vendors

The sources of my hope for Americans having far greater access to justice in the future [Christian]

On 12/12/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, change, changing business models, communities of practice, computer science, corporate / business world, culture, Daniel S. Christian, experimentation, faith, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, ideas, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, reinvent, society, technology (general), tools, United States, vendors, Virtual courts and law firms, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
As you can see from the above items, Mr. David Goodrich, a great human being and a fellow Instructional Designer, had a great comment and question regarding the source of my hope that AI — and other forms of legaltech — could significantly provide more access to justice here in America. Our civil justice system has some serious problems — involving such areas as housing, employment, healthcare, education, families, and more.

I’d like to respond to that question here.

First of all, I completely get what David is saying. I, too, have serious doubts that our horrible access to justice (#A2J) situation will get better. Why? Because:

Many people working within the legal field like it this way, as they are all but assured victory in most of the civil lawsuits out there.
The Bar Associations of most of the states do not support changes that would threaten their incomes/livelihoods. This is especially true in California and Florida.
The legal field in general is not composed, for the most part, of highly innovative people who make things happen for the benefit of others. For example, the American Bar Association is 20+ years behind in terms of providing the level of online-based learning opportunities that they should be offering. They very tightly control how legal education is delivered in the U.S.

Here are several areas that provide me with hope for our future

There are innovative individuals out there fighting for change.
And though some of these individuals don’t reside in the United States, their work still impacts many here in America. For examples, see:

Cat Moon
Natalie Anne Knowlton
Justice Bridget McCormack
Dan Linna Jr.
James Sandman
Colin Levy
Richard Susskind
Jordan Furlong
Bob Ambrogi
Josh Kubicki
Richard Tromans at Artificial Lawyer
Dennis Kennedy and Tom Mighell
…and many others

There are innovative new companies, firms, and other types of organizations out there fighting for change. For examples:

IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver
Legal Aid of North Carolina
Innovation for Justice (i4J): i4J designs, builds, and tests disruptive solutions to the justice gap
University of Pennsylvania’s Future of the Profession Initiative at the Penn Carey Law School
A2J Tech
The AAAi Lab: A web center supporting American Arbitration Association® (AAA) users, arbitrators, in-house counsel and law firms with policy guidance, educational webinars and tools for embracing generative AI in alternative dispute resolution.
Ironcrow AI’s LLM Sandbox: Setting an Industry Standard (patent law)
Wolters Kluwer (who recently announced a Generative AI Summarization Feature for Court Rulings)
Law School AI
Rasa
Legal Hackers
Frontline Justice
Legal Services Corp.
…and many others

There are innovative new tools and technologies out there such as:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)
- AI and machine learning remain pivotal in legaltech, especially for in-house lawyers who deal with vast quantities of contracts and complex legal matters. In 2024, these technologies will be integral for legal research, contract review, and the drafting of legal documents. Statistics from the Tech & the Law 2023 Report state more than three in five corporate legal departments (61%) have adopted generative AI in some capacity, with 7% actively using generative AI in their day-to-day work. With constant improvements to LLM (Large Language Models) by the big players, i.e. OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft (via OpenAI), 2024 will see more opportunities open and efficiencies gained for legal teams. (Source)
- From drafting contracts to answering legal questions and summarising legal issues, AI is revolutionising the legal profession and although viewed with a sceptical eye by some law firms, is generally perceived to be capable of bringing huge benefits. (Source)
- Legal bots like Harvey will assist lawyers with discovery.
Technology-assisted review (TAR) in e-discovery
Due to COVID 19, there were virtual courtrooms set up and just like with virtual/online-based learning within higher education, many judges, litigants, lawyers, and staff appreciated the time savings and productivity gains. Along these lines, see Richard Susskind’s work. [Richard] predicts a world of online courts, AI-based global legal businesses, disruptive legal technologies, liberalized markets, commoditization, alternative sourcing, simulated practice on the metaverse, and many new legal jobs. (Source)

