PARC Forum:
How to AI

Join us at SRI’s online PARC Forum to explore how AI is accelerating a new revolution in education.

In his new book How to AI, Wall Street Journal technology columnist Christopher Mims reveals how AI is really being adopted across industries. Through practical “laws” drawn from real-world implementation, Mims shows that the greatest gains from AI don’t come from replacing human expertise — they come from amplifying it.

The pattern is clear: the biggest benefits accrue to professionals who understand their domains deeply enough to ask better questions, push systems further, critically evaluate responses, and recognize when AI is wrong. Mims will share insights and examples of how experts are leveraging AI to improve productivity, strengthen workflows, and build organizational capacity — not by delegating judgment, but by extending it.

A deeper conversation about education

Following Mims’ overview, SRI’s Susan Patrick will join for a dynamic dialogue, translating these cross-industry insights into what they mean for education — a field still largely structured around industrial-era models of standardization, batching, and bell schedules. As AI accelerates a Fourth Industrial Revolution, what must education rethink?

Together, Mims and Patrick will explore:

• How the principles that make AI valuable in other fields apply to learning environments
• Why expertise matters more in the age of AI, not less
• Why AI requires verification, not blind trust
• How context determines quality
• How AI can amplify and extend educator expertise

Most critically, they’ll examine what it means to redesign learning environments, so students use AI to enhance critical thinking rather than replace it. As AI becomes embedded in everyday tools, the question is no longer whether education will use AI — but how. Join us for a conversation about what education must learn from the experts.

Date/time: April 30, 2026 | 9:00 – 10:00 AM PT
Location: Virtual

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