Scholars Speak Podcast with Mitchell Scholar Ethan Pierce

In the latest episode of Scholars Speak, we catch up with Ethan Pierce, the 2009 Mitchell Scholar from Gardiner Area High School, Harvard University graduate, and Cambridge, Mass.-based artificial-intelligence entrepreneur. Listen up as Pierce tells us about why he launched Adaptive Reader, an AI-assisted platform that reinterprets literary classics into more accessible versions for educators and students. So far, 14 public domain books are available through Adaptive Reader, including “Beowulf” and Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” and “Macbeth.” Learn more about how Pierce is helping to bring the classics to a broader audience—even those who read at a sixth-grade level—as well as his advice for Scholars interested in breaking into the field of AI.

(00:00) Mitchell Scholar Ethan Pierce explains what Adaptive Reader is and how it works
(04:22) What motivated you to develop Adaptive Reader?
(06:55) How did you make the leap from being a humanities major to an innovator and startup leader in the field of Artificial Intelligence? 
(08:14) What advice might you have for people who have an interest in working in AI or would like to explore AI as a possible career field?
(11:37) What trends in AI development most excite you?
(16:00) What did you learn from your other startup ventures about taking risks and being innovative?
(19:11) What do you look for in job applicants? What skills and habits of mind do you find are important for career success — in AI or in general?
(20:44) How has being a Mitchell Scholar helped you at Harvard and beyond?
(23:09) Have there been any surprises in your life about being a Mitchell Scholar?