There are innovative states out there fighting for change. For examples:

Utah in 2020 launched a pilot program that suspended ethics rules to allow for non-lawyer ownership of legal services providers and let non-lawyers apply for a waiver to offer certain legal services. (Source)
Arizona in 2021 changed its regulatory rules to allow for non-lawyer ownership. (Source)
Alaska with their Alaska Legal Services Corporation
…and others

And the last one — but certainly not the least one — is where my faith comes into play. I believe that the Triune God exists — The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit — and that the LORD is very active in our lives and throughout the globe. And one of the things the LORD values highly is JUSTICE. For examples:

“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another.Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ Zechariah 7:9-10
Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that one gets justice. Proverbs 29:26 NIV
These are the things you are to do: Speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; Zechariah 8:16 NIV
…and many others as can be seen below

The LORD values JUSTICE greatly!

So I believe that the LORD will actively help us provide greater access to justice in America.

Well…there you have it David. Thanks for your question/comment! I appreciate it!

7 legaltech trends to watch in 2024 [Kirk] + 8 other legaltech-related items

On 12/08/2023, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, India, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, UK, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

7 legaltech trends to watch in 2024 — from lexology.com by Sacha Kirk

Legal technology, or ‘legaltech’, is transforming the legal sector by automating processes and enhancing the provision of legal services. As we approach 2024, several trends within this field are particularly worth keeping an eye on. These not only promise to streamline legal operations but will also help increase the in-house legal department’s visibility and value to the organisation.

Here are seven legaltech trends poised to make an impact in the coming year.

1. Artificial intelligence and machine learning
AI and machine learning remain pivotal in legaltech, especially for in-house lawyers who deal with vast quantities of contracts and complex legal matters. In 2024, these technologies will be integral for legal research, contract review, and the drafting of legal documents. Statistics from the Tech & the Law 2023 Report state more than three in five corporate legal departments (61%) have adopted generative AI in some capacity, with 7% actively using generative AI in their day-to-day work. With constant improvements to LLM (Large Language Models) by the big players, i.e. OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft (via OpenAI), 2024 will see more opportunities open and efficiencies gained for legal teams.

Our top 5 legal technology trends predicted for 2024 — from legalfutures.co.uk

5. ID verification software
With identity fraud on the increase there is a growing demand from the Government for people to be identified with accuracy and they are proposing to pass legislation in February 2024 that will tighten the requirements for the professional organisations involved. They will promote the use of technology to reduce the risk of fraudulent transactions including mortgage fraud where according to Experian’s Report “the greatest jump in fraud cases has been seen …. with fraud increasing from around 41 cases to around 52 cases per 10,000 applications.”

Guest Post: The Year in Justice Tech: 2023 Report and News Roundup — from lawnext.com by Maya Markovich, executive director of the Justice Technology Association

In 2023, the justice tech ecosystem continued to grow rapidly, with a significant increase in solutions addressing access to justice-related challenges for consumers. Justice tech caught the interest of both impact investors, as well as those seeking opportunities to fund the disruption of antiquated systems via technology.

Consulting Giants See AI Shaving Years Off the Path to Partner — from bloomberg.com by Irina Anghel

To make it to partner level typically takes at least a decade
AI seen freeing up junior staffers to do more meaningful work

Consulting giants and law firms are looking to artificial intelligence to speed up the time it takes junior staffers to make it to the prestigious partner level as the technology eliminates vast swaths of the repetitive, time-consuming tasks that typically filled up their first few years on the job.

Stock Up 10% in December; Unveils Groundbreaking Initiatives — from in.investing.com by Aayush Khanna (India)

Excerpt from DSC — and I’m not out to give legal or investing advice. I just really appreciated the list of legaltech-related innovations:

In the LegalTech realm, QiLegal emerges as a robust cloud-based platform, aiming to digitize the legal framework. Envisaged to propel the justice system with Virtual Courts, Online Dispute Resolution, and AI-enabled Drafting, QiLegal responds to the estimated USD 100 billion global LegalTech market.

