content development, aggregation, repositories

“The future of L&D is here, and it’s powered by AI.” [Cavalier] + other items re: AI in our LE’s

On 08/21/2025, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, business, change, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, education, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty/staff, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, multimedia, Open AI, platforms, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

The future of L&D is here, and it’s powered by AI. — from linkedin.com by Josh Cavalier

4 Ways I Use AI to Think Better — from wondertools.substack.com by Jeremy Caplan
How AI helps me learn, decide, and create

Learn something new.
Map out a personalized curriculum

Try this: Give an AI assistant context about what you want to learn, why, and how.

Detail your rationale and motivation, which may impact your approach.
Note your current knowledge or skill level, ideally with examples.

Summarize your learning preferences

Note whether you prefer to read, listen to, or watch learning materials.
Mention if you like quizzes, drills, or exercises you can do while commuting or during a break at work.
If you appreciate learning games, task your AI assistant with generating one for you, using its coding capabilities detailed below.
Ask for specific book, textbook, article, or learning path recommendations using the Web search or Deep Research capabilities of Perplexity, ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude. They can also summarize research literature about effective learning tactics.
If you need a human learning partner, ask for guidance on finding one or language you can use in reaching out.

The Ends of Tests: Possibilities for Transformative Assessment and Learning with Generative AI

GPT-5 for Instructional Designers — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr Philippa Hardman
10 Hacks to Work Smarter & Safer with OpenAI’s Latest Model

The TLDR is that as Instructional Designers, we can’t afford to miss some of the very real benefits of GPT-5’s potential, but we also can’t ensure our professional standards or learner outcomes if we blindly accept its outputs without due testing and validation.

For this reason, I decided to synthesise the latest GPT-5 research—from OpenAI’s technical documentation to independent security audits to real-world user testing—into 10 essential reality checks for using GPT-5 as an Instructional Designer.

These aren’t theoretical exercises; they’re practical tests designed to help you safely unlock GPT-5’s benefits while identifying and mitigating its most well-documented limitations.

Grammarly launches new specialist AI agents providing personalized assistance for students — from edtechinnovationhub.com by Rachel Lawler
Grammarly, an AI communication tool, has announced the launch of eight new specialized AI agents. The new assistants can support specific writing challenges such as finding credible sources and checking originality.

Students will now be offered “responsible AI support” through Grammarly, with the eight new agents:

Reader Reactions agent …
AI Grader agent …
Citation Finder agent …
Expert Review agent …
Proofreader agent …
AI Detector agent …
Plagiarism Checker agent …
Paraphraser agent …

Why Perplexity AI Is My Go-To Research Tool as a Higher Education CIO — from mikekentz.substack.com; a guest post from Michael Lyons, CIO at MassBay Community College

While I regularly use tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly, Microsoft Copilot, and even YouTube Premium (I would cancel Netflix before this), Perplexity has earned a top spot in my toolkit. It blends AI and real-time web search into one seamless, research-driven platform that saves time and improves the quality of information I rely on every day.

These ChatGPT Prompts Will Fast-Track Your Job Search [Rumage]

On 08/21/2025, in career development, content development, aggregation, repositories, ideas, intelligent systems, Open AI, productivity / tips and tricks, student-related, tools, vendors, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, workplace, by Daniel Christian

These ChatGPT Prompts Will Fast-Track Your Job Search — from builtin.com by Jeff Rumage
Used correctly, ChatGPT could help you land your dream job — but used incorrectly, it can cost you the offer. Here’s how you can make ChatGPT your secret weapon for research help, resume writing, interview prep and more.

Example prompt: Here are several bullet points from my resume: [paste bullets]. Rewrite them so each one begins with a strong action verb, clearly states what I did, and quantifies results or outcomes wherever possible. If metrics are missing, suggest realistic ways they could be added.

Example prompt: Here is my resume [paste resume]. Here’s the job description of a job I’m applying for [paste job description]. Highlight the most important skills and qualifications for this job. Without making up information, revise my resume to match these requirements. Include action verbs for each accomplishment on the resume, and highlight which accomplishments could be quantified.

Example prompt: What are the current trends impacting companies in the [industry]? How would [company name] be affected by these trends, and what might it do to adjust to/capitalize on these trends?

Example prompt: I’m a [current role] but want to become a [dream role]. Create a detailed career development plan outlining:

- - Skills I should develop
  - Relevant experiences I need to gain
  - Educational or certification needs
  - Recommended resources or programs
  - A realistic timeline with milestones for the next 1-3 years.

