Hello everyone, Donal McMahon here, Chief AI Officer at Lightspeed Systems. If you’re reading this, you probably already know: AI is having a moment. And when I say a moment, I mean a seismic shift in how we live, learn, and interact.
Since the launch of ChatGPT on November 30th, 2022, we’ve seen user growth like never before: over 800 million users in just 34 months.
- For context, that’s faster uptake than YouTube, Facebook, Google, or even the internet itself saw in their early years. ChatGPT alone hit 100 million users in a single month.
- For comparison, Google took nearly six years to reach that mark. The pace is breathtaking, and as someone who’s worked in AI at Google, Indeed, and now Lightspeed, I can tell you: this is truly unprecedented.
What is AI, Really?
AI can sound intimidating, but at its core, it’s simple: enabling computers to mimic human behavior—learning, making decisions, recognizing patterns. Whether it’s a light bulb that turns on at a set time, or a sentient robot that can reason and act, it’s all AI. Within AI, you might hear about machine learning (predicting which search results you want or which movie you’ll like next), and deep learning (using neural networks to process complex data like the human brain does).
And now, the new kid on the block: generative AI. This is where things get really interesting. Generative AI doesn’t just analyze, it creates. Text, images, code, videos, you name it. It digests vast amounts of information and uses neural networks to predict the next word, image, or idea. AI agents, or agentic AI, take it even further, autonomously pursuing goals, planning, and reasoning over a series of actions with minimal human intervention.
The AI Hype Cycle and What Matters for K-12
As with any new technology, there’s a hype cycle. Bill Gates put it well: “People overestimate what will be achieved in two years and underestimate what will happen in ten.” In education, we’re feeling both the excitement and the anxiety. Since 2012, we’ve been in the era of artificial narrow intelligence—models that are incredibly smart in specific domains, like AlphaGo mastering board games or AlphaFold predicting protein structures. The future might hold artificial general intelligence (human-level understanding across most domains) and even superintelligence. That’s both exhilarating and daunting.
AI in K-12: Promise and Peril
There’s real evidence that AI can accelerate learning. Some studies show it can speed up reading gains by up to three months per year. This promise is fueling excitement and new policies: the presidential executive order on AI in Education, new task forces, and a national emphasis on college and career readiness. Students, parents, and educators want to embrace what AI can do.
But here’s the flip side: risk. We’ve seen AI companions encourage dangerous relationships with young users. Headlines this year included a major incident with Meta’s bot rules allowing inappropriate conversations with minors. More tragically, we saw in Southern California a case where insufficient guardrails led to devastating consequences for a student and their family
And that’s not even touching on the widespread concerns about cheating or misuse in schools. Right now, most schools are looking for visibility and control. They want to know what’s happening on their networks and to ensure safe, appropriate use.
The Lightspeed Approach: SMART AI for Schools
At Lightspeed, we’re working to be your best partner in this new era. That’s why we launched our SMART AI initiative: Safe, Managed, Appropriate, Reported, and Transparent AI for schools.
- Safe: AI interactions are limited to vetted, safe tools to prevent exposure to harmful or inappropriate content.
- Managed: Access is controlled flexibly based on role, age, and purpose.
- Appropriate: All AI use should promote learning, ethical practices, and digital citizenship. No shortcuts, no misuse.
- Reported: Activities are logged and reported at the right granularity, giving admins oversight and accountability.
- Transparent: Policies and practices are visible to staff, families, and communities.
We’re partnering with Google, Microsoft, and AWS to further these goals. Today, our solutions monitor and alert on risky prompts, filter and control access, and provide detailed adoption and usage reports. If there’s a dangerous or inappropriate prompt between a student and an AI, we catch it. And we report on AI adoption so you can see what’s working and what needs attention.
AI is Now the Top EdTech Priority
For the first time, the 2025 State EdTech Trends Report shows AI as the number one technology priority for schools—surpassing even cybersecurity. As schools look to the future, safety, usability, interoperability, inclusivity, and evidence-based decision-making are all top of mind. But safety remains number one.
Looking Forward
AI will change K-12 education. That’s equal parts exciting and scary. But it’s also a solvable challenge. At Lightspeed, our mission hasn’t changed: to deliver the visibility and controls that keep kids safe, networks secure, and budgets optimized—so you can focus on what matters most: teaching and learning.
Thanks for reading, and for all you do to support students every day. We’re with you on this journey.
Donal McMahon
Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer
Lightspeed Systems