The essential role of creator and customer collaboration in legal tech — from legaldive.com by Relativity (sponsored content; emphasis below from DSC)

However, with these high stakes and wide margins for error in hand, the accuracy, defensibility, and reliability of that AI is subject to intense professional and judicial scrutiny. And for good reason: anything less than the thoughtful, intentional development of specifically fit-for-purpose AI applications in this realm can contribute to the loss of millions of dollars, the livelihoods of countless individuals, and deeply damaging miscarriages of justice.

Generative AI and the small law firm: The value of legal domain expertise — from thomsonreuters.com by Mark Haddad
In our new blog series, we continue to discuss how small law firms can leverage their natural advantages with generative artificial intelligence to compete at a higher level

Gen AI presents unprecedented opportunities for small law firms to compete.

The idea that legal Gen AI means turning over legal decision-making to a machine overlooks the importance of the data portion of the Venn diagram above. A properly trained and targeted Gen AI application for legal use will build on the work of lawyers in the form of cases, statutes, briefs and memoranda, how-to guides, contracts, client advisories, templates — all the esoteric and robust data that results from lawyers’ expertise and knowledge.

All law firms, even smaller ones, have an opportunity to leverage their own data assets against competitors at scale once their lawyers identify and curate the appropriate critical data sets from within their firm and embed them within the AI solution. This proprietary data can be combined with larger pools of data from authoritative external sources like trusted legal content sources to further strengthen the responses that the Gen AI tool provides.

AAA® Launches New AAAi Lab Offering Products, Education, Guidance & News Resources — from prnewswire.com by American Arbitration Assocation
Latest Technology Innovation Seeks to Support AAA Users, Arbitrators & Broader Legal Community with Incorporating Generative AI into ADR Processes

NEW YORK, Dec. 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The American Arbitration Association® (AAA) and its international division, the International Centre for Dispute Resolution® (ICDR®), announces the launch of the AAAi Lab, a web center supporting AAA users, arbitrators, in-house counsel and law firms with policy guidance, educational webinars and tools for embracing generative AI in alternative dispute resolution.

ANALYSIS: Most M&A Attorneys Would Use AI for Due Diligence — from news.bloomberglaw.com by Abena Opong-Fosu

Artificial intelligence (AI) has infiltrated almost every facet of daily life. For M&A lawyers, exposure to AI and machine learning tools likely comes from deals involving the buying and selling of AI companies as well as through the software the lawyers use on a daily basis.

Most deal lawyers who responded to a recent Bloomberg Law survey said that they’re open to using AI at some point in dealmaking.

Gifting articles and/or learning modules should be quick and easy — with benefits for several of the parties involved! [Christian]

On 12/07/2023, in 24x7x365 access, adult learning, business side of he, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, content development, aggregation, repositories, Daniel S. Christian, experimentation, faculty, funding / grants, future of higher education, higher education, ideas, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, lifelong learning, marketing/social marketing, marketplaces, microlearning, new business models, online learning, online media, platforms, United States, universities, vendors, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to gift someone an article or access to a particular learning module? This would be the case whether you are a subscriber to that vendor/service or not. I thought about this after seeing the following email from MLive.com.
.

MLive.com's gift an article promotion from December 2023; one must be a subscriber though to gift an article

.

Not only is this a brilliant marketing move — as recipients can get an idea of the services/value offered — but it can provide concrete information to someone.

Perhaps colleges and universities should take this idea and run with it. They could gift courses and/or individual lectures! Doing so could open up some new revenue streams, aid adult learners in their lifelong learning pathways, and help people build new skills — all while helping market the colleges and universities. Involved faculty/staff members could get a percentage of the sales. Sounds like a WIN-WIN to me.

