Containers, Agents, and Presence
The older I get, the more I realize how often I confuse more with meaning. More books on my shelf, more tabs open on my browser, more tech tools in my digital drawer. But most of it sits there untouched like containers full of stuff, both physical and digital.
That line from the recent newsletter from Be More With Less lingers:
“Don’t let your legacy be containers full of stuff.”
What if the same warning applies not only to closets and garages, but also to classrooms, meetings, and even our AI experiments? We’re drowning in abundance, but starved for insight.
1. Ugly Data, Hidden Gold
Most “great” data never gets analyzed. Not because it lacks value, but because it’s messy: feedback in surveys no one reads, learning reflections never coded, student work that’s full of nuance but hard to quantify.
In education, this is everywhere. Think about student journals, exit slips, or that stack of sticky notes teachers collect during PD. That’s “ugly data” that is rich in story, but rarely sifted.
AI is shifting this. Tools now make it faster (and cheaper) to spot patterns in the mess. Imagine running all your student feedback through a model trained to look for themes in motivation, or having AI map out which assignments sparked curiosity.
The challenge is not the tech, it’s our willingness to see the gold inside the clutter.
2. The Happiness Hoax
Nosidebar reminded me of another messy truth: most of the things we’re told will make us happy like status, possessions, polished success stories rarely do.
In schools and organizations, we often chase the same illusions: the perfect program, the new initiative, the magic app. But the work that truly sustains community, presence, creativity, authentic human experiences rarely comes in neat containers.
Here’s the irony: the very same AI tools promising efficiency might also help us slow down. If they can clear the noise (emails, logistics, rote tasks), maybe they can give us space to notice what actually matters.
3. AI Literacy as Simplicity
Lisa Kater Radden recently wrote about the importance of AI literacy in education. Her framing got me thinking: maybe AI literacy isn’t about knowing every term or mastering every model.
Maybe it’s about learning to ask better questions.
What is a hallucination?
How do I know if the model is reliable?
Which model should I use for this task?
When should I not use AI?
This is where I’d love your input. I’m planning a new series of AI explainers. What questions do you have about using AI in your work?
4. AI Tools vs. AI Agents
We often lump all AI into one bucket, but there’s a critical difference between tools and agents.
AI Tools (like ChatGPT) are powerful, but passive. They wait for your prompt and then respond.
AI Agents represent a shift. Instead of waiting for instructions, they can act toward a goal with minimal human input. They reason, iterate, and make decisions along the way.
Think of it like this:
ChatGPT: Answers your question but can’t fetch new info once trained.
ChatGPT + Plugins/Connectors: Can reach into connected apps (Google Calendar, Drive), but only along predefined paths.
ChatGPT Agent: You give it a goal (“Make me a Google Maps list of the best restaurants”), and it decides how to achieve it—searching, evaluating, and even iterating until it gets there.
For education, the implications are huge. Imagine agents that:
Pull in lesson plans, standards, and student data to auto-generate differentiated assignments.
Scan your calendar, prep meeting agendas, and draft parent communication while you focus on teaching.
We’re not all the way there yet, but this is the direction the river is flowing.
5. The New Normal of Accessibility
Years ago, when I was traveling the country giving keynotes, I often talked about accessibility tech. The point I made then still holds: accessibility tools eventually stop standing out and they just become part of the tech everyone uses.
Apple’s new AirPods Pro 3 will offer live translation in your ear. That means a multilingual learner could sit in class, hear their teacher in real time, and follow along in their own language.
And yet… we’re watching schools race to ban phones and earbuds. What if the very devices we’re banning could actually expand inclusion, connection, and learning? I am not arguing for or against no phones in class, but more thinking about accessibility tech in mainstream devices and how do we manage.
6. The Push and Pull of AI in Schools
Two posts capture the paradox:
Dr. Sakshi Vermani Rishi shows how teachers are experimenting with AI in practical ways.
Rachael Edu highlights legal complaints against Otter.ai, raising questions of surveillance and privacy.
Both are true: AI opens doors for access, but it also forces us to wrestle with ethics. Ignoring AI doesn’t erase the tension. It just means someone else decides for us.
7. The Hardest Part of Leading Change
Shahida Rehman said it best: the hardest part of leading schools into the future isn’t vision or strategy, it’s bringing people along.
AI magnifies this truth. Tools change fast; people change slow. We need leaders who can hold both: urgency and patience.
8. A Global Faculty, A Shared Project
One of my favorite discoveries this week: The Global Faculty AI Project.
Educators across continents experimenting, sharing, and shaping AI together almost like an open-source faculty lounge. The classroom in Iowa might look different from one in India, but curiosity and care connect us.
9. A Needed Skepticism
Amid the hype, Gary Marcus reminds us: we’re not as close to “artificial general intelligence” as headlines suggest. Many models remain brittle, biased, and shallow.
Curiosity needs caution. Enthusiasm needs discernment. Hope needs humility.
10. The Quiet Power of Presence
Finally, a note from Stoic Wisdom: presence is a form of power.
If AI is about acceleration, presence is about slowing. Anchoring. Noticing. Technology should never cost us the ability to be here, fully.
Digital Challenge
Take one piece of “ugly data” (student reflections, meeting notes, journal entries) and run it through ChatGPT:
“Read these 20 reflections. Identify the top 3 themes and suggest one concrete next step.”
Notice how clutter shifts into clarity.
Analog Challenge
Grab one container from your home such as junk drawer, shelf, or box and empty it.
What actually matters here?
What stories are hiding in the mess?
What can I let go of?
Then ask: does your digital life need the same treatment? I recently did this with a cabinet and even had ChatGPT give me a visual image of how it could look more organized. The end result was better than AI, but it was the kickstart I needed.
Songs of the Week
Cop Car – TheHead and Heart
Sitting In The Corner – St. Paul and The Broken Bones
Art & Humanity
Reflection / Question
If AI can help us mine the messy, and simplicity can help us reclaim our attention what are you willing to clear away this week to see the gold that’s been there all along?