Bringing the best of AI to college students for free [Pichai] + plus other items re: AI in our LE’s

On 08/13/2025, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty/staff, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, Google, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, liberal arts, library / librarians, lifelong learning, multimedia, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, society, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Bringing the best of AI to college students for free — from blog.google by Sundar Pichai

Millions of college students around the world are getting ready to start classes. To help make the school year even better, we’re making our most advanced AI tools available to them for free, including our new Guided Learning mode. We’re also providing $1 billion to support AI education and job training programs and research in the U.S. This includes making our AI and career training free for every college student in America through our AI for Education Accelerator — over 100 colleges and universities have already signed up.
…
Guided Learning: from answers to understanding
AI can broaden knowledge and expand access to it in powerful ways, helping anyone, anywhere learn anything in the way that works best for them. It’s not about just getting an answer, but deepening understanding and building critical thinking skills along the way. That opportunity is why we built Guided Learning, a new mode in Gemini that acts as a learning companion guiding you with questions and step-by-step support instead of just giving you the answer. We worked closely with students, educators, researchers and learning experts to make sure it’s helpful for understanding new concepts and is backed by learning science.

OpenAI experiences backlash from GPT-5 + other items re: AI in general

On 08/13/2025, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, business, change, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, content development, aggregation, repositories, emerging technologies, Emotion, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, intelligent systems, Open AI, platforms, workplace, by Daniel Christian

21 Ways People Are Using A.I. at Work — from nytimes.com by Larry Buchanan and Francesca Paris; this is a gifted article

Select wines for restaurant menus
Digitize a herbarium
Make everything look better
Create lesson plans that meet educational standards
Make a bibliography
Write up therapy plans
…and many more

The GPT-5 fallout, explained… — from theneurondaily.com by Grant Harvey
PLUS: Who knew ppl loved 4o so much!?

The GPT-5 Backlash, Explained: OpenAI users revolted against GPT-5… then things got weird.
What a vibe shift a day or two makes, huh? As you all know by now, GPT-5 dropped last Thursday, and at first, it seemed like a pretty successful launch.

Early testers loved it. Sam Altman called it “the most powerful AI model ever made.”

Then the floodgates opened to 700 million users.. and all hell broke loose.

Here’s what happened: Within hours, Reddit and Twitter turned into digital pitchforks. The crime? OpenAI had quietly sunset GPT-4o—the model everyone apparently loved more than their morning coffee—without warning. Users weren’t just mad. They were devastated.

ChatGPT Changes — from getsuperintel.com by Kim “Chubby” Isenberg
4o is back, and Plus users get 3000 reasoning requests per week with GPT-5!

Who would have thought that the “smartest model ever” would trigger one of the loudest user revolts in AI history? The return of GPT-4o after only 24 hours shows how attached people are to the personality of their AI—and how quickly trust crumbles when expectations are not met. In this issue, we not only look at OpenAI’s response, but also at how the balance of power between developers and the community is shifting.

GPT-5 doesn’t dislike you—it might just need a benchmark for emotional intelligence — from link.wired.com by
Welcome to another AI Lab!

The backlash over the more emotionally neutral GPT-5 shows that the smartest AI models might have striking reasoning, coding, and math skills, but advancing their psychological intelligence safely remains very much unsolved.
…
Since the all-new ChatGPT launched on Thursday, some users have mourned the disappearance of a peppy and encouraging personality in favor of a colder, more businesslike one (a move seemingly designed to reduce unhealthy user behavior.) The backlash shows the challenge of building artificial intelligence systems that exhibit anything like real emotional intelligence.

Researchers at MIT have proposed a new kind of AI benchmark to measure how AI systems can manipulate and influence their users—in both positive and negative ways—in a move that could perhaps help AI builders avoid similar backlashes in the future while also keeping vulnerable users safe.

ChatGPT is bringing back 4o as an option because people missed it — from theverge.com by Emma Roth
Many ChatGPT users were frustrated by OpenAI’s decision to make GPT-5 the default model.

OpenAI is bringing back GPT-4o in ChatGPT just one day after replacing it with GPT-5. In a post on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed that the company will let paid users switch to GPT-4o after ChatGPT users mourned its replacement.

“We will let Plus users choose to continue to use 4o,” Altman says. “We will watch usage as we think about how long to offer legacy models for.”

For months, ChatGPT fans have been waiting for the launch of GPT-5, which OpenAI says comes with major improvements to writing and coding capabilities over its predecessors. But shortly after the flagship AI model launched, many users wanted to go back.

AI Agent Trends of 2025: A Transformative Landscape — from marktechpost.com by Asif Razzaq

This articles focuses on five core AI agent trends for 2025: Agentic Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), Voice Agents, AI Agent Protocols, DeepResearch Agents, Coding Agents, and Computer Using Agents (CUA).

