The TikTok Generation's AI Problem: Climate Myths and Career Reality

School's Out Saturdays on the AGI Podcast - The most important conversation with the people shaping tomorrow one lesson at a time. Where educators of all kinds join Jason Padgett to explore preparing students for 'their tomorrow' not 'our yesterday'

Episode Summary: Kimba Rund returns to debunk the viral AI water bottle myth and reveal what her generation really thinks about artificial intelligence. From micro-internships to deepfake actresses, discover why climate activism might be slowing AI adoption—and why that's based on incomplete information.

Guest

Kimba Rund, Work-Based Learning Coordinator and Career Scholarship Manager at Career+ Pathways by Skyepack | Recent Masters graduate in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Purdue Global | Pioneering micro-internship models to scale work-based learning across Indiana

Guest Links

Kimba on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimba-rund-m-s-a22088283/

SkyepackLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skyepack

Website: https://skyepack.com/

Career+ Pathways: https://skyepack.com/career-plus-pathways/

Key Timestamps:[00:33] - Kimba's recent accomplishments: completing her masters at 23 and launching skills boot camps[04:18] - Micro-internships explained: scaling work-based learning through virtual AI projects[06:42] - The editorial mindset shift: teaching students to curate AI-generated content instead of creating from scratch[09:15] - Building evaluation systems: why students need to learn how to test AI outputs for quality[11:47] - Research with AI: using ChatGPT for scholarly work and avoiding hallucinations[14:25] - Claude vs ChatGPT: comparing AI tools for personal use, coding help, and critical feedback[18:52] - Sora 2 and AI video generation: competing with TikTok through AI avatars and deepfake concerns[23:08] - The AI actress "Tilly" and disruption in entertainment: could this level the playing field for creators?[27:35] - Gen Z's perspective on AI: why climate concerns and data center protests impact adoption[31:18] - Debunking the water bottle myth: comparing AI energy use to TikTok and TV consumption[35:42] - AI regulation debate: balancing innovation with state vs federal oversight[38:25] - Power infrastructure and AI: why electrical engineering is a critical career path[40:15] - The 996 work culture in Silicon Valley: exploitation or genuine excitement about innovation?[44:30] - Work-life blending vs balance: how AI changes productivity patterns and cognitive load[48:45] - AI slop in the workplace: identifying lazy AI use and its impact on professional trust[52:20] - Magic School AI: generating lesson plans for complex topics like LLM evaluation

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