The entrepreneurial spirit was alive and well in suburban Chicago in the late 1970s when some friends and I created our first lemonade stand. We had dreams of making millions, or at least enough to buy an ice cream bar at the local convenience store. We had everything we needed to be successful - product, great location, and plenty of customers. The midwestern summers were hot, and who wouldn’t stop to buy lemonade from a bunch of kids trying to make a buck? If we wanted to make more money, we worked longer hours or multiple days, expanded our product line, etc. The beauty of the original lemonade stand was that just about anyone could do it - make some lemonade, find a spot on the sidewalk, and wait for the customers. The experience was a testament to self-empowerment and financial independence.
The GPT Store: A Digital Marketplace for AI Innovators
I believe the modern lemonade stand arrived earlier this month when Open AI, the company that brought us ChatGPT, released the GPT Store - a digital marketplace for small-scale, innovative digital products powered by Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) technology. It’s a space where creators can showcase and sell applications that harness the power of advanced AI. The digital products are custom GPTs and can be created by anyone with access to the internet and ChatGPT. All GPTs created in the public domain are cataloged and available to the world. They can be monetized, creating unprecedented opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship. This marketplace symbolizes the modern incarnation of the lemonade stand, where anyone with an idea can participate in the burgeoning AI revolution (or whatever history may call this era).
Data shows most of my readers access this blog via smartphones and are familiar with app downloads, the GPT Store presents a similar, yet more advanced concept. It's a hub for custom GPT applications created by regular people like you and me (if you haven’t seen mine yet and would like to try them out, click here). GPTs are designed to help people with just about anything: it can be like having a personal assistant who can analyze data in a snap, summarize a lengthy document, etc. or it can be used to solve problems - my creations are largely geared toward helping students and solving problems I see in my own classroom, but some just for fun. At some point in the near future custom GPTs will be monetized - how that will work isn’t known yet. However, some time in the future it may be possible for folks to make a living from this.
Democratization of Technology
This is the moment, I believe the masses have experience with and access to the needed technology to become part of the world of AI. There is potential for most anyone with the will and knowledge to participate in what the world is becoming. Fact is, we can only guess what the world will become - the jobs of the future haven’t even been thought of yet. This underscores the need for a shift in education from traditional workforce preparation to nurturing skills like critical thinking and technological fluency that are in line with what we expect the future may need. This also requires those in education to monitor developments in technology and adjust accordingly. This is the tough part - education tends to change at a snail's pace. However, we are doing students a disservice if we are not guiding and allowing them to explore these technologies. It's not just technology; it's a tool for empowerment, learning, and skill development. Imagine AI applications that teach coding, provide career guidance, or even offer personalized tutoring. It can be a game-changer.
The path isn't without hurdles. The digital divide looms large, but it may not be as daunting as it once was. I teach in the city of Philadelphia and while there are many students and their families who struggle financially, the majority of students have access to the internet via cell phones, computers in technology class, and Chromebooks in most classrooms. These accessible tools (both student and school owned), are the basic tools needed to create AI products that potentially can reap financial rewards and at the very least give students the opportunity to participate in the 'modern lemonade stand' by learning and embracing the technology - we must also explore the technology for ourselves and with our students, share our discoveries and questions.
Imagine children being able to get a world class modern education regardless of zip code or school district - I believe we are there if we learn about and harness this technology. Teachers consistently wonder if what they do can really change the trajectory of students' lives - THIS can change their lives! Listen, there are some things that will not change in education, the basics are still needed, but students who want to learn different things than what is being taught in the current classroom, students who want to monetize their presence on TikTok (I find the hallway dancing irritating - mostly out of jealousy) The key lies in the willingness - our willingness and their willingness. Teachers are not magicians and education should not be a mystery, in fact, right now just about anyone can learn anything at any time. What if we gave them the time and space to explore this, would they discover ways to create their own lemonade stands?
Revisiting the Lemonade Stand: A Metaphor for Today's AI Opportunities
My comparison really boils down to people having what they need (supplies, knowledge, technology, etc.) to provide a product or service to anyone. The newly opened GPT Store is the democratization of access to advanced technologies, allowing anyone with a vision to participate in the digital economy by tailoring practical solutions to everyday needs.
This technology opens up a world of possibilities for us and our students. It's a tool that can lead to economic gain but also societal progress. As we delve into the potential of AI to transform lives, I invite you to ponder the role of AI in shaping a more equitable and empowered future.