New Year, New Ideas with Google Part 2: Benedict Gomes and Maureen Heymans on AI, Learning, and Sustainability

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Benedict Gomes, SVP of Learning & Sustainability at Google, leads efforts to transform education and tackle global climate challenges. His organization develops tools like Google Classroom, ReadAlong, and YouTube-based learning platforms, empowering educators and learners worldwide. Ben also drives sustainability initiatives, including decarbonization and creating global environmental data solutions.

Maureen Heymans, VP of Engineering, Learning & Sustainability at Google, oversees AI integration into tools like Search, YouTube, and Classroom to democratize access to quality education. She collaborates across teams to pioneer personalized learning technologies while leading sustainability initiatives that harness AI to address climate challenges and drive impactful global solutions.

💡 5 Things You’ll Learn in This Episode:

1. How Google is revolutionizing learning with products like Google Classroom, ReadAlong, and Learn About.
2. The role of AI in creating personalized tutors for students and teaching assistants for educators.
3. Insights into Google’s efforts to make sustainability a core part of its mission through AI and partnerships.
4. How Google collaborates across teams to integrate pedagogy into AI tools like LearnLM.
5. The vision for equitable access to personalized education worldwide, powered by AI.

✨ Episode Highlights:

[00:02:18] Ben shares how AI is transforming education and Google’s vision for supporting learning globally.
[00:03:48] Discussing the importance of multimodal learning tools and products like NotebookLM and YouTube.
[00:19:24] Maureen reflects on how project-based learning and the pandemic inspired her focus on education.
[00:37:16] Explaining LearnX’s collaborative approach to driving learning innovations across Google’s ecosystem.
[00:46:16] Introducing Learn About, a new AI-driven conversational tool combining pedagogy with the power of the web.
[00:53:30] Envisioning a future where AI makes high-quality, personalized education accessible to billions globally.

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