Google introduces Guided Learning [Zau] + other items re: AI in our learning ecosystems

On 08/09/2025, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, adult learning, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, career development, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, education, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty/staff, game-changing environment, Google, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, liberal arts, lifelong learning, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, research, skills, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, user experience (UX), vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

BREAKING: Google introduces Guided Learning — from aieducation.substack.com by Claire Zau
Some thoughts on what could make Google’s AI tutor stand out

Another major AI lab just launched “education mode.”

Google introduced Guided Learning in Gemini, transforming it into a personalized learning companion designed to help you move from quick answers to real understanding.

Instead of immediately spitting out solutions, it:

Asks probing, open-ended questions
Walks learners through step-by-step reasoning
Adapts explanations to the learner’s level
Uses visuals, videos, diagrams, and quizzes to reinforce concepts

This Socratic style tutor rollout follows closely behind similar announcements like OpenAI’s Study Mode (last week) and Anthropic’s Claude for Education (April 2025).

How Sci-Fi Taught Me to Embrace AI in My Classroom — from edsurge.com by Dan Clark

I’m not too naive to understand that, no matter how we present it, some students will always be tempted by “the dark side” of AI. What I also believe is that the future of AI in education is not decided. It will be decided by how we, as educators, embrace or demonize it in our classrooms.

My argument is that setting guidelines and talking to our students honestly about the pitfalls and amazing benefits that AI offers us as researchers and learners will define it for the coming generations.

Can AI be the next calculator? Something that, yes, changes the way we teach and learn, but not necessarily for the worse? If we want it to be, yes.

How it is used, and more importantly, how AI is perceived by our students, can be influenced by educators. We have to first learn how AI can be used as a force for good. If we continue to let the dominant voice be that AI is the Terminator of education and critical thinking, then that will be the fate we have made for ourselves.

AI Tools for Strategy and Research – GT #32 — from goodtools.substack.com by Robin Good
Getting expert advice, how to do deep research with AI, prompt strategy, comparing different AIs side-by-side, creating mini-apps and an AI Agent that can critically analyze any social media channel

In this issue, discover AI tools for:

Getting Expert Advice
Doing Deep Research with AI
Improving Your AI Prompt Strategy
Comparing Results from Different AIs
Creating an AI Agent for Social Media Analysis
Summarizing YouTube Videos
Creating Mini-Apps with AI
Tasting an Award-Winning AI Short Film

GPT-Building, Agentic Workflow Design & Intelligent Content Curation — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman
What 3 recent job ads reveal about the changing nature of Instructional Design

In this week’s blog post, I’ll share my take on how the instructional design role is evolving and discuss what this means for our day-to-day work and the key skills it requires.
…
With this in mind, I’ve been keeping a close eye on open instructional design roles and, in the last 3 months, have noticed the emergence of a new flavour of instructional designer: the so-called “Generative AI Instructional Designer.”

Let’s deep dive into three explicitly AI-focused instructional design positions that have popped up in the last quarter. Each one illuminates a different aspect of how the role is changing—and together, they paint a picture of where our profession is likely heading.

Designers who evolve into prompt engineers, agent builders, and strategic AI advisors will capture the new premium. Those who cling to traditional tool-centric roles may find themselves increasingly sidelined—or automated out of relevance.

Google to Spend $1B on AI Training in Higher Ed — from insidehighered.com by Katherine Knott

Google’s parent company announced Wednesday (8/6/25) that it’s planning to spend $1 billion over the next three years to help colleges teach and train students about artificial intelligence.

Google is joining other AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, in investing in AI training in higher education. All three companies have rolled out new tools aimed at supporting “deeper learning” among students and made their AI platforms available to certain students for free.

5 Predictions for How AI Will Impact Community Colleges — from pistis4edu.substack.com by Feng Hou

Based on current technology capabilities, adoption patterns, and the mission of community colleges, here are five well-supported predictions for AI’s impact in the coming years.

Universal AI Tutor Access
AI as Active Teacher
Personalized Learning Pathways
Interactive Multimodal Learning
Value-Centric Education in an AI-Abundant World

GPT-5 is here — from openai.com
Our smartest, fastest, and most useful model yet, with thinking built in. Available to everyone.

Everything to know about GPT-5 — from theneurondaily.com by Grant Harvey
PLUS: We mean, really everything.

Why it matters: GPT-5 embodies a “team of specialists” approach—fast small models for most tasks, powerful ones for hard problems—reflecting NVIDIA’s “heterogeneous agentic system” vision. This could evolve into orchestration across dozens of specialized models, mirroring human collective intelligence.
Bottom line: GPT-5 isn’t AGI, but it’s a leap in usability, reliability, and breadth—pushing ChatGPT toward being a truly personal, expert assistant.