34 Big Ideas that will change our world in 2024 — from linkedin.com

Excerpts:

6. ChatGPT’s hype will fade, as a new generation of tailor-made bots rises up
11. We’ll finally turn the corner on teacher pay in 2024
21. Employers will combat job applicants’ use of AI with…more AI
31. Universities will view the creator economy as a viable career path

“Thomson Reuters’ AI debut signals a new era of widespread AI integration in legaltech” [Black] + other legaltech-related items

On 11/22/2023, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, game-changing environment, innovation, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Thomson Reuters’ AI debut signals a new era of widespread AI integration in legaltech — from nydailyrecord.com by Nicole Black

It shouldn’t surprise you to learn that legal technology companies have joined the fray. Since early 2023, over one hundred announcements from legal technology companies have emerged, detailing plans to incorporate generative AI functionality into their products. Although most products are stillfirm;eta, rest assured that regardless of the software platforms used in your firm, you can expect that generative AI will soon be seamlessly integrated into the tools that are part of the daily workflows of legal professionals in your firm.

Proof in point: Wednesday’s generative AI announcements from Thomson Reuters offer strong evidence that we’re entering a new era of widespread AI integration. For Thomson Reuter’s legal customers, the integrated generative AI experience will soon be a reality and readily accessible across several different products. This newfound capability largely stems from leveraging CoCounsel, a generative AI legal assistant tool acquired by Thomson Reuters as part of the acquisition of Casetext for $650 million, which was completed in August.

Ironcrow AI’s LLM Sandbox: Setting an Industry Standard — from mccrus.com by McCoy Russell; with thanks to Mr. Justin Wagner out on LinkedIn for this resource

As an innovative firm, McCoy Russell has been at the forefront of patent law with its development and use of proprietary AI software via its software arm Ironcrow AI. Recently, Ironcrow has invested substantial efforts to create a specialized AI LLM Sandbox as a key tool for patent professionals.

Ironcrow is excited to announce a groundbreaking achievement in the field of AI/ML for Patent Law professionals – Ironcrow’s specialized AI LLM Sandbox has achieved a score above the 70% threshold required to pass the patent bar exam, using a test set of questions. While other researchers have developed tools to pass a state bar exam, none have attempted to pass the specialized patent bar exam administered by the USPTO.

This remarkable feat showcases the innovation by the Ironcrow and McCoy Russell partnership and the ability of the LLM Sandbox’s “Interrogate” feature to answer questions based on the knowledge of the patent procedure. The Sandbox can provide well-cited answers along with relevant excerpts from the MPEP, etc., to its users. This unique feature sets Ironcrow AI’s LLM Sandbox apart from other systems in the market.

From DSC:
The recent drama over at OpenAI reminds me of how important a few individuals are in influencing the lives of millions of people.

We have reached an agreement in principle for Sam Altman to return to OpenAI as CEO with a new initial board of Bret Taylor (Chair), Larry Summers, and Adam D’Angelo.

We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this.

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) November 22, 2023

The C-Suites (i.e., the Chief Executive Officers, Chief Financial Officers, Chief Operating Officers, and the like) of companies like OpenAI, Alphabet (Google), Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Netflix, NVIDIA, Amazon, Apple, and a handful of others have enormous power. Why? Because of the enormous power and reach of the technologies that they create, market, and provide.

We need to be praying for the hearts of those in the C-Suites of these powerful vendors — as well as for their Boards.

LORD, grant them wisdom and help mold their hearts and perspectives so that they truly care about others. May their decisions not be based on making money alone…or doing something just because they can.

What happens in their hearts and minds DOES and WILL continue to impact the rest of us. And we’re talking about real ramifications here. This isn’t pie-in-the-sky thinking or ideas. This is for real. With real consequences. If you doubt that, go ask the families of those whose sons and daughters took their own lives due to what happened out on social media platforms. Disclosure: I use LinkedIn and Twitter quite a bit. I’m not bashing these platforms per se. But my point is that there are real impacts due to a variety of technologies. What goes on in the hearts and minds of the leaders of these tech companies matters.

