Why are we using AI?
Why AI is the right tool for the right problem
Last week, I attended EdTech Week 2025 at Columbia University in New York City. This event brought together leading minds in education and technology. Naturally, AI was the main topic (or elephant in the room) in every session I attended. Imagine my shock when I heard that the future of education may be pen and paper.
Ben Kroll is the CEO of the Art of Problem Solving, a curriculum provider with a focus on making math fun and engaging. He used to run EdTech Insiders, so he has keen insight into how technology is being used in the classroom. I was able to ask Ben during his panel discussion Q&A about what he thinks pubic education looks like in 10 years. Ben shared that print sales are up 40% for his company. While students and at least a few teachers and parents are rushing to AI, there is pushback. That makes sense in a climate where states and districts on both sides of the political spectrum are banning smartphones in schools. Even if AI is everywhere all of a sudden, there will be those who want to get back to the core of teaching and learning. This begs the question: Does AI solve a problem in education, or is it just the latest thing?
AI isn’t a buzzword for Hunters Point Research Technologies; it is a necessity. The sheer volume of educational research is staggering. Thousands of studies, briefs, guides, toolkits, and infographics are published every year. No single human can keep up, let alone translate it all into parent- and educator-friendly guidance, tools, and resources. The research is also in competition with parent and teacher blogs, influencers, social media, and many other types of content that are less likely to be grounded in evidence. Sifting through all of this content is an impossible task for any individual who needs to make a decision between department meetings or after-school activities.
This is one of the core problems that AI solves for us. We use it to scan, summarize, and synthesize research at scale. Parents and educators are swamped with things to do, so helping them stay up with the research and translate it into tools and resources they can use at home and in the classroom is the main service we provide. It just so happens that AI allows us to do this in a way that has never been possible before the latest generation of large language models became available.
What I also heard at Columbia University, across multiple panels and hallway discussions, was the importance of centering humans in this work. AI can do tedious work in an instant, but it cannot replace humans in school or at home. Our goal at Hunter’s Point Research Technologies is not to replace parents, educators, or researchers. We’re amplifying their work, making it more accessible, more actionable, and more impactful for the families and educators who need it most. We are making a bet that parents and educators want to use AI to give them the time they need so that they can focus on helping young minds grow and develop. The point of AI, then, is to allow all of us to focus on what matters.