…and another article from Grant Harvey:

GPT-5 is here… here’s everything you need to know (so far…).
OpenAI launched GPT-5—described as its most capable model to date—now in ChatGPT (with higher usage limits for paid tiers) and the API, bringing stronger reasoning/coding/math/writing and safety improvements, yet, per Sam Altman, still short of AGI.

OpenAI launches GPT-5 to all ChatGPT users — from therundown.ai by Rowan Cheung and Shubham Sharma

Why it matters: OpenAI’s move to replace its flurry of models with a unified GPT-5 simplifies user experience and gives everyone a PhD-level assistant, bringing elite problem-solving to the masses. The only question now is how long it can hold its edge in this fast-moving AI race, with Anthropic, Google, and Chinese giants all catching up.

OpenAI’s ChatGPT-5 released — from getsuperintel.com by Kim “Chubby” Isenberg
GPT-5’s release marks a new era of productivity, from specialized AI tool to universal intelligence partner

The Takeaway

GPT-5’s unified architecture eliminates the effort of model switching and makes it the first truly seamless AI assistant that automatically applies the right level of reasoning for each task.
With 45% fewer hallucinations and 94.6% accuracy on complex math problems, GPT-5 exceeds the reliability threshold required for business-critical applications.
The model’s ability to generate complete applications from single prompts signals the democratization of software development and could revolutionize traditional coding workflows.
OpenAI’s “Safe Completions” training approach represents a new paradigm in AI safety, providing nuanced responses instead of blanket rejections for dual-use scenarios.

GPT-5 is live – but the community is divided — from getsuperintel.com by Kim “Chubby” Isenberg
For some, it’s a lightning-fast creative partner; for others, it’s a system that can’t even decide when to think properly

Many had hoped that GPT-5 would finally unite all models – reasoning, image and video generation, voice – “one model to rule them all,” but this expectation has not been met.

I broke OpenAI’s new GPT-5 and you should too — Brainyacts #266 — from thebrainyacts.beehiiv.com by Josh Kubicki

GPT-5 marks a profound change in the human/machine relationship.

OBSERVATION #1: Up until yesterday, using OpenAI, you could pick the exact model variant for your task: the one tuned for reasoning, for writing, for code, or for math. Each had its own strengths, and experienced users learned which to reach for and when. In GPT-5, those choices are gone. There’s just “GPT-5,” and the routing decisions of which mode, which tool, which underlying approach is made by the model.

For a beginner, that’s a blessing. Most novice users never knew the differences between the models anyway. They used the same one regardless of the task.
For an experienced user, the jury’s still out. On one hand, the routing could save time. On the other, it introduces unpredictability: you can no longer reliably choose the optimal model for your purpose. If GPT-5’s choice is wrong, you’re stuck re-prompting rather than switching.

GPT-5 learns from you — from theaivalley.com by Barsee

Why it matters:
GPT-5 signals a shift in AI’s evolution: progress through refinement, not revolution. While benchmarks show incremental gains, the real win is accessibility. Cheaper models (from $0.05 per million tokens) make AI more available to developers and casual users. This aligns with the Jevons Paradox, where lower costs could drive explosive adoption. However, the AGI hype faces reality checks. Fundraising may slow as investors focus on real-world utility over moonshots. For now, GPT-5 strengthens OpenAI’s market lead, proving AI’s future lies in practical applications, not just raw power.

GPT-5: It Just Does Stuff — from oneusefulthing.org by Ethan Mollick
Putting the AI in Charge

I have had early access to GPT-51, and I wanted to give you some impressions of what it is and what it means. But the answer to the first question everyone will have is: Yes, this is a big deal. I asked GPT-5 to show you why by pasting this intro paragraph, exactly as you’re reading it, into ChatGPT, including the phrase: “you are GPT-5, do something very dramatic to illustrate my point, it has to fit into the next paragraph.”

That was the only prompt I gave it. It “thought” for 24 seconds and wrote:

Thunderstruck. Here, watch. I build worlds. See ideas become instruments. I code, compose, and converse. Stories synthesize science; solutions spark, swiftly. Asks arrive; answers appear, astonishingly, across domains. Behold: business plans, blueprints, briefs, beautifully built, briskly. I infer intent, integrate insight, and iterate instantly, indefatigably. Gaps get gauged; goals get generated, guarded, and guaranteed gracefully. During dialogue, disparate data distills down; decisions develop deliberately, deftly, dependably. Everything explained efficiently, even ethics: evidence examined, empathy engaged, everywhere, everyday, equitably. All at once, ambiguous arguments align as actionable, accurate advice awaits anyone anywhere. Look: language, logic, learning, and long-term memory link, lifting lives and labor limitlessly worldwide.