Some relevant items:

Navigating Attention-Driving Algorithms, Capturing the Premium of Proximity for Virtual Teams, & New AI Devices — from implactions.com by Scott Belsky

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

No doubt, technology influences us in many ways we don’t fully understand. But one area where valid concerns run rampant is the attention-seeking algorithms powering the news and media we consume on modern platforms that efficiently polarize people. Perhaps we’ll call it The Law of Anger Expansion: When people are angry in the age of algorithms, they become MORE angry and LESS discriminate about who and what they are angry at.
…
Algorithms that optimize for grabbing attention, thanks to AI, ultimately drive polarization.
…
The AI learns quickly that a rational or “both sides” view is less likely to sustain your attention (so you won’t get many of those, which drives the sensation that more of the world agrees with you). But the rage-inducing stuff keeps us swiping.

Our feeds are being sourced in ways that dramatically change the content we’re exposed to.

And then these algorithms expand on these ultimately destructive emotions – “If you’re afraid of this, maybe you should also be afraid of this” or “If you hate those people, maybe you should also hate these people.”
…
How do we know when we’ve been polarized? This is the most important question of the day.
…
Whatever is inflaming you is likely an algorithm-driven expansion of anger and an imbalance of context.

WOW!!! “The [OpenAI] board no longer has confidence in [Sam Altman’s] ability to continue leading OpenAI.”

On 11/17/2023, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, change, corporate / business world, Daniel S. Christian, ethics, hearts -- matters of the heart, leadership, morals/values, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

OpenAI announces leadership transition — from openai.com
Chief technology officer Mira Murati appointed interim CEO to lead OpenAI; Sam Altman departs the company. Search process underway to identify permanent successor.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

The board of directors of OpenAI, Inc., the 501(c)(3) that acts as the overall governing body for all OpenAI activities, today announced that Sam Altman will depart as CEO and leave the board of directors. Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer, will serve as interim CEO, effective immediately.
…
Mr. Altman’s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.

…
As a part of this transition, Greg Brockman will be stepping down as chairman of the board and will remain in his role at the company, reporting to the CEO.

From DSC:
I’m not here to pass judgment, but all of us on planet Earth should be at least concerned with this disturbing news.

AI is one of the most powerful set of emerging technologies on the planet right now. OpenAI is arguably the most powerful vendor/innovator/influencer/leader in that space. And Sam Altman is was the face of OpenAI — and arguably for AI itself. So this is a big deal.

What concerns me is what is NOT being relayed in this posting:

What was being hidden from OpenAI’s Board?
What else doesn’t the public know?
Why is Greg Brockman stepping down as Chairman of the Board?

To whom much is given, much is expected.

Also related/see:

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ousted, shocking AI world — from washingtonpost.com by Gerrit De Vynck and Nitasha Tiku
The artificial intelligence company’s directors said he was not ‘consistently candid in his communications with the board’

Altman’s sudden departure sent shock waves through the technology industry and the halls of government, where he had become a familiar presence in debates over the regulation of AI. His rise and apparent fall from tech’s top rung is one of the fastest in Silicon Valley history. In less than a year, he went from being Bay Area famous as a failed start-up founder who reinvented himself as a popular investor in small companies to becoming one of the most influential business leaders in the world. Journalists, politicians, tech investors and Fortune 500 CEOs alike had been clamoring for his attention.

OpenAI’s Board Pushes Out Sam Altman, Its High-Profile C.E.O. — from nytimes.com by Cade Metz

Sam Altman, the high-profile chief executive of OpenAI, who became the face of the tech industry’s artificial intelligence boom, was pushed out of the company by its board of directors, OpenAI said in a blog post on Friday afternoon.

