AI Interrogator: The Use of AI Tools in Education and Personal Productivity with Cisco's Courtney Batiste

Kate Bevan: Hello and welcome to this episode of the Infosys Knowledge Institute's podcast on all things AI, The AI Interrogator, I'm Kate Bevan of the Knowledge Institute, and my guest today is Courtney Batiste, who's a business development lead at Cisco, and also founder of the Batiste Project, which helps young people develop tech skills. Courtney, thank you so much for joining us today. It's a delight to have you.

Courtney Batiste: Thank you so much, Kate, for having me. Excited to be here.

Kate Bevan: Let's get the work stuff out of the way first. Tell me a little bit about how you are using AI at Cisco in your day job.

Courtney Batiste: Absolutely. So, Cisco is using and leveraging AI across multiple products, and we see it to where it also touches different verticals. Ultimately, we're solving some of the business challenges that our customers see and face by leveraging AI. So, for example, we have AI integrated into our collaboration platform, which has been a game changer for a lot of our customers.

Kate Bevan: Okay. And one of the things actually you mentioned when we first spoke about AI together was, you'd found it as a bit of a game changer for ADHD, for helping you with your work. Are you finding that for yourself and also with the young people you work with?

Courtney Batiste: Absolutely. So, what I see with AI is that it keeps me on track. I have a very hard time remembering to eat or even take breaks. So, there are different apps that are out that show you, "Hey, Courtney, pause, take a break." And it also makes me write down what I'm feeling, what I'm focusing on. So that way, again, if I need to redirect for any reason, it allows me to do so. So, it's making me a more productive person as well as a productive leader in which is great for everyone.

Kate Bevan: Is that because you are using AI to build frameworks for you to do some of the grunt work so that you can focus on the meat of work?

Courtney Batiste: Yes. So having ADHD, there are certain executive functions that I don't do well, and it allows me to focus on the things that I do well. Like I said, my memory, I have the memory of a goldfish is what I tell everyone. And if I forget something that you told me two seconds ago, it's truly only because I don't necessarily recall short-term memory. Long-term is where I focus best, but when I'm forced to take a step back and evaluate the things that I have going on or just put aside some of the work that I'm doing day to day, it does allow me to come back and be even better than before. So, using AI, it reminds me this is the task at hand, this is how you can get from point A to point B. But I don't necessarily have to follow it, but it gives me really great guidance.

Kate Bevan: And given that you are working with teenagers and kids and young people and the rise in diagnosis we see of young people with ADHD, how are you finding that helping them?

Courtney Batiste: Sure. So, I have a fifteen-year-old daughter who also has ADHD, and one of the biggest things for her that she was challenged with was doing language arts or any kind of essays or assignments where there was a lot of verbiage involved. So, she would use different platforms and websites that were AI-powered to help her to find the right words, to also go in and do some spell check and course correction, as well as reframe her point of view on some of the objects that she was trying to focus on. So, it's more than teaching just her, it's also teaching me the best way to teach her because we spent a lot of time going through her coursework content and figuring out the best way for her to learn. And working with AI has been a game changer for our family.

Kate Bevan: That's amazing. And is it also the case with the young people you work with on your nonprofit as well?

Courtney Batiste: Yes. So, we have students that have been actually coding for quite some time, and one of the things that they will do is go in and spot check some of their code when they're running into problems. Not necessarily put everything in there, but to see if there's a better way to rewrite it. So maybe taking five lines of code and reducing it down to two. That's what's extremely helpful for them. It gives them guidance, but there is the responsibility of teaching the teenagers when to use AI and make sure that you're using it for the right reasons and making sure that you have original content because the last thing we want to do is take away from someone who built something and it's really taking the time to show them the best way to move forward. And it's helpful for all. It helps my kids.

Kate Bevan: Do you think there's a difference in the way between kids, young people, even your youngest kids, the kindergartners and the way adults use AI? Are the kids more open to it? Are they being more creative with it, or is it the grownups who are really forging ahead with this?

Courtney Batiste: Oh, I have to say it's the kids. I'm constantly following their lead because they're thinking outside the box. And so, problem solving and challenging the AI in a way that we would've never thought of is what's driving the next generation. It's what's innovating technology for us in the future. We have kids that will go in and build PowerPoint presentations just to give them a framework to be able to put with a project, not necessarily to use, but just to have an idea of the best way to present an idea or a thought process. And I'd never thought about doing that. The most I was thinking is how can I break it? So, I do enjoy seeing where the kids are taking it and what's going to be the next step and next level for when they're in their careers.

Kate Bevan: We talk a lot about the need to do AI responsibly and ethically. So how do we make sure the next generation is using not just AI but technology as well? How do we make sure that they're doing it responsibly? Do they have a sense of it of themselves, or are you having to teach it?

Courtney Batiste: I think it's both. Ethics and responsible usage of technology has been something we've been instilling for quite some time. AI is just now another tool that's being added to their toolkit. So, showing that, yes, there can be bias because honestly there's bias in a lot of the things that we do right now that are not AI generated is important. And so, when they do receive these responses or do get some kind of feedback from an AI function, they have to take it with a grain of salt. They have to apply the real world concept. I'd love to tell them that every single time AI is going to spit out the right answer. It's going to take into account the environment that they're trying to deal with, but that's not the case, and we still have to tailor shape and mold the response to make it match what the scenario really is.

Kate Bevan: Do they understand those limitations when you explain them? Do you have to explain this in different ways to them?

