Helping Students Find Direction in an AI-Driven World: Tyler Moulton on College & Future Readiness

Parents, is your teen college ready? Are you feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, or excited about your teen applying to college? Do you know what colleges are looking for? And if your kid gets in, do you know what you'll pay for it? College admission has never been so competitive or expensive. Shellee Howard will take you on a journey to help you and your teen get college ready. Now here's your host, Shellee.

Well, hello again, parents. This is Shellee Howard, the founder and CEO of College Ready, and today I have a special guest I can't wait to introduce. Welcome to the show, Tyler. How are you today?

I am doing so well, Shellee Howard. How are you?

Outstanding. Maybe you can tell our listeners a little bit about yourself and your background so they have an idea of what our show's about today.

And thank you so much for having me, Shellee Howard. Yes, hello to everyone listening in, watching if they see the visual recording. My name is Tyler Moulton. I am the, the director at Veritas AI. We are an AI extracurricular and project-based learning and research program for students. I myself am a former AI astronomy researcher. I don't— only if you're seeing this visually, you'll see I have a few NASA posters behind me. Shellee Howard can see that. But I previously did some work across a few different projects at Harvard and University of Cambridge, two Cambridges across the pond, so to speak, looking at specifically how you can use AI in astronomical applications. I won't bore your listeners with the astronomy stuff too much other than just saying I worked with baby stars and planets, which wow means 2 million years old. Makes no sense. But now, at the HSAI, a program I've been with for about 5 years, I'm very focused on how we can provide students honestly similar research opportunities or project opportunities to what I had in my time at Harvard in Cambridge. And that's specifically, how can you use data science tools, AI-based coding and software to solve meaningful research problems or do meaningful research that could publish or be taken to competitions even as a young high school student? I did all my work as an undergrad, but had a lot of doors opened and I want, uh, and really I think, uh, I'm activated at Veritas AI to encourage students to do the same thing even younger in high school.

So the big question is, Tyler, did you do any of this type of thing in high school?

Yeah, it's a great question. So when I was in high school, I went to a pretty small public high school, was myself first gen actually in terms of my parents not going to college. So I never actually knew programs like this existed. All of my work, to be fully honest with listeners, was fully at my high school. I think if you have a solid high school, with great extracurricular opportunities, you can succeed in any context. But I think for especially competitive colleges or especially competitive majors like computer science being, I think sometimes 3 or 4 times more competitive than the average major for universities that do major-based admissions, having an edge in terms of specific projects and portfolio you build can be so helpful for the college app process. So I never had an experience like this. I definitely would've loved it if I had been exposed to that world. And I highly encourage students who just think it is a good fit for them to embark on on that path. We're not for everyone. Again, you can do so much within your own high school, but great fit for these tech, CS, and applied data science-minded kiddos.

So as a mother of 4, and you know, my son went to Harvard, and I wish he had this opportunity. We did not. I mean, this was some time ago. He's now an orthopedic surgeon, so it wasn't just yesterday. But what he told me is when he got to Harvard, he was one of the few that did not write a research paper, and he really thought it hurt his chances of getting into med school. So who is this for and what will they do? Like, help me understand. I'm a mom listening or a dad listening or even a student. And yes, Veritas AI sounds really cool, but what is it and is it a good fit for what I wanna do?

No, I love that question immensely, Shellee Howard, and I wanna just say very quickly, like, Veritas AI provides like a specific kind of set of programs and opportunities for students that for some students are a great path, or how they might write their first research paper and publish in high school, go on to do that in college, and maybe they'll be the person on the medical school path who's more of a research-based student or practitioner. Here's the thing though, um, like, uh, I don't know if your son did publish before med school. You don't need to go down this path. There are students who will find much better programs or opportunities like in the med space that are clinical or applied as opposed to like more theory and research. So I think that students should know that there are a million different paths that they could pursue. We just try to provide a platform specifically relevant to students just looking to build a foundation in AI-based programming and applied projects, both at the group level and at a one-on-one level for students to help them on research and publishing.

So what would that look like? I'm thinking, um, my second son, um, he didn't know what he wanted to do. So yes, he was good at math and yes, he liked science, but when I asked him, is this something that you would be interested in? He's like, I don't even know what I would research. So, can you help somebody who doesn't already know what they wanna do?

