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Beyond Productivity: Matt Winters on Building Inclusive, Data-First AI Systems in Education
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What if your state had one person responsible for AI in education—and that person asked more questions than they answered? Meet Matthew Winters, the Utah State Board of Education’s first (and only) AI Specialist. In this episode, Brett and Rebecca sit down with the Renaissance Man of AI to explore what it means to be a thoughtful, scrappy, system-level leader confronting the messy rollout of generative tools—and dreaming bigger than most are willing to.
Utah’s AI education strategy is quietly becoming a national model, with lesson plan repositories, statewide professional development for 3,000+ teachers, and bold new frameworks like the Portrait of an AI-Infused Student. But don’t confuse progress with hype. Matt pulls back the curtain on real challenges—from teacher skepticism to mounting ethical tensions.
Get ready for a deeply human conversation that blends skepticism and joy, poetry and policy, vision and vulnerability—as we ask: What if we actually got AI right in schools?
What you’ll learn in this episode:
📚 Bold honesty: Why Matt Winters, Utah’s AI lead, doesn’t actually use AI as much as you'd think—and what that says about where we are.
📚 Creative caution: How being a photographer and former English teacher shapes Matt’s nuanced approach to AI-generated content and student expression.
📚 Systems in motion: How Utah is building the world’s first AI-infused student and teacher portraits—and what they mean for AI literacy and student development.
📚 The hidden trap: Why productivity can actually limit adoption—and how moving from productivity → creativity → inclusivity is the real journey.
📚 Data first, not last: Why Utah's AI summits center student data privacy and how districts everywhere can steal the playbook.
Bonus: Which iconic voice would Matt choose to read his emails? A little Dylan, a little Walken, come for the AI ethics, stay for the unexpected karaoke.
Matt doesn’t just lead systems. He listens to teachers, students, and skeptics—and turns their worries into action. He’s asking the questions that keep us honest, and the answers that keep us moving.
🎧 Tune in, subscribe, and share if you’re ready to turn up the volume on what’s possible in education.
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