Bill Gates: "You Really Should Stick it in the AI and Say, Explain This to Me Like a 6th Grader"
Microsoft Founder Bill Gates has a great suggestion for understanding difficult texts, which can be used to help students who struggle with Dyslexia, reading comprehension, advocacy, anxiety, & more.
I fed sections of Beowulf into ChatGPT after listening to Microsoft Founder Bill Gates’ recent interview on the podcast Smartless. I immediately wished artificial intelligence (AI) arrived decades ago.
At about the 39-minute mark of the interview, Gates discussed how AI can help improve understanding of healthcare:
“Even today, if you get a set of blood tests back, or an MRI test back, or you get a confusing medical bill, you really should stick it in the AI and say, “Explain this to me like a 6th grader.”
Insert “aha moment” here.
How can AI be used to help students who face struggles due to Dyslexia and/or Dysgraphia? What about students who struggle with self-advocacy and/or anxiety issues, who avoid asking questions in class, fearing their peers’ attention?
Could it help teachers who don’t use class notes for instruction? Could AI help them prepare class notes for students whose IEPs or 504 Plans include the accommodation of class notes?
Since about 2022, I’ve heard two outcomes for students using ChatGPT to write their papers:
The students are caught, face detention and failing grades, and sometimes face honor code violations that lead to removal from academic organizations and/or athletic teams.
The students aren’t caught and graduate high school, but lack basic reading and writing skills. Read “Court Sets Precedent: Accommodations are Not Substitutions for Remediation” to learn about one student who graduated with a 3.4 GPA, even though his reading fluency was below grade level.
The middle ground is clear. Students must be able to read and write, but over-reliance on AI isn’t the answer. AI could serve as a tutor or teaching aid for moments when teachers aren’t around, or when students hesitate to self-advocate and ask questions in class.
In addition, AI requires devices, charged batteries, and/or electricity, which aren’t always available. Hence, completely relying on accommodations to accomplish reading and writing is a no-go.
AI and Beowulf
I hated Beowulf in high school, so that’s where my mind went after listening to Gates’ interview. Even though reading has never been difficult for me, understanding difficult texts, new styles, and vocabulary specific to areas in which I have little to no experience, remains a roadblock to this day. Think about special education law. The first time I dipped my toe into it, it was kin to reading a foreign language. What if I’d had ChatGPT? How could it help other students and parents?
How could I have used it to learn about Beowulf, rather than just grabbing Cliffs Notes circa 1990. (Side bar: Cliffs Notes has AI now.) How could it help other students and parents?
I fed the following into ChatGPT:
Lo! the Spear-Danes’ glory through splendid achievements
The folk-kings’ former fame we have heard of,
How princes displayed then their prowess-in-battle.
Oft Scyld the Scefing from scathers in numbers
From many a people their mead-benches tore.
Since first he found him friendless and wretched,
The earl had had terror: comfort he got for it,
Waxed ’neath the welkin, world-honor gained,
Till all his neighbors o’er sea were compelled to Bow to his bidding and bring him their tribute:
An excellent atheling! After was borne him
A son and heir, young in his dwelling,
Whom God-Father sent to solace the people.
He had marked the misery malice had caused them,
Using Gates’ advice, I asked ChatGPT to explain it to me like I’m a sixth grader. It issued the following:
The speaker starts by saying how they’ve heard stories of the Spear-Danes, a group of people known for their glory and achievements. They talk about how the kings of the Danes were famous for being great warriors who showed their strength in battle.
The poem mentions Scyld Scefing, who was once lonely and poor, but then he became powerful. He fought against many enemies (called "scathers") and took their treasures, making them give him tribute (gifts or payment). Scyld started out weak, but with the help of God, he grew strong and became a mighty ruler.
Later, Scyld had a son who was also special, someone sent by God to help the people and make their lives better.
So, in simple terms: The poem is telling a story about how a poor, lonely person named Scyld became a great leader and warrior, and how his son continued his legacy. It's about bravery, leadership, and how Scyld earned respect from others.
I then asked ChatGPT to break it down to a 4th grade level. The result was more a low-level summary than a line-by-line analysis, which is closer to what the 6th grade version provided.
Classroom Applications
Imagine teachers asking to use AI to break down sections of Beowulf, then comparing the original text with the AI version. The exercise could focus on comparisons of writing style, vocabulary, tone, and punctuation. Interacting with numerous aspects of writing and reading, rather than simply trying to memorize the teacher’s explanation of the text, could translate into a lasting comprehension of Beowulf.
Another exercise might involve asking each student to write a paragraph about Beowulf and then ask AI to make it more concise. The exercise would require students to compare their original against AI and discuss why they agreed or disagreed with each change that was made.
Too often students receive graded papers that include comments such as:
Too short
Not enough points
Not clear
Needs more details
Off topic
However, no one models how to address these comments. If it was too short, how long should it have been? If it wasn’t clear, why wasn’t it clear? If it is off topic, why is it off topic? AI could help model each piece for them.
Do you remember the assignments and assessments formatted with a column of words and phrases on one side and a column of definitions on the other? Perhaps lines of Beowulf, as one example, could be in the left column, and lines from the AI version could be in the right column. The task would be to match the lines on the left with the lines on the right.
For writing papers, teachers could assign AI-assisted writing projects, requiring students to find and cite sources AI relied on to generate a paper, discuss the sources, and fact-check the AI-generated content. This approach could be used to teach students—and help them practice—research skills, how to cite sources, and critical thinking. In addition, it helps students engage with their topic on a different level. Such an exercise could lead to a greater understanding of the topic, simply because the student has spent so much time dancing through the pieces used to write it.
AI isn’t going away. Rather than considering it a tool for cheating and/or an accommodation, it must be considered as an education enhancer.
Teaching students to use it responsibly—alongside training educators to think outside the box about how AI can improve teaching—could take learning to the next level, moving beyond cheating to meaningful education support for both students and teachers.