EQ, IQ, AI

Girl Decoded by Rana el Kaliouby
Penguin Random House, April 20, 2021

In the past few months, there has been an increasing urgency to prepare for the impact that AI will have on our schools, on our students, and on ourselves. In this timely book, author Rana el Kaliouby provides an introduction to her life’s work – to “reclaim humanity by bringing emotional intelligence to technology.” Having had an early interest in computer science, el Kaliouby forecasted that machines and AI would be more ingrained in our work and our lives. Over time, she grew passionate about bringing about a more human-centered approach to how we interact with our machines, eventually deciding to bring more EQ, or emotional intelligence, to the development of the IQ in AI. Rana el Kaliouby shares the journey she has taken to determine how to engage in this work ethically and responsibly alongside the journey she has taken in her personal life. Her story, which unfolds in different countries and across different fields, is layered, as is her ongoing work to “bridge the gap between humans and machines.” This priority to go beyond the two-dimensional, to dig deeper, explore further, think harder, and be more human is a refreshing take on the potential impact of AI. As educators navigating this inflection point in technology and in our practice, this book may offer a perspective that resonates with the future we hope our students experience.

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