Yeah, and I think that's really— I think that is one of, like, two key values of our program. I think of our program from two lenses, as an educational opportunity for students, so very much answering this question, "What do you want to do?" Uh, and then I also think of us as a project-based program where here's where students, um, are, yes, exploring, but also building tangible software, presentations, research papers. So we wanna help students figure out like, do they enjoy AI? Do they enjoy this area of AI, this area of application? And we do that by guiding them through either in their group class or one-on-one project, just the full implementation of some kind of AI code or software. And I think that that is super meaningful. The experience itself tells students whether or not they enjoy coding, they enjoy this area of AI application, if they enjoy applying AI. I think AI is becoming increasingly prevalent in like today's job market in different majors in university, but I will say like there's a million different ways to apply it. You don't have to be a coder, you don't have to be a ChatGPT-er, whatever we wanna call it. There's a lot of different options or ways to approach this subject or any other.

So what, what are you seeing as far as are students coming to you versed or are there students who are coming saying, I'm a newbie, I don't have much experience, but it sounds really cool. What, what are you seeing now that AI has become much more forward thought by the community.

Yeah, it's very interesting. I think on the community side of AI, a bit, we're, I would say we're seeing probably two big pushes. One thing we're seeing is increased calls for AI ethics, which I think is so, so fundamentally important. How we think about using AI as ethically as possible, not using ChatGPT for silly things, but, you know, meaningful work and/or like very intentionally. On the other side, I think it's important to note that AI ethics in the community is building largely because in a broader sense, the AI community is just continuing to build. We're seeing more AI majors pop up at US universities each year. I think in 2 years ago, we had around 10 universities with AI majors. I think we've grown to like 15 to 20, if not more than doubled. Um, we're seeing more AI usage across not just tech firms, but smaller firms that either specialize in AI applications in any niche area, like marketing, advertising, like biology, different areas. Um, yeah, so we're just seeing the community grow. And I, and as part of that, there's an important community, sub-community advocating for ethics that I think is really important. We're just seeing growth. And last thing I'll say is that we learn, we're growing. So the community is growing so much that we even, I would say, learn from our students at Veritas. Our, when you and I met 3 years ago, Shellee Howard, our program was entirely based on like just kind of like, uh, what would you call it? Like foundational or classic coding. So like working in Python, coding out and using defined AI, uh, base code or programs to do some kind of analysis. Um, you know, make a prediction or classification. We have grown with generative AI that our students have taught us about, like new, like ChatGPT-based coding methods, like Claude for building out softwares. So we've adapted our curriculum kind of in line with like what our students have kept up with is how rapidly this fields and community is both changing and growing.

So good. So next thing that pops into my mind is, uh, at CollegeReady, we really focus on the student first and then the university, and then we focus on return on investment of that opportunity. So we often tell students, let's figure out their core values, their gifts, their talents, those things they come with, and areas of opportunity. And then let's look for careers that will fuel that. And then let's talk about how much money they will and won't make, right? We want to have some financial literacy, and then we talk about jobs that will be gone because of AI. So do you have any predictions, Tyler, of what that's going to look like?

Yeah. Thank you so much, Shellee Howard, by the way. I think that is something that I really appreciate you saying earlier is the idea that your sons would have appreciated having a program like Veritas. I would have appreciated having a counselor like you or working with your agency because, gosh, I really needed that financial literacy and values alignment guidance in high school that I had no idea. For college or a career. So that is just so cool to hear, but to get back to kind of the core of your question, what was the core of your question? Sorry, I was just so obsessed with the values you were sharing.

As far as future careers, which of those are not going, are going to be taken over by AI because we don't want a student to go to college for a major that's not going to have a job when they get out. So, Parents are very concerned, what should I have my child stay away from, um, so they can graduate with a career?

Yeah, I think it's a difficult question because right now we're seeing like a threat and economic threats kind of making people more and more concerned about the job market, especially for young grads. And I feel really deeply for like the Gen Z youngins that are dealing with this. I think my, my big thought is that, so the AI revolution in terms of like impacting jobs is definitely coming. It's coming. I think like it's going to come slowly and progressively. I don't think it will ever be an all at once moment, but it is gonna kind of slowly come as this technology, especially generative AI, furthers people's ability to kind of like quote unquote optimize or create workflows, which is to reduce kind of the need for like input manual labor. One thing I think is really important to note is that there is like, there's going, as much as there's going to be some take, there's also some give where every company will need a foundation of human workers to keep AI accountable. We both say that with hope as an AI ethics advocate, as well as like a knowledgeable person, like it will fall apart if they don't. So there's always gonna be a foundation of jobs. There's always gonna be foundation opportunities. I think the best thing students can think to do at this point is see kind of where in the AI sector or in the current job market as it currently is shifting. Like you just take the most interest. Um, there are some roles that are not shifting soon. There are a lot of roles in the tech space, marketing space, business space that are shifting quickly. So either just keeping up with AI or keeping, maintaining your own landscape analysis of what other jobs outside of the AI sector are safe is the best thing a student can do in my kind of opinion of how to best plan and be prepared for the future that is to come.