From DSC:
Updates — I just saw these items

After learning today’s news, this is the message I sent to the OpenAI team: https://t.co/NMnG16yFmm pic.twitter.com/8x39P0ejOM

— Greg Brockman (@gdb) November 18, 2023

.
Sam Altman fired as CEO of OpenAI — from theverge.com by Jay Peters
In a sudden move, Altman is leaving after the company’s board determined that he ‘was not consistently candid in his communications.’ President and co-founder Greg Brockman has also quit.

As you saw at Microsoft Ignite this week, we’re continuing to rapidly innovate for this era of AI, with over 100 announcements across the full tech stack – from AI systems, models, and tools in Azure, to Copilot. Most importantly, we’re committed to delivering all of this to our…

— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) November 17, 2023

“edX & Jobs for the Future Offer Free MicroBachelors Programs” [Lucariello] + other items re: higher education in general

On 11/17/2023, in colleges, community colleges, higher education, K-12 related, learning ecosystem, MOOCs -- Massive Open Online Courses, trends, United States, universities, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Unpacking 3 major trends in ed tech and for-profit education — from highereddive.com by Natalie Schwartz
CEOs of major companies recently told investors how they fared in their most recent financial quarters, offering insight into the broader higher ed sector.

Education companies double down on degree programs
…
These programs allow Coursera users to count open courses they complete on the platform toward credit for degree programs. Students can also be admitted to degree programs based on their performance in these courses,Maggioncalda said.

Coursera recently announced it had built several of these pathways to master’s degrees offered by Illinois Tech. Coursera users can now complete professional certificates offered on the website — including from Google, IBM and Meta — as credit toward these programs.

Report Finds Students Struggling with Being Prepared for Courses and Increasingly Turning to Generative AI, Social Media to Study — from campustechnology.com by Kate Lucariello

In its second annual 2023 “Study Trends Report,” McGraw Hill found that college students were feeling unprepared for their courses, but also that they have turned to generative AI and social media to study and would like more learning resources in a similar format.

The study, conducted by Morning Consult between July 18 and Aug. 11, 2023, surveyed 500 undergraduate college students and 200 college instructors. Some of the key findings include:

The Plot To Kill Shop Class — by Ryan Craig

I suspect College Board may be trying to repent for its original sin: killing vocational education. Now known as career and technical education (CTE), America’s college-or-bust mentality has long relegated CTE to a shadowy corner of high school.
…
But make no mistake: the College Board’s fingerprints are on the weapon that killed CTE. College Board launched Advanced Placement courses in 1955 with 500 students across 18 elite schools like Andover, Bronx Science, and Newton High School. The original idea was guiltless: more challenging curricula for gifted and talented students to accelerate the development of leaders and win the Cold War. But it soon became clear that AP’s primary purpose would be to give students a leg up in competitive college admissions; as early as 1960, Exeter worried about “a dangerous tendency to regard advanced placement teachers and students as an elite worthy of special praise.”

When College Board’s primary source of revenue (and profits) is AP courses and demand for AP is driven by a weighted GPA formula that discriminates against all other forms of education, any attempt to create a level playing field between career discovery and college is window dressing: CTE theater. College Board knows which side its bread is buttered on (hint: it’s in its name).

2U, USC Curtail Online Partnership — from insidehighered.com by Doug Lederman
Southern California and the online program manager will part ways on master’s degrees that became a target of scrutiny because of their high price.

Which makes it fitting, perhaps, that Thursday 2U and USC announced that that they would largely wind down their 15-year partnership, which in the eyes of consumer advocates and some journalists had come to exemplify how involving companies intimately in the delivery of education could undermine, rather than expand, access and affordability to higher education.

edX and Jobs for the Future Offer Free MicroBachelors Programs — from campustechnology.com by Kate Lucariello

Three MicroBachelor programs are currently available:

Statistics Fundamentals and Mathematics and Statistics Fundamentals from The London School of Economics;
Marketing Essentials and Business and Professional Communication for Success from Doane University; and
Full Stack Application Development from IBM.

