Re-Architecting Education for a Pro-Human AI Future with Babak Mostaghimi
Episode 28 of Kinwise Conversations · Hit play or read the transcript
Re-Architecting Education for a Pro-Human AI Future with Babak Mostaghimi
Join us for an inspiring conversation with Babak Mostaghimi, Founding Partner at LearnerStudio and the former Assistant Superintendent who led Gwinnett County Public Schools' pioneering AI readiness initiative. Babak guides us through the necessary shift from using AI merely to make broken systems faster, to using it as a tool that unlocks human potential. He shares LearnerStudio’s "Three Horizons" model of innovation, explaining why schools are stuck in an industrial past and how we can re-architect them for a future focused on life, career, and democracy.
We dive into practical strategies, like the difference between "snorkeling" and "scuba diving" in AI literacy, and why we must "Marie Kondo" our curriculum to make space for what truly matters: our shared humanity. From 7th graders using AI to tackle food insecurity to teachers building their own feedback bots, this episode offers a compelling vision for how we can ensure technology serves the human experience rather than replacing it.
Key Discussion Points:
Pro-Human AI: Babak’s argument against using AI solely for efficiency, "Nobody likes the current system. Why are we making it faster?" and the case for using tools to unlock creativity and connection.
The Three Horizons Model: A framework for understanding education's evolution from the industrial model (Horizon 1) to the efficiency/equity movement (Horizon 2), and finally to a learner-centered ecosystem (Horizon 3).
Marie Kondo-ing the Curriculum: The necessity of clearing out antiquated content standards to create the psychological safety and time for relationship-driven, real-world learning.
Snorkeling vs. Scuba Diving: Why AI readiness cannot be a niche magnet program but must be a universal skill set that allows every student to navigate ("swim"), explore ("snorkel"), or deeply master ("scuba dive") the technology.
Agency in Action: Real-world examples of students and teachers taking control, including a 7th grader using the Inkwire tool to investigate food insecurity and educators designing bespoke feedback agents with PlayLab.The Three Horizons of Learning: A Conversation with Babak Mostaghimi
From Refugee Roots to Educational Leadership
Lydia Joy Freeman Kumar: Babak, I’m so interested in your story. What brought you to this work and what motivates you to keep going?
Babak Mostaghimi: I really believe in an America that is fair for everyone. This belief led me to a place where I think education is the unlocking force. My family came to the U.S. as refugees fleeing religious persecution in Iran. In Iran, members of the Baha'i faith are barred from higher education. When structures like that exist, you realize how important education must be if people are trying to prevent you from having it. I’ve seen remarkable moments where young people unlock a completely different future by embracing learning, supported by great adults who facilitate that growth.
Lydia Joy Freeman Kumar: You talked about education as a state of being. How does that connect to artificial intelligence?
Babak Mostaghimi: In 2017, while at Gwinnett County Public Schools, our superintendent asked us to prepare for the future. He believed our system was "Blockbuster Video" and "Netflix" was coming. We realized that if the purpose of school is to prepare young people for life, career, and democracy, and those things are shifting because of automation, we had to act. It wasn't just about technical skills; it was about how to navigate an AI-infused world with empathy and ethical understanding.
Defining the Three Horizons of Innovation
Lydia Joy Freeman Kumar: Could you talk about the model you use at LearnerStudio to think about how schools are changing?
Babak Mostaghimi: We use a "Three Horizons" model to describe the rise and fall of innovation.
Horizon 1: The traditional industrial model. It was designed for scale but often sorted people rather than ensuring everyone succeeded.
Horizon 2: The efficiency and equity movement. This focused on college and career readiness, test scores, and accountability within the existing 180-day school year structure.
Horizon 3: The future-ready ecosystem. This is what we are building at LearnerStudio. It recognizes that learning happens everywhere. We need to "Marie Kondo" the curriculum—removing pieces we don't need—to create space for relationship-based, real-world learning.
Lydia Joy Freeman Kumar: How does that look in practice for a student?
Babak Mostaghimi: I recently met a seventh grader using an AI tool called Inkwire. She was interested in food insecurity. The tool helped her build a project-based learning plan that pulled in seventh-grade standards, like fractions, and applied them to her investigation of food waste. She was learning content and real-world skills simultaneously. That is the future—learning that is active, engaging, and inspired.
Pro-Human AI: Moving Beyond Efficiency
Lydia Joy Freeman Kumar: With a million new tools appearing daily, how should leaders choose what matters?
Babak Mostaghimi: Many tools today say, "I will do X for you." But the tools that will win are those that enable you to identify your own problems and build your own solutions. For example, Play Lab allows teachers to build their own feedback agents. One educator trained a tool on his own curriculum to provide instant feedback to students. This didn't replace him; it allowed him to spend more time working one-on-one with kids who needed a human touch.
Lydia Joy Freeman Kumar: What are the core competencies we need to focus on if knowledge is now a commodity?
Babak Mostaghimi: We identified 12 essential human skills, including emotional intelligence, adaptability, and creativity. We’ve always known these skills matter, but we’ve rarely built systems to explicitly develop them at scale. Students need more "at-bats"—more practice—with these skills in various contexts.
Building a Future We Want to Inhabit
Lydia Joy Freeman Kumar: What gives you the most hope about AI, and what causes concern?
Babak Mostaghimi: My concern is that we will use this technology to merely make a failing system faster. We don't need to do the wrong things more efficiently. What gives me hope are the "pro-human" uses of AI, tools that sharpen our empathy and agency. The future isn't something that happens to us; it’s something we build. If we embrace an active role in shaping it, we can do amazing things for the world.
Guest Bio
Babak Mostaghimi is a Founding Partner at LearnerStudio, where he works to accelerate progress toward a learner-centered U.S. education system. Previously, he served as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instructional Support, and Innovation at Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS). There, he led one of the nation’s first K-12 AI readiness initiatives, launching comprehensive AI frameworks years before the release of ChatGPT.
Drawing on his family’s story as refugees fleeing religious persecution in Iran, Babak holds a deep belief that education is the ultimate unlocking force for democracy and human potential. A graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School (MPP) and Graduate School of Education (Ed.L.D.), Babak has worked from the rural classrooms of the Mississippi Delta to the tech-forward districts of Georgia, re-architecting systems to ensure they work for every child.
Connect and Resources
Connect with Babak Mostaghimi
LinkedIn: Babak Mostaghimi's LinkedIn Profile
LearnerStudio: LearnerStudio Website
Resources Mentioned & Related Concepts
PlayLab.ai: An open-ended platform mentioned by Babak that allows educators and students to build their own AI tools (like feedback agents) without needing to code.
Inkwire: The AI tool referenced for self-directed project-based learning, which helped a 7th grader build a curriculum around food insecurity.
Human Skills in the Age of AI: A key paper from LearnerStudio discussing the "Core 12" human skills needed for the future, including emotional intelligence and adaptability.
Learning to Flourish in the Age of AI: Published by LearnerStudio, outlining a vision for education that shifts the focus from standardized efficiency to human flourishing.
The Three Horizons Model: A framework used to map the shift from traditional industrial schooling (Horizon 1) to future-ready, learner-centered ecosystems (Horizon 3).
