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Last Friday, we spent the day learning about the power, potential, and pitfalls of Generative Artificial Intelligence. In the morning, the faculty and staff had a presentation with Hyde alum Tony Rea '69, who has spent his career in the tech field and is a subject matter expert on AI and its applications in education, business, and personal use. Along with Tony, we heard from other experts who work with him at Dell Technologies. In the faculty session, some of the points covered included:

• Differences between Predictive AI and Generative AI
• What AI can "understand" and what are its limits
• What the challenges are for the education of young people
• How organizations need to embrace AI's positive aspects while fully understanding the ethical questions it raises
• How AI will not replace human employees; nevertheless, those who understand its capabilities will be more valuable in the workforce

Later, Tony and his colleagues met with the students. First, the school heard presentations from three seniors that stemmed from the unit on AI studied in English 12. 

Zach '24 - Discussed the strengths of AI

Nikolai '24 - Discussed the challenges of AI

Vladimir '24 - Shared AI models he created last year to illustrate how AI works

Tony encouraged the students to embrace the potential of this new technology while also handling it responsibly and ethically. He showed examples from the healthcare sector, where hopes are that AI can play a role in medical advances. Tony also showed the group the AI digital human "Clara," who has a human-like ability to convey emotion through facial gestures and can communicate in a vast number of languages. Digital humans are expected to make a difference in how people gain information from simple to complex websites and other platforms.

Along with his expertise, Tony also shared his experience at Hyde and how it prepared him for the challenges of the real world. Some of the points he made included:

• The self-awareness skills, public speaking skills, leadership training, etc. that you learn at Hyde will put you ahead of your peers.
• You may not notice your current growth, but it will all make sense the longer you are out of Hyde.
• His experience at Hyde made a critical difference in how his life has unfolded, personally and professionally.

We all agree that this was just the beginning for our community in understanding AI and other cutting-edge technologies. Many thanks to Tony and his colleagues for sharing their time and creating a powerful learning experience.

Check out the highlights reel from AI Day on our Facebook page