One of the Greatest Opportunities Since the Printing Press

In 1440, when Gutenberg invented the printing press, many Rabbinic leaders and scholars were very skeptical, worried and concerned. They felt that if anyone could print a book, what would happen to the scribe? and to the careful transmission of  the Torah?

But within 50 years, the printing press gave us the first printed Shas, the Shulchan Aruch in every home, and a revolution in Jewish learning that led directly to the flourishing of the modern yeshiva.

Friends, in a sense, artificial intelligence can be viewed as the Gutenberg press of our generation.

Jewish day schools and yeshivot have a choice: They can be concerned about AI,  ban it, or harness it to do what we have always dreamed of doing — educating every child as if he or she were an only child.

Here is what the future may be holding out, whether we are ready for it or not.

The End of One-Size-Fits-All Judaics

This is the most profound change. Today, in a typical 5th grade Chumash class, you have 22 students. Three can leyn beautifully, five struggle to decode, seven can translate but do not understand Rashi, and seven are bored because they already learned this parsha in camp. The teacher teaches to the middle, and unfortunately almost no one gets what they need.

As envisioned, within 3 years, AI will make this model completely obsolete.

Imagine this instead…..

Chumash with an AI Chavruta: Each child opens his Chumash on a tablet. The AI knows his reading level, his past quizzes, and his interests. For the struggling reader, it reads the pasuk aloud and highlights the shorashim. For the advanced student, it immediately asks: “how does Rashi’s answer here contradict what he said in Parshas Bereishis?” It is infinitely patient, and never embarrassed to be asked the same question 10 times.

Gemara with Instant Background

A 9th grader hits the word “tayku.” Instead of waiting for the teacher to explain while 15 other kids lose focus, he asks his AI tutor: “Explain tayku to me like........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)