Wed, 04 Feb 2026 08:46:57 -0500
ai, assistant, genai, llm

When AI Gets in the Way: Designing for Struggle in the Age of the Helpful Assistant

12-1pm ET Wednesday, Feb 11, 2026, online

Generalist AI is built to remove friction—it does the work, delivers polished answers, and makes everything easier. That's great for productivity, but it's a problem for learning. This session introduces a counterintuitive approach: AI interactions designed to be difficult. We'll explore how "Friction Bots"—goal-blocked simulations that don't resolve easily—can assess critical thinking, persistence, and adaptability in ways traditional assignments cannot. The transcript becomes the assessment. The struggle becomes the skill.

Mike Kentz is the founder of AI Literacy Partners and creator of Friction Labs, a platform that builds AI simulations designed to challenge rather than assist. A former journalist and current adjunct faculty member at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, he works at the intersection of AI, pedagogy, and assessment design. His work focuses on "productive friction"—using AI to create cognitive resistance that builds skills rather than bypasses them. Mike is an EDSAFE AI Catalyst Fellow, a TEDx alum, and is currently pursuing graduate research on AI's impact on creativity.

Register here