“One-size-fits-all learning is about to become completely obsolete.” [Miller] + other items re: AI in our LE’s

On 08/05/2025, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, CMS/LMS, collaboration, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty/staff, game-changing environment, generational differences, Google, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, leadership, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, liberal arts, lifelong learning, Microsoft, neurodivergent/special needs, NVIDIA, Open AI, personalized/customized learning, platforms, podcasting, productivity / tips and tricks, professional development, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, web-based collaboration, by Daniel Christian

One-size-fits-all learning is about to become completely obsolete. — from linkedin.com by Allie Miller

AI in the University: From Generative Assistant to Autonomous Agent This Fall — from insidehighered.com by
This fall we are moving into the agentic generation of artificial intelligence.

“Where generative AI creates, agentic AI acts.” That’s how my trusted assistant, Gemini 2.5 Pro deep research, describes the difference.
…
Agents, unlike generative tools, create and perform multistep goals with minimal human supervision. The essential difference is found in its proactive nature. Rather than waiting for a specific, step-by-step command, agentic systems take a high-level objective and independently create and execute a plan to achieve that goal. This triggers a continuous, iterative workflow that is much like a cognitive loop. The typical agentic process involves six key steps, as described by Nvidia:

AI in Education Podcast — from aipodcast.education by Dan Bowen and Ray Fleming

The State of AI in Education 2025 Key Findings from a National Survey — from Carnegie Learning

Our 2025 national survey of over 650 respondents across 49 states and Puerto Rico reveals both encouraging trends and important challenges. While AI adoption and optimism are growing, concerns about cheating, privacy, and the need for training persist.

Despite these challenges, I’m inspired by the resilience and adaptability of educators. You are the true game-changers in your students’ growth, and we’re honored to support this vital work.

This report reflects both where we are today and where we’re headed with AI. More importantly, it reflects your experiences, insights, and leadership in shaping the future of education.

Instructure and OpenAI Announce Global Partnership to Embed AI Learning Experiences within Canvas — from instructure.com

This groundbreaking collaboration represents a transformative step forward in education technology and will begin with, but is not limited to, an effort between Instructure and OpenAI to enhance the Canvas experience by embedding OpenAI’s next-generation AI technology into the platform.

IgniteAI announced earlier today, establishes Instructure’s future-ready, open ecosystem with agentic support as the AI landscape continues to evolve. This partnership with OpenAI exemplifies this bold vision for AI in education. Instructure’s strategic approach to AI emphasizes the enhancement of connections within an educational ecosystem comprising over 1,100 edtech partners and leading LLM providers.

“We’re committed to delivering next-generation LMS technologies designed with an open ecosystem that empowers educators and learners to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world,” said Steve Daly, CEO of Instructure. “This collaboration with OpenAI showcases our ambitious vision: creating a future-ready ecosystem that fosters meaningful learning and achievement at every stage of education. This is a significant step forward for the education community as we continuously amplify the learning experience and improve student outcomes.”

Faculty Latest Targets of Big Tech’s AI-ification of Higher Ed — from insidehighered.com by Kathryn Palmer
A new partnership between OpenAI and Instructure will embed generative AI in Canvas. It may make grading easier, but faculty are skeptical it will enhance teaching and learning.

The two companies, which have not disclosed the value of the deal, are also working together to embed large language models into Canvas through a feature called IgniteAI. It will work with an institution’s existing enterprise subscription to LLMs such as Anthropic’s Claude or OpenAI’s ChatGPT, allowing instructors to create custom LLM-enabled assignments. They’ll be able to tell the model how to interact with students—and even evaluate those interactions—and what it should look for to assess student learning. According to Instructure, any student information submitted through Canvas will remain private and won’t be shared with OpenAI.
…
Faculty Unsurprised, Skeptical
Few faculty were surprised by the Canvas-OpenAI partnership announcement, though many are reserving judgment until they see how the first year of using it works in practice.

“These 40 Jobs May Be Replaced by AI. These 40 Probably Won’t” [Crumley] + other items re: AI in general

On 08/05/2025, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, business, career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, Daniel S. Christian, digital storytelling, emerging technologies, experimentation, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, intelligent systems, internet, leadership, media/film, Microsoft, multimedia, Open AI, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, story, storytelling, tools, United States, usability, user experience (UX), user interface design, vendors, web design and production, workplace, by Daniel Christian

These 40 Jobs May Be Replaced by AI. These 40 Probably Won’t — from inc.com by Bruce Crumley
A new Microsoft report ranks 80 professions by their risk of being replaced by AI tools.

A new study measuring the use of generative artificial intelligence in different professions has just gone public, and its main message to people working in some fields is harsh. It suggests translators, historians, text writers, sales representatives, and customer service agents might want to consider new careers as pile driver or dredge operators, railroad track layers, hardwood floor sanders, or maids — if, that is, they want to lower the threat of AI apps pushing them out of their current jobs.

