How a simple search turned into a journey through YouTube, nostalgia, and unexpected discoveries

My AI-driven odyssey — there and back again

“Artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race. It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever-increasing rate.” — Stephen Hawking

September of 2018 ushered in a new chapter in my life: the beginning of my doctoral journey. As you can imagine, my days were been brimming with skim reading, writing, and deep diving into research — a student’s typical fare, which, luckily for me, aligns perfectly with my passions. However, there’s a twist in the tale: sometimes the readings on my list nudge me toward unexpected detours, opening doors to intriguing reflections.

In my Doctoral Pedagogy class, we had been dissecting Paulo Freire’s seminal work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. This was my inaugural encounter with Freire’s philosophy, a journey into his enlightening strategies for those on the path to freedom. Yet, as I pored over the pages, my mind couldn’t help but wander, drawing parallels with the works of Frantz Fanon, a writer and educator deeply ingrained in my own Creolized French Caribbean heritage.