CxC Ep21: Will AI and Edtech restore America's Education System?
January 15, 2026 · 1 hr 23 min
Why listen
A CTO who serves 15 million learners daily breaks down what AI can and cannot fix in American education.
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In this episode
- Where AI genuinely improves student outcomes and where it falls short
- How AI affects young children's learning in ways parents and teachers should know
- The real state of K-12 education in the U.S. and what edtech can realistically do
- What scaling an AI learning platform to 15 million daily users actually teaches you
About this episode
CodeStrap's "Code and Connor" Episode 21 features friend Bill Salak, CTO and CTO of Brainly. At Brainly, he’s helped scale one of the world’s largest AI-powered learning platforms, serving 15 million learners daily. Bill has over two decades of leadership driving transformative technology at Age of Learning, AOL, HBO, ETS, Hasbro, NBC-Universal, and even the U.S. Army.
Our 21st episode focuses on, the state of AI and its current limitations, AI in education, the state of education in the U.S. K-12 and above, how can we use AI to improve student outcomes in light of the recent findings , how is AI impacting students negatively and positively, the AI impact on young children specifically around learning, and the state of edtech
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Brainly
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Website: https://brainly.com/
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CodeStrap
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CodeStrap (X): https://x.com/CodeStrap411
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CodeStrap (LI): https://www.linkedin.com/company/codestrap
About Code and Connor
Code & Connor is where Connor Deeks and Dorian Smiley ask the questions most AI podcasts won't. Two founders — one strategist, one engineer — in honest conversations with executives, builders, and practitioners about what's actually happening at the intersection of AI and the enterprise.
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