From DSC:
Unfortunately, this is where the hyperscalers are going to get their ROI from all of the capital expenditures that they are making. Companies are going to use their services in order to reduce headcount at their organizations. CEOs are even beginning to brag about the savings that are realized by the use of AI-based technologies: (or so they claim.)

“As a CEO myself, I can tell you, I’m extremely excited about it. I’ve laid off employees myself because of AI. AI doesn’t go on strike. It doesn’t ask for a pay raise. These things that you don’t have to deal with as a CEO.”

My first position out of college was being a Customer Service Representative at Baxter Healthcare. It was my most impactful job, as it taught me the value of a customer. From then on, whoever I was trying to assist was my customer — whether they were internal or external to the organization that I was working for. Those kinds of jobs are so important. If they evaporate, what then? How will young people/graduates get their start?

Also related/see:

Microsoft Releases List of Jobs Most and Least Likely to Be Replaced by AI — from futurism.com
Great news — if you’re a dishwasher.

Microsoft’s Edge Over the Web, OpenAI Goes Back to School, and Google Goes Deep — from thesignal.substack.com by Alex Banks

Alex’s take: We’re seeing browsers fundamentally transition from search engines ? answer engines ? action engines. Gone are the days of having to trawl through pages of search results. Commands are the future. They are the direct input to arrive at the outcomes we sought in the first place, such as booking a hotel or ordering food. I’m interested in watching Microsoft’s bet develop as browsers become collaborative (and proactive) assistants.

Everyone’s an (AI) TV showrunner now… — from theneurondaily.com by Grant Harvey

Amazon just invested in an AI that can create full TV episodes—and it wants you to star in them.

Remember when everyone lost their minds over AI generating a few seconds of video? Well, Amazon just invested in a company called Fable Studio whose system called Showrunner can generates entire 22-minute TV episodes.
…
Where does this go from here? Imagine asking AI to rewrite the ending of Game of Thrones, or creating a sitcom where you and your friends are the main characters. This type of tech could create personalized entertainment experiences just like that.

Our take: Without question, we’re moving toward a world where every piece of media can be customized to you personally. Your Netflix could soon generate episodes where you’re the protagonist, with storylines tailored to your interests and sense of humor.

And if this technology scales, the entire entertainment industry could flip upside down. The pitch goes: why watch someone else’s story when you can generate your own?

The End of Work as We Know It — from gizmodo.com by Luc Olinga
CEOs call it a revolution in efficiency. The workers powering it call it a “new era in forced labor.” I spoke to the people on the front lines of the AI takeover.

Yet, even in this vision of a more pleasant workplace, the specter of displacement looms large. Miscovich acknowledges that companies are planning for a future where headcount could be “reduced by 40%.” And Clark is even more direct. “A lot of CEOs are saying that, knowing that they’re going to come up in the next six months to a year and start laying people off,” he says. “They’re looking for ways to save money at every single company that exists.”

But we do not have much time. As Clark told me bluntly: “I am hired by CEOs to figure out how to use AI to cut jobs. Not in ten years. Right now.”

AI Is Coming for the Consultants. Inside McKinsey, ‘This Is Existential.’ — from wsj.com by Chip Cutter; behind a paywall
If AI can analyze information, crunch data and deliver a slick PowerPoint deck within seconds, how does the biggest name in consulting stay relevant?

ChatGPT users shocked to learn their chats were in Google search results — from arstechnica.com by Ashley Belanger
OpenAI scrambles to remove personal ChatGPT conversations from Google results

Faced with mounting backlash, OpenAI removed a controversial ChatGPT feature that caused some users to unintentionally allow their private—and highly personal—chats to appear in search results.

Fast Company exposed the privacy issue on Wednesday, reporting that thousands of ChatGPT conversations were found in Google search results and likely only represented a sample of chats “visible to millions.” While the indexing did not include identifying information about the ChatGPT users, some of their chats did share personal details—like highly specific descriptions of interpersonal relationships with friends and family members—perhaps making it possible to identify them, Fast Company found.

Character.AI Launches World’s First AI-Native Social Feed — from blog.character.ai

Today, we’re dropping the world’s first AI-native social feed.

Feed from Character.AI is a dynamic, scrollable content platform that connects users with the latest Characters, Scenes, Streams, and creator-driven videos in one place.

This is a milestone in the evolution of online entertainment.

For the last 10 years, social platforms have been all about passive consumption. The Character.AI Feed breaks that paradigm and turns content into a creative playground. Every post is an invitation to interact, remix, and build on what others have made. Want to rewrite a storyline? Make yourself the main character? Take a Character you just met in someone else’s Scene and pop it into a roast battle or a debate? Now it’s easy. Every story can have a billion endings, and every piece of content can change and evolve with one tap.