Courtney Batiste: I think that's where you get to show real life scenarios of where there are biases. There's research and studies out there that show where people will have their own personal biases just in choosing people, whether it be that you're looking at a person of interest and a lineup. There are going to be some biases that come with that. So, I show the historical value of this is what comes when we talk about a bias, and it's been existing for years. It's not something that people choose to have. We all have some form of it. So, I show it in a real world example as well as showing it in AI that it could position some biases.

Kate Bevan: Do the kids get that? Do they get it better than the adults do?

Courtney Batiste: I think they do. They're a little bit more open-minded to it. They're not exposed to some of the history that we have seen or been a part of, but again, it's how we bring history into the fold, and it gives them a side by side comparison and how to leverage it.

Kate Bevan: So, what are the kids telling you about AI? What are you getting from them? What are you learning from them?

Courtney Batiste: So, what I'm getting from the kids, it's more about how can I use it? How can I speed up my work? I want to go do something else fun or other options are, hey, how is this going to influence my career? How is this going to change what my career path is going to look like? I have more students now trying to find degree plans around AI because they have such a vested interest and they want to build, they want to add more to the platform as well as take it and build their own, which I think is pretty incredible. So, I'm enjoying watching them learn and grow and develop from it.

Kate Bevan: Do you think it's well taught to young people outside your own nonprofit?

Courtney Batiste: I think we're all getting there. There are some really great organizations like teachai.org who are taking a vested interest in teaching AI to most of the school districts definitely here in the US. There's other organizations like code.org who also has taken into account the best way to get kids familiar with AI, how to use it, how to leverage it. So, I think we're getting there, but it's also that unknown that we're still trying to figure out at the same time.

Kate Bevan: Are the schools ready for it, do you think?

Courtney Batiste: I'm going to say they are getting there, not quite there yet because it's still new, but they're getting there. They're investing resources in the sense of sending teachers to do training and making sure that they go to some of these technology conferences to talk about it, to explore the things that they don't know and the best way to talk about it with students.

Kate Bevan: Is there anything that worries you about the way young people are being exposed to AI?

Courtney Batiste: I worry that it becomes a dependency. I genuinely want them to use it as an aid and not necessarily as a requirement. I think for me, I see AI as, again, an arsenal in my toolbox. It's not the end-all be-all, but it does help me to do a lot. But I have to always remember there might be a day where there's no technology. I mean, just a few weeks ago we were without cell phones in the U.S., so that was a very chaotic day.

Kate Bevan: Yeah, hope for the best and plan for the worst, right?

Courtney Batiste: Absolutely.

Kate Bevan: I'm going to sort of come to the question I ask everybody. Do you think AI is going to kill us all?

Courtney Batiste: I think if we don't learn, if we don't understand it, we don't appreciate it, then yes, it could lead to a different kind of focus in the future. It could be that it could harm us, but we're taking all the steps to go in the right direction. We're making sure that people understand how to use AI, what it's there for, as well as we're still building the story around AI.

Kate Bevan: How do you think it might harm us?

Courtney Batiste: I think if we're not responsible, I do see that again, we talk about biases and there's always that opportunity for it to creep in. It could cause challenges depending on where it's used, but I don't think we're going that route. I think everybody is very cautious and optimistic about what AI can be. There are a few that feel as though it's probably not the right tool, but it's not the right tool right now. We still have the ability to mold it and shape it. We still have a way to change some of the biases that are incorporated. So, there's still a lot of opportunity there. So that's why I think it's going to be great. It's going to be a game changer. It's going to change the way that we go to work every day. It's going to change the future of all the careers out there. And I, for one, am looking forward to what it can do for all of us.

Kate Bevan: So, you're not worried about the Doomer narrative, the Techbro narrative. Oh, we are going to have to watch out that it doesn't become sentient.

Courtney Batiste: It's funny. I thought about this on my way in, and it reminds me of the days of Y2K. Yes, I'm dating myself a little bit here, but remember, everyone was like, "It's going to be Doomsday. It's going to be the end of the world." We made it through Y2K, and here we are. So now here we are moving through AI and understanding what happens. I don't think it is going to be a Terminator scenario. I think we're going to be a little bit more responsible about it, so it's going to be great.

Kate Bevan: Are you worried about how kids could be misled by things like DeepFakes, particularly with the US election coming up, which is going to be so contested?

Courtney Batiste: So that's where, again, I tell everybody, do your research. I tell even my daughter, there are certain websites that I tell her she needs to go and do her research. So, a lot of people don't know about Scholar.google.com. That's where I can go in and find real articles. I can't necessarily always rely on the front page news. Sometimes it is worth deep diving or going to the library and going through some of the older microfiche. Yes, I'm dating myself a little there, but it's important to go in and do your research and know for yourself. Yes, there's always going to be that bad guy out there. Thankfully. This is why like my students from learning cybersecurity. You have to protect yourself and you have to know when to go in and find the facts and get down to the root, and then there's going to be moments you're going to have gotchas. The question is, what did you learn from it? If you learned a lesson, great. Let's not make that mistake again and move forward.

Kate Bevan: It's so nice to hear somebody who's both optimistic but also grounded about it. Courtney Batiste, thank you so much for your time today. It's been a pleasure having you.

Courtney Batiste: Thank you, Kate.

Kate Bevan: The AI Interrogator is an Infosys Knowledge Institute production in collaboration with Infosys Topaz. Be sure to follow us wherever you get your podcasts and visit us on infosys.com/IKI. The podcast was produced by Yulia De Bari and Christine Calhoun. Dode Bigley is our audio engineer. I'm Kate Bevan of the Infosys Knowledge Institute. Keep learning. Keep sharing.