Announcing Zainetek Educational Advisors

AI to Amplify, Not Accelerate

We are pleased to announce today that we are launching a new AI for Education consulting and training service focused on AI Literacy; Zainetek Educational Advisors, LLC.

Zainetek is an anagram of the founder’s name and AI and it represents the first entrepreneurial effort as such. After much deliberation, we made the bittersweet decision in mid-June to leave a full-time job as a High School English teacher and jump into this work full-time. I will still be working in the classroom part-time, but will spend the majority of my time developing my work from last year into offerings for universities and schools. We are beyond excited for you to join us in this endeavor.

Core Mission:

Zainetek will focus on a set of “Principles for Effective AI Use” that we believe should inform and impact the use of AI at every level, from teenager to adult. These principles have been absorbed, adapted, and acquired through personal experiences and from masters of Large Language Model Research like Jules White, Ethan Mollick, and Chris Dede.

Every training module, workshop, textbook, and online course will stem from and be developed through an attentive focus to these principles. We believe that these principles will allow AI users to think bigger and do better, rather than principles that place a dangerous emphasis on speed and efficiency.

As such, our company slogan is: “AI to Amplify, Not Accelerate.”

Ikigai Risk:

Zainetek will also be guided by a desire to help mitigate one of the three greatest risks associated with the development of artificial intelligence: Ikigai Risk.

Ikigai is the Japanese term for “Soul’s Purpose.” AI researchers have expressed concern that AI could ultimately remove the part of us that makes us most human – our deepest purpose.

Through a creative and critical approach informed by extensive experience in the fields of Creative Writing, Journalism, American Studies, and English Language Arts, Zainetek aims to help each individual student – young and old –  maintain and strengthen their connection to their soul’s purpose in the age of AI.

Creativity and skill with language has been tabbed by some of the biggest executives in technology as the number one skill of the future. Right behind it are critical thinking and an ability to analyze text while staying connected to purpose. These are all skills typically developed via the pedagogies of the Humanities.

Via our emphasis on a Humanities-centric approach to AI use, we will not only help you protect against the dangers of AI but also develop the skills to help you thrive personally and professionally in a world that is experiencing an “overdue rebalancing,” to use the words of Peter Thiel.

What Zainetek will do:

This blog will remain a place for me to share my experiences from the last year and explain how my approach can be expanded beyond the classroom. This will also be a place to detail my teaching philosophies and to share ideas with other critical thinking in the AI and Education spaces.

For information regarding the business side of my endeavors, go to www.Zainetek-edu.com. Below is the briefest possible rundown of what we aim to execute and achieve at Zainetek this year.

1. “Grade the Chats” Pilot Programs:

   1. If you are interested in adapting your language-based assessments for the age of AI, Zainetek can help!

   2. Check our website for a FREE 30-minute PD on the approach!

   3. For teachers who have already experimented and “learned” AI use, this program will help design a series of assessments that can be ported across disciplines and develop all-important AI Literacy skills in students.

2. The CRAFT Program for Individual Teachers (FREE)

   1. Want to update your assessments but don’t have the backing for a pilot program? Join our Collaborative Reform for AI-Focused Teaching Program (CRAFT) for a remote design program that will bring together teachers from many disciplines!

3. Workshop: Adapting to AI through The Five Stages of Grief

   1. Is your faculty struggling to move through the emotional aspects of adapting to this change? Zainetek offers workshops and presentations aimed at addressing the “grief” associated with letting go of “the old way” and adapting to a new way.

   2. Book a time for a consultation to learn more.

4. Workshop: AI Literacy for Adults

   1. Using the pedagogies of the Humanities and the text transcript as a teaching tool, this workshop will demystify the use of Large Language Models for the adult professional in need of training.

5. Textbooks, Online Courses, and Domain-Specific Manuals

   1. Course Materials are under production and scheduled for an early Fall release. Sign up for our mailing list on the website to ensure you receive updates.

That’s all for now. Please feel free to reach out here on Substack, on LinkedIn, or via the mailing list and Calendly booking site to share your ideas or learn more!