Dr. John Harnisher, who heads the education practice at DataKind, joins host Mike Palmer in a discussion about how data science can drive social impact in education. With a relationship spanning over a decade, they engage in a conversation reflecting on John’s journey in the field of learning.
John provides an insider’s perspective on DataKind’s mission to bring data science and AI capabilities to social impact organizations. He shares a case study from their collaboration with John Jay College in New York, where they developed machine learning models to predict which students were at risk of not graduating. By sharing this data with academic advisors, John Jay managed to improve graduation rates by 30%.
The conversation delves into the importance of involving humans in the implementation of AI, rather than solely focusing on optimizing the technology. They touch on topics such as trust in data, the hype surrounding AI, and methods for measuring impact. John stresses the significance of directing AI towards addressing fundamental issues within education organizations, rather than merely chasing the latest trends.
This is an opportunity not to be missed to gain insights into how data science and AI can have a social impact in education and beyond.
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Episode References
- Barron, J. (2023, September 20). How A.I. Increased the Graduation Rate at John Jay College by 32 Points. The New York Times. Link