AI in Classrooms: The Ethics of Adaptive Instructional Design

What happens when advanced AI is used to train humans in high-stakes environments? In this conversation, Dr. Jeanine DeFalco (Founder and CEO of Mixta AI) joins us to discuss the ethics, cognitive psychology, and design of adaptive instructional systems. This conversation goes beyond typical AI hype to interrogate the hard questions: • What happens when educational systems prioritize simple completion metrics over genuine, deep-context reasoning? • How do we prevent AI from acting as a "predictive gatekeeper" that limits human potential rather than supporting it? • Are we creating a new digital divide where wealthy students receive face-to-face instruction while others are left with automated screens? • Why is teaching philosophy and ethics essential for the future of computer science and learning engineering? • How do we design AI-driven adaptive systems to protect vulnerable populations like students and the military? Guest Bio: Dr. Jeanine DeFalco is the Founder and CEO of Mixta AI, a learning-engineering platform powered by AI. With over 20 years of experience as an educator and learning scientist, her work sits at the intersection of cognitive psychology, learning engineering, and AI ethics. She serves as Vice Chair of the IEEE Computer Society Artificial Intelligence Standards Committee and Chair of IEEE 2247.4, the recommended practice for ethically aligned design of AI in Adaptive Instructional Systems. Tags: #AIethics #AdaptiveLearning #LearningEngineering #EdTech #HumanCentricAI #EducationalTechnology #IEEEStandards #EthicalAI #InstructionalDesign #FutureOfEducation