Ian Cho graduated from St. Mark's School in Southborough, Massachusetts, and heads to Yale University this fall to study cognitive science. Frustrated that AI had quietly become a "taboo subject" wrapped in cheating anxiety, he founded what is now called Sailing (Student AI Literacy Interscholastic Navigator Group), a peer-led initiative that gives students across schools a space to talk openly about how they use AI and the policies governing it. Outside of Sailing, Ian builds his own AI-powered tools, including productivity apps that pause a Pomodoro timer whenever he looks away from his desk.

Ingrid Namala is entering her fourth and final year at St. Mark's School, where she plans to study neuroscience. She joined Sailing shortly after Ian launched it and now co-leads the group, having presented her own research on the history of generative AI and prompting technique at Sailing's first interscholastic symposium alongside a student from another school. Much of her advocacy centers on protecting academic integrity and destigmatizing honest conversations between students and teachers about when and how AI should be used.

Inspired by AI Co-Lab, the teacher network launched by their teacher Maureen Russo Rodríguez, they grew Sailing into a virtual community spanning more than fifteen schools, running hybrid symposiums, "four corners" debates, and informal salons between students and faculty.

In this episode, Ian and Ingrid talk with Svenia Busson about:

• Sailing (sailingedu.org) — how a "taboo" subject became a peer-led dialogue across 15+ schools
• The Chinese Room thought experiment — and what it reveals about outsourcing understanding to AI
• The hidden toll of unequal AI use — academic integrity, trust, and the students left behind
• Reimagining assessment — in-class writing, oral exams, and whether it's "the death of the essay"
• Why the brain needs friction — reframing struggle as a skill worth protecting, not a bug to eliminate
• The craft of prompting — from lazy fragments to elaborate, metacognitive prompts, and staying polite with AI
• The case against banning AI for under-21s — literacy over prohibition
• AI, authenticity, and the future of work — why staying human might be the real advantage

Mentioned in this episode:

Education Futures Fellowship

A six-week programme starting on September 22nd, where seven world-leading experts in developmental psychology, neuroscience, and AI child safety will share everything they know with you: educationfutures.ai/fellowship.