5 Ways to Spark Critical Thinking About AI in the Art Room — from theartofeducation.edu by Paige Wilde

Here are five AI activities to explore this summer to help you and your students navigate artificial intelligence with an ethical, responsible, and creative approach.
…
1. Use Google’s Quick, Draw! to have fun and get curious about AI.
We all have a desire to doodle–even students and adults who say, “I can’t even draw a stick figure!” Bring lots of light-hearted energy into your art room with Google’s Quick Draw! tool. This platform allows you to draw simple prompts, such as a bike, a cat, or a cup, in 20 seconds. While you’re drawing, AI attempts to recognize the subject.

This tool works with any skill level and is a space to draw freely without overthinking. Beyond quick sketching, this activity demonstrates that human input builds machine learning, and it’s only as “smart” as the information (or in this case, drawings) we feed it. It’s a fun way to explore the evolving role of AI in our visual world!

No tech? No problem! Use paper to run the same activity. You can even use the Thumbnail Sketches template in FLEX Curriculum. Students sketch quick prompts in groups and then guess the drawings to spark conversation about how AI “learns.”

AI and Higher Ed: An Impending Collapse [Niebuhr]

On 07/30/2025, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assessment, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, disruption, education technology, emerging technologies, face-to-face, faculty/staff, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, liberal arts, productivity / tips and tricks, reinvent, staying relevant, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, trends, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

AI and Higher Ed: An Impending Collapse — from insidehighered.com by Robert Niebuhr; via George Siemens; I also think George’s excerpt (see below) gets right to the point.
Universities’ rush to embrace AI will lead to an untenable outcome, Robert Niebuhr writes.

Herein lies the trap. If students learn how to use AI to complete assignments and faculty use AI to design courses, assignments, and grade student work, then what is the value of higher education? How long until people dismiss the degree as an absurdly overpriced piece of paper? How long until that trickles down and influences our economic and cultural output? Simply put, can we afford a scenario where students pretend to learn and we pretend to teach them?

This next report doesn’t look too good for traditional institutions of higher education either:

No Country for Young Grads — from burningglassinstitute.org

For the first time in modern history, a bachelor’s degree is no longer a reliable path to professional employment. Recent graduates face rising unemployment and widespread underemployment as structural—not cyclical—forces reshape entry?level work. This new report identifies four interlocking drivers: an AI?powered “Expertise Upheaval” eliminating many junior tasks, a post?pandemic shift to lean staffing and risk?averse hiring, AI acting as an accelerant to these changes, and a growing graduate glut. As a result, young degree holders are uniquely seeing their prospects deteriorate – even as the rest of the economy remain robust. Read the full report to explore the data behind these trends.

The above article was via Brandon Busteed on LinkedIn:

Blood in the Instructional Design Machine? — from drphilippahardman.substack.com by Dr. Philippa Hardman
The reality of AI, job degradation & the likely future of Instructional Design

This raises a very important, perhaps even existential question for our profession: do these tools free a designer from the mind-numbing drudgery of content conversion (the “augmented human”)? Or do they automate the core expertise of the learning professional’s role, e.g. selecting instructional startegies, structuring narratives and designing a learning flow, in the process reducing the ID’s role to simply finding the source file and pushing a button (the “inverted centaur”)?

The stated aspiration of these tool builders seems to be a future where AI means that the instructional designer’s value shifts decisively from production to strategy. Their stated goal is to handle the heavy lifting of content generation, allowing the human ID to provide the indispensable context, creativity, and pedagogical judgment that AI cannot replicate.

However, the risk of these tools lies in how we use them, and the “inverted centaur” model remains deeply potent and possible. In an organisation that prioritises cost above all, these same tools can be used to justify reducing the ID role to the functional drudgery of inputting a PDF and supervising the machine.

The key to this paradox lies in a crucial data point: spending on outside products and services has jumped a dramatic 23% to $12.4 billion.

This signals a fundamental shift: companies are reallocating funds from large internal teams toward specialised consultants and advanced learning technologies like AI. L&D is not being de-funded; it is being re-engineered.

Firefly adds new video capabilities, industry leading AI models, and Generate Sound Effects feature — from blog.adobe.com

Today, we’re introducing powerful enhancements to our Firefly Video Model, including improved motion fidelity and advanced video controls that will accelerate your workflows and provide the precision and style you need to elevate your storytelling. We are also adding new generative AI partner models within Generate Video on Firefly, giving you the power to choose which model works best for your creative needs across image, video and sound.

Plus, our new workflow tools put you in control of your video’s composition and style. You can now layer in custom-generated sound effects right inside the Firefly web app — and start experimenting with AI-powered avatar-led videos.
…
Generate Sound Effects (beta)
Sound is a powerful storytelling tool that adds emotion and depth to your videos. Generate Sound Effects (beta) makes it easy to create custom sounds, like a lion’s roar or ambient nature sounds, that enhance your visuals. And like our other Firefly generative AI models, Generate Sound Effects (beta) is commercially safe, so you can create with confidence.

