This podcast episode, titled "Empowering Futures: The AI Journey of Justice-Impacted Students," delves into the innovative use of artificial intelligence (AI) to support and transform the educational and professional pathways of justice-impacted students. Special guest Javier Irizarry from the John Jay Institute of Justice & Opportunity discusses his and his students' innovative and transformative work with AI.
Special thanks to Javier Irizarry, our first human guest. Javier Irizarry is the Coordinator of Tech Programs at the John Jay Institute of Justice & Opportunity.
Javier shares how his student Kevin Cornish aka Kezzlar has used AI to further develop a language called Zekenai. Kezzlar created the language over the course of 30 years while incarcerated as a way to empower and provide a voice to individuals displaced by colonialism, serving as a unique linguistic bridge to their lost heritage and identity. This AI use case highlights the adaptability and potential of AI in language creation, teaching and learning.
The episode also explores teaching strategies and initiatives for justice-impacted individuals at the Institute of Justice and Opportunity, focusing on engaging them with AI and large language models for creative expression through poetry and art. Javier speaks about the poetry and AI-generated art created by his student Angel Vazquez as a means to bring Angel's poetry to life.
Javier's stories of how he is leveraging AI emphasizes the importance of AI in offering justice-impacted students a platform for personal growth, skill acquisition, and the creation of positive societal impacts, underscoring the critical role of AI in education and rehabilitation efforts.