool.ai and Eduaide.ai for lesson and assessment generation with FERPA-safe compliance
NotebookLM for turning PDFs into source-linked study guides, podcasts, and more
Snorkl and SchoolAI for real-time feedback and oral reasoning analysis
WayGround for transforming documents into live gamified review sessions
Rabbi Hametz even created (using Canva AI) a physical passport for everyone to learn about each tool and give them a try using pre-written prompts and ideation.
The takeaway, for me, wasn't the tools themselves; it was the questions being asked, and the engaged audience of master educators.
What Tools Should We Use?
How do we know when to invest? Or what to invest in? Should we even be allowing these things in the school and at what age level and in what capacity? What does this mean ethically and for school policy?
These questions came up again and again. Honestly? They're the right ones.
We are all grappling with these questions, from the dad at home showing a fun way to make a bedtime story using ChatGPT, to the CIO of a public company being forced to make massive budget decisions around all things "AI".
While I have personally and professionally spent the last four years immersed in AI — building, writing, experimenting, and teaching others — these opinions are still just that, my opinions. The pace is dizzying, and it won't be slowing down any time soon. AI is here, whether we like it or not.
That's why I believe the framing of the discussion matters too.
AI is not a tool. It's infrastructure.
Just like the internet changed everything—including how schools function—AI is becoming the invisible backend of how education will work. From search to feedback, assessment, curriculum personalization, back office operations, parent-teacher communication, and on and on.
So, the better question might be:
"How can AI help us be more human in the classroom?"
This is design thinking at its best, and it was certainly part of yesterday's collaborative conversations.
My Morning AI Ritual
Almost every day, after I drop off my kids at carpool, I open the ChatGPT app and start talking to my AI assistant—who I've mentally dubbed "Stephen," a British-sounding sparring partner who looks (in my head) like Stephen Merchant.
That morning chat might shape my day's project, refine an idea, or lead me toward something unexpected. It's brainstorming, leveling, focusing—all in one. It's not just a tool. It's a partner.
Thinking of AI as a partner is where the real magic lies. Beyond that, understanding why that idea matters is critical, because it leads to better usability, strategy, and process.
We have quickly gone from an AI world that most of us use on our phone that was 1:1, a conversation, to 1:1:1, a conversation that then takes an action and returns with information, to 1:1:∞, a conversation that leads to the creation and orchestration of infinite micro-AI agents that work on their own and in unison to quickly, cheaply, reliably, verifiably, and masterfully take your task or idea and bring it to life.
AI tools are significantly better when they play together.
AI ≠ Search
A friend recently asked ChatGPT which airline to fly—JetBlue or Alaska. The answer: JetBlue, because the seats are slightly wider.
Why did AI answer that way? Not because it searched better. Because JetBlue has more structured, machine-readable content available online. That's what modern AI latches onto—not "search results," but discoverable, processable, and actionable data.
These three concepts—Discoverability, Processability, and Actionability—are what will define the next generation of educational content. And that leads us into something much bigger.
The Agentic Web Is Coming
We are at the beginning of what I—and many others—see as the third wave of the internet:
The Networked Web (1960s–1980s): Early, government and academic infrastructure
The Human-Facing Web (1990s–present): The browser, the phone, search, apps
The Agentic Web (now-emerging): Built for and powered by AI (agents, processes, infrastructure) interacting with each other, with the world of unlocked (and locked) data, and on behalf of companies, individuals, and themselves.
In the Agentic Web, your tools don't just answer questions. They:
Coordinate teams of agents
Verify and loop results
Trigger real-world actions
If you're exploring, using, or building tools, websites, curriculum, or content—you need to think about how agents will see and use your material.
So… What Should Schools Do?
Honestly? Begin by staying curious.
The best thing an educator can model right now is: "I don't know all the answers—but I'm willing to explore."
That's what we're going to need to help our students do.
Thanks again to Azrieli, to the organizers, and to the educators who are giving their time and energy to this new world at our fingertips. I can't wait to see this space flourish with more knowledge, cheerleaders, practice, and action.
Shabbat Shalom.
—Dave