Just type a simple text prompt to generate the sound effect you need. Want even more control? Use your voice to guide the timing and intensity of the sound. Firefly listens to the energy and rhythm of your voice to place sound effects precisely where they belong — matching the action in your video with cinematic timing.

Teach business students to write like executives — from timeshighereducation.com by José Ignacio Sordo Galarza
Many business students struggle to communicate with impact. Teach them to pitch ideas on a single page to build clarity, confidence and work-ready communication skills

Many undergraduate business students transition into the workforce equipped with communication habits that, while effective in academic settings, prove ineffective in professional environments. At university, students are trained to write for professors, not executives. This becomes problematic in the workplace where lengthy reports and academic jargon often obscure rather than clarify intent. Employers seek ideas they can absorb in seconds. This is where the one-pager – a single-page, high-impact document that helps students develop clarity of thought, concise expression and strategic communication – proves effective.

Also from Times Higher Education, see:

Is the dissertation dead? If so, what are the alternatives? — from timeshighereducation.com by Rushana Khusainova, Sarah Sholl, & Patrick Harte
Dissertation alternatives, such as capstone projects and applied group-based projects, could better prepare graduates for their future careers. Discover what these might look like

The traditional dissertation, a longstanding pillar of higher education, is facing increasing scrutiny. Concerns about its relevance to contemporary career paths, limitations in fostering practical skills and the changing nature of knowledge production in the GenAI age have fuelled discussions about its continued efficacy. So, is the dissertation dead?

The dissertation is facing a number of challenges. It can be perceived as having little relevance to career aspirations in increasingly competitive job markets. According to The Future of Jobs Report 2025 by the World Economic Forum, employers demand and indeed prioritise skills such as collaborative problem-solving in diverse and complex contexts, which a dissertation might not demonstrate.

PODCAST: Did AI “break” school? Or will it “fix” it? …and if so, what can we do about it? [Noles & Harvey]

On 07/19/2025, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, change, content development, aggregation, repositories, digital learning, education, education reform, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, IT in HE, K-12 related, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, Open AI, pedagogy, platforms, podcasting, productivity / tips and tricks, skills, society, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, technologies for your home, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, training / L&D, trends, United States, universities, by Daniel Christian

PODCAST: Did AI “break” school? Or will it “fix” it? …and if so, what can we do about it? — from theneurondaily.com by Grant Harvey, Corey Noles, Grant Harvey, & Matthew Robinson

In Episode 5 of The Neuron Podcast, Corey Noles and Grant Harvey tackle the education crisis head-on. We explore the viral UCLA “CheatGPT” controversy, MIT’s concerning brain study, and innovative solutions like Alpha School’s 2-hour learning model. Plus, we break down OpenAI’s new $10M teacher training initiative and share practical tips for using AI to enhance learning rather than shortcut it. Whether you’re a student, teacher, or parent, you’ll leave with actionable insights on the future of education.

On blogging (again) [Weller]

On 07/19/2025, in blogs / blogging / vlogging, collaboration, communications, communities of practice, content development, aggregation, repositories, digital learning, education technology, experimentation, ideas, internet, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, lifelong learning, online media, productivity / tips and tricks, social learning / networks, writing, by Daniel Christian

On blogging (again) — from by Martin Weller

I also pondered what functions blogging has provided for me over the years.

Continuity – as an individual you persist across multiple organisations, roles and jobs. Although I stayed in one institution, I had many roles and the blog wasn’t associated with one specific project. Now I have left it continues.
Holistic – you can blog about one topic, but over time I think some personality will creep in. You are not just one thing, you have a personal life, tastes, interests etc which will all feed into what you do. A blog allows this more rounded representation.
Experimentation – there is relatively low cost and risk for much of it (this may not be the case for many people online, we need to acknowledge), so you can try things, and if they don’t work, so what? Also you can try formats that conventional outlets might not be appropriate for.
Development – the blog has been both an intentional and unintentional vehicle for working up ideas, documenting the process and getting feedback, which have led to more substantial outputs, such as books, project proposals and papers. Most importantly though it has been the means through which I have continually developed writing.
Connecting – particularly in those halcyon early days, it was a good way of finding others, working on ideas together, sharing something of yourself. A lot of my career related personal friendships have resulted from blogging.
Publicity – I became at one point (the OU crisis of 2018) something of a public voice of the OU, and have often used the blog for projects such as GO-GN

That’s not a bad return for a lil’ ol’ blog. I couldn’t say the same for academic journals.

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