Thinking Ethics in the AI Era
Building tools that elevate human learning and skills.
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UbikAI: Thinking Ethics in the AI Era
Building tools that elevate human learning and skills.
2013 // MS.51 // Brooklyn, NY
In 2013, I was an eighth grader in my last year of middle school. We had smartphones, but we did gymnastics to hide our use in class because we were scared of our teacher. Smartphones were not allowed in class.
I would slip the audio jack end of my headphones through my hoodie, and out the bottom. I slid the other side through my right sleeve so the right ear pod perfectly rests in my hands. As I walk in and sit down, I rest my head on the headphone and press play to my music while my teacher tells us what we should focus on. But teachers caught on quickly; one of my teachers even used to ask kids leaning on their hands too long to open their palms or hold their arms up to expose the wire.
Today, kids wear AirPods and openly use their phones as teachers struggle to communicate lessons to the class. The NYC Department of Education (DOE) has finally started to ban smartphones in public schools.
Why do we build?
As recent graduates and former students in the smartphone era, we witnessed
and experienced a shift in academic integrity and positive learning in education environments.
Problem:
Yes, AI tools are great. But...
AI tools have adverse effects on low-performing students (cheating).
A lack of ethical AI practice/development results in poor teacher tools.
⅔ of NYC public schools have banned ChatGPT for teachers and students.
We collaborate with teachers to understand how students learn both in and out of the classroom, and we agree with them -
AI education isn't about dollars.
AI can't replace certain human skills.
AI tools should help teachers teach, not "streamline learning."
Often, EdTech overlooks teachers and focuses on students. Building for and with teachers is essential. Our core belief is that effective AI use happens after effective learning. Building a solid foundation in fundamental learning skills allows us to get the most out of AI tools.
What's Happening with AI & Education?
Most startups and AI EdTech companies plan for a "20-year future" where
kids don't write; instead, they prompt AI.Ethical AI practice is overlooked in America. Data privacy and education
efficacy should be the central points for building AI EdTech but often is left
out of the discussion.
Avoiding Hindsight 20/20
In 2009, smartphones became an adopted technology that started to creep into the classroom. A massive debate started within the educator community: How do we deal with smartphones in the classroom?
After over a decade of ineffective policy and guidelines, smartphones eventually dominated public school classrooms, resulting in poor learning environments where smartphone usage impacted low-performing students disproportionately to high-performing students who engaged with the course work.
Although a city-wide cellphone ban got pushed back, NYC public schools have already started banning smartphone use during school hours, implementing practices like smartphone cubbies or even magnetic smartphone pouches designed by Yondr, which are only openable to teachers. NYC public schools and schools across the US live in Hindsight 20/20. Kids are now addicted to smartphones, and unlearning and teaching kids how to interact with educational content is a new struggle that teachers 10-20 years ago never had to deal with.
How does AI fit into the picture?
Developing practical AI tools for education means doing everything possible to avoid a Hindsight 20/20 moment. AI tools shouldn't streamline learning or teaching; instead, they should equip students and teachers with tools that help create long-lasting learning skills. UbikAI and teachers hope that kids will still write in 20 years and worry about a future where kids strictly prompt and generate text with AI rather than think, research, and develop long-lasting skills.
UbikAI: Human-First AI Tools
PreCog AI is a chatbot that automatically matches user prompts with the best available models.
AI Model Matchmaking. Automatically uses the most suitable AI model based on your request.
Versatile Assistance. From coding to creative writing, Precog adapts to your needs.
Continuous Model Improvements. Chooses model based on most recent llm leaderboard.
Fiig AI is an AI research assistant that helps you find, analyze, and cite trustworthy academic sources.
Find. Discover relevant and credible sources tailored to your research topic with intelligent search capabilities.
Cite. Generate accurate citations in various formats automatically, saving time and ensuring academic integrity.
Build. Construct your research with comprehensive summaries and key insights extracted from academic papers.
Ubik Drive is a knowledge base management platform that transforms files into interactive chatbots.
Upload. Easily upload and organize your files with AI-driven categorization and tagging.
Chat. Interact with your documents through an AI chatbot, extracting insights and summaries.
Collaborate. Seamlessly share and work together on documents in a unified, AI-enhanced environment.
Ubik Portals allows educators to create custom AI agents, craft tailored learning experience, and gain deep insights on students. “
Customized AI Agents. Create tailored AI assistants that align with your curriculum and teaching style.
Interactive Learning. Engage students with AI-powered learning that adapts to their pace.
Comprehensive Analytics. Gain insights into student performance and engagement through AI-driven analytics.
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