And what about the jobs that we don't even know are coming, right? AI is also gonna provide opportunity for other careers. And so when I'm consulting with students, I say, we may not know the title of the job you're gonna be doing, But there's gonna need to be somebody to make that happen. So, are there anything that you're seeing on the horizon that AI is showing that there's just gonna be some great opportunity for students?

Yeah. Um, yes, I think that that is a great question and I think it's interesting. In particular, so on the horizon, I think one of the biggest jobs we're just going to naturally see arise is like the kind of prompt engineering role. And I wanna be so clear, most companies aren't gonna just call this But I think probably the most basic skillset that I'm seeing become foundational across companies, even internally in Veritas, how we think about ideating new content, like developing or refining our curriculum, like just being able to properly prompt not just ChatGPT, but those same kinds of chatbots that are growing. Um, and maybe I should try to give a few examples just for viewers, but like ChatGPT, like I really, for instance, love Pop AI. It's a PowerPoint building software built off of ChatGPT, I think like GPT-5. There are softwares that are specifically used for developing marketing copy. There's softwares that are specifically used for developing in the biospace particular proteins. I think just being aware that like AI is kind of integrating, integrating in every space and you can at minimum have a foundational awareness, ideally have kind of this chatbot awareness is what students need most for the immediate horizon. Tech is developing so much that I don't know if this is fair for like 5 to 10+ years out, but in the next 3 to 5 years, I think this is really where we've seen such an enormous trend the last year that's growing and not stopping. That's 2, 3 years.

So for our parents who are listening, who are just not tech savvy, they don't have to do any of this in their daily job, can you simplify what is going on and the trends that you're seeing? For families who their parents don't have any context of what we're discussing. I talk AI all the time because my students are asking, will colleges look, check for AI in their applications and essays? And so I have to be able to explain to them what they can and can't do. But to the parents, what can you help them understand so they can best parent their child for the future?

That's a fun one. One thing I wanna say so clearly is that I am not a parent. At most, I am the uncle to 4 cats for my roommates. So please take this, parents, with a grain of—

what is it?

Grain of salt, grain of sand, whichever one you prefer. So my thought is that it is okay for students to be experimenting with. In fact, it's important for them to be just experimenting with, have basic literacy around. You know, generative AI as it's currently being used. And I keep using the term ChatGPT as a catch-all. It really is these kinds of chatbots that we need to watch out for students interfacing with, using, kind of consulting, and just making sure that students are using these chatbots in appropriate ways. Most fundamentally, not just writing essays or writing content and taking it. Ideally never using it for writing, at minimum always vetting it thoroughly, putting it in their own voice. Bare, bare minimum. Ideally never using it. I think— sorry, not never using it, never using it for writing. I think that the ethical use and base AI literacy around ChatGPT is something that all students need because it's out there. They are scanning for like— well, sorry, not all universities of course, but some universities are scanning for it, looking for it in applications. And I think it's important for students to know AI is kind of integrating itself in every field of study. One thing I just want to say is I think a lot of parents hear about the advent of AI and like are encouraging their students just to only go in tech. That's not the only place that AI is being used. My background's AI astronomy, which is pretty niche, um, like academia, but there's also AI being used in aerospace for those kinds of kids similar to who I was. There's AI even though in the writing marketing sector, there is AI being used. And I've mentioned biology, protein synthesis and development. Like AI being kind of like part of the, like, current revolution of technology or the future of technology. I think it doesn't mean you have to like just center your kids in doing computer science, used to be the big thing. It is that they can explore and use AI in any field of study. Uh, and I think that that is such a foundational thing. Like students just don't just need to be coders or computer scientists. They can kind of become applied AI practitioners and AI savvy and literate, just to summarize, um, in wherever it is they want to do so.

