The Infinity Mentor (2024)

An Opportunity in the Future of Education: Learning from the Greatest

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that students must work harder and harder to keep up with the pace of technology and be effective, informed citizens. There are virtually infinite disciplines that one can now specialize in, yet it’s only becoming harder to resist the pull of an information- and engagement-driven economy. However, with recent advancements we have a unique opportunity to guide students to be more impactful, focused, and passionate than ever before.

Right now one could argue that all the wisdom that an individual technically needs to live a fulfilled life is out there. The Eastern-Western cultural interchange of the modern era, in theory, provides a vast range of sources of meaning. A woman in Mexico can devote her life to yoga, a spiritual practice that began over 5,000 years ago in Southern Asia. A guy in Kenya can decide his biggest dream is launching rockets into space—and accomplish it. And software makes it easier than ever to impact millions of people.

Not only is the wisdom out there, but the most successful individuals proudly share it. Most people in the world have access to every piece of content that would make up a top-tier education. We’re more interconnected than ever: humans in the 21st century have the historically unprecedented opportunity to choose our friends from literally thousands—even millions—of people.

Yet, a crucial piece is missing. The technologically-abled person has endless options and opportunities, but, on average, only makes the most of a select few of them. A vocationally diverse world makes standing out and effecting change from a high-integrity standpoint exceptionally difficult.

I can’t help but imagine how to fix this. How are the future participants of democratic societies going to stay guided, stand up for core principles, and achieve their ambitions? Surely, some of the smartest and most capable people in the world are swept up by the storm of social media, succumb to the pull of lucrative-yet-impactless careers, or simply live unaware of the incredible opportunities that surround them.

There’s currently an incredible opportunity to pursue technology that enables those who embrace it to focus, rather than be pulled apart by constant consumption. The reason that free books and curricula haven’t had a bigger impact in bringing the entire developing world out of poverty is that they’re not personal—they don’t fit snugly into the lives and ambitions of students. We can compile the wisdom of the most influential, accomplished, and—most importantly—fulfilled people, to mentor others into true self-actualization and community building. I strongly believe that a true education is not an addition to a student’s realm of expertise; it’s an impetus for strong, sustainable personal and intellectual growth.

That’s why there should be an app. Not even necessarily an app—a virtual mentor, if you will, in whatever form is most scalable and impactful. Right now apps just happen to be pretty popular (and I know how to make them). The information needed for personal and societal growth is out there. The human potential is literally everywhere. A software coach, which guides its mentees to self-actualize in a way that is true to themselves, would be immensely impactful. And holds them accountable to their goals. The program would be a collective repository of the wisdom of George Washington, the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Thomas Edison, Confucius, Elon Musk, etc. Bottom line: it’s not only a source of all the wisdom ever conceived; it’s a guiding star for the people’s lives and communities.

It wouldn’t be difficult to put together the information. Massive amounts of books demonstrating this type of self-actualization have been published—and many are in the public domain. Regardless, our current trillion-parameter LLMs have back-pocket access to all of that, and more. The knowledge itself of how to take the best possible next step given any circumstances is there. What needs to be created is personalized support, keeping people accountable to their goals and enabling them to achieve their fullest potential.

This isn’t particularly revolutionary: life coaches exist, and so do therapists. Before we had those, we had rabbis. The OG personal support people are parents. I’m not going to undermine the incredible value of each of these roles whatsoever. I just know that technology is moving fast, and people need a little more nowadays to make the most of the world they live in. Some of those AI pins and necklaces are theoretically a step in the right direction, but, even if they weren’t all just hype, they’d be far too utility-oriented. We need to educate people to be more in touch with their values, and embrace their actual innate desires and capacities with respect to what’s possible now and in a future that’s going to be wilder than absolutely anyone expects.

TL;DR: Let’s make an artificial intelligence-powered software that contains all the wisdom in the world, and is organized enough to guide people’s personal journeys toward growth. It enables kids to be educated for a future no one can predict, spurring high-integrity, fulfillment-based communities of people who care about doing meaningful things.