So that brings me to my next question. If I have a child who is thinking engineering because for whatever reason, that's how they think, the best way my students describe it is it's a predictable income. Uh, would, would that be somebody who would benefit from what it is that you offer? And if yes, what would it look like for you to support them?

Yeah, so I think that the answer for an engineering student depends really on one question in my mind, like, do they really like to get hands-on in their engineering? If the answer is yes, we might— probably aren't a good fit for— might be/probably aren't a good fit for the student. If they are interested in engineering kind of more interdisciplinarily and are interested in like, you know, computer engineering and coding-based applications in the engineering space, we absolutely would be a great fit for that student and can support them. Uh, and to give you a really good example, so since we're a remote program, we don't really get often the chance with our robotics students to do hands-on projects. We had a student who went to a professional conference last year purely for simulation-based research. So again, not a hands-on fit, but any student looking to just explore kind of software development or coding-based applications in AI or applied AI spaces, that can be medicine, engineering, finance, et cetera. We offer opportunities for students to build out a project. And just to give you kind of like a quick TL;DR of what that means, we have two base programs. We have a group class program, either our interdisciplinary AI group class or our deep dives in medicine, for example. So biomedical engineers would be a great fit. Over 10 sessions, students build a foundation in AI-based coding. They have lecture and guided coding sessions the first half of the course. In the second half, they build group projects and group presentations. So something to meaningfully explore if they like the AI field study, as well as have an actual output. On the other hand, our one-on-one research program, they get paired with a PhD student, develop a concept, and over 12 weeks, right, uh, execute an AI-based model and a research paper around that. And we help them to try and publish from there. So in both of our programs are really centered on getting students hands-on in a coding sense, not a physical, you know, mechanical engineer sense. So I would say the answer to this question, that kind of summarizes our programs. And in the case of that original question of an engineer, I would say just depends on them being interested, excited, open-minded about coding-based applications for a remote program.

So if somebody's like, knows this is a great fit for their child, how could they reach you and how, how can they get started? Oh yeah, great question.

So, to start, one thing is they could just take a look at our website, veritasai.com. They could also reach out to me. I think so our website's email is like contact@veritasai.com. My email, just how we do structures for everyone, is first name, last name at veritasai.com. So tyler.moulton@veritasai.com. Yeah, but from your website, you can get in— from the— sorry, from your— from my— from our website, you can get in touch with me, or you can reach out to me at email. Additionally, if a student just submits an application to the portal, um, they'll necessarily get connected to us. So yeah, website, apply, and/or reach out to me, and I can give you my contact info, Shellee, if we need that. For sure.

So last question, words of encouragement or advice for parents of teenagers who are preparing them to get ready to go to college. What would you give them?

Yeah, of course. This is so interesting. I think that the college application process, like, has always been something that's changed every year. And I feel like a lot of people have talked recently about how changed a lot recently, but I don't know if that's true. I think it's changed every year for a long time. And so just know, like, the best you can do is support your student, try to educate yourself on what's going on in college admissions, know what schools are competitive so you can support them on the highs and lows, um, and really just do your best to see what resources you can provide for your students. For instance, working with someone like Shellee Howard is so awesome for making sure, like, like I mentioned earlier in like got lost in your question, Shellee Howard, was just gushing like, I wish I had a counselor like you in high school. Programs like Veritas are a great opportunity for students to learn. Otherwise, just really encourage your student. The biggest thing I would just say is encourage your student to get out there, try as much as they can, as is sustainable for them, and just see what they like and see what sticks. And I know that sounds crazy. It doesn't sound like it has a great plan, but if your student goes to like, at a foundation, a great high school, and there's lots of opportunities there, they explore different, a few different things, get highly involved in a couple clubs, maybe becoming a lead, like leadership in just one one or two clubs by end of high school, that alone is such a great foundation for a student just trying, experimenting, being okay with failing, and finding what's right for them. So yeah, I'm oversharing a little bit for my experience as a kid. Again, um, I am not a parent. I can't get— take it everything with a grain of salt or sand or whatever. But yeah, y'all got this. Just do your best to give your kids the resources they need.

Um, so good. So parents, you know, we have so many opportunities. This is the age of opportunity. Veritas is another great way for your child to explore what they wanna do, prepare for their future, have something to write about in an essay. So when you're trying to decide, what do I do with my, my student to help get them closer to the finish line? Just know that being college ready is really about them being ready to adult, and college is the stepping stone to get there. So until next time, Parents, you've got this!