PROOF POINTS: Professors say high school math doesn’t prepare most students for their college majors — from hechingerreport.org

9 Tips for Using AI for Learning (and Fun!) — from edutopia.org by Daniel Leonard; via Donna Norton on X/Twitter
These innovative, AI-driven activities will help you engage students across grade levels and subject areas.

Here are nine AI-based lesson ideas to try across different grade levels and subject areas.

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

AI-generated Animated Drawing of artwork

Courtesy of Meta AI Research
A child’s drawing (left) and animations created with Animated Drawings.

.

1. Bring Student Drawings to Life: Young kids love to sketch, and AI can animate their sketches—and introduce them to the power of the technology in the process.

HIGH SCHOOL

8. Speak With AI in a Foreign Language: When learning a new language, students might feel self-conscious about making mistakes and avoid practicing as much as they should.

Though not necessarily about education, also see:

How I Use AI for Productivity — from wondertools.substack.com by Jeremy Caplan
In this Wonder Tools audio post I share a dozen of my favorite AI tools

From DSC:
I like Jeremy’s mentioning the various tools that he used in making this audio post:

Squadcast for recording the interview. (I also like Riverside.fm for recording)
- Shure MV7 microphone
- Adobe podcast for recording and removing background noise from the opening supplemental audio clip, and Adobe Mic check to gauge microphone positioning
- Audacity for merging audio clips
- Descript for light audio editing
Hypernatural for generating the audiograms
Claude for identifying potentially interesting moments in the transcript
Substack for newsletter and audio delivery

Where a developing, new kind of learning ecosystem is likely headed [Christian]

On 11/17/2023, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, career development, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, competency-based learning/education, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, cost of getting a degree, Daniel S. Christian, digital learning, distance education, education, education technology, educational games / serious games, elearning, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, faculty, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, generational differences, heutagogy, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, instructional design, intelligent systems, intelligent tutoring, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning agents, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning spaces, lifelong learning, love of learning, marketplaces, microlearning, more voice more choice more control, new business models, online learning, online media, online tutoring, personalized/customized learning, platforms, professional development, reinvent, skills, smart/connected TV, social learning / networks, society, streams of content, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, teaching online, technologies for your home, training / L&D, trends, ubiquitous learning, United States, universities, using teams, vendors, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, vocational / trades, workplace, youth, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
As I’ve long stated on the Learning from the Living [Class]Room vision, we are heading toward a new AI-empowered learning platform — where humans play a critically important role in making this new learning ecosystem work.

Along these lines, I ran into this site out on X/Twitter. We’ll see how this unfolds, but it will be an interesting space to watch.

From DSC:
This future learning platform will also focus on developing skills and competencies. Along those lines, see:

Scale for Skills-First — from the-job.beehiiv.com by Paul Fain
An ed-tech giant’s ambitious moves into digital credentialing and learner records.

A Digital Canvas for Skills
Instructure was a player in the skills and credentials space before its recent acquisition of Parchment, a digital transcript company. But that $800M move made many observers wonder if Instructure can develop digital records of skills that learners, colleges, and employers might actually use broadly.
…

Ultimately, he says, the CLR approach will allow students to bring these various learning types into a coherent format for employers.

Instructure seeks a leadership role in working with other organizations to establish common standards for credentials and learner records, to help create consistency. The company collaborates closely with 1EdTech. And last month it helped launch the 1EdTech TrustEd Microcredential Coalition, which aims to increase quality and trust in digital credentials.

Paul also links to 1EDTECH’s page regarding the Comprehensive Learning Record

“The Beatles’ final song is now streaming thanks to AI” [Welch] + other items re: AI in general

On 11/14/2023, in 3D, Adobe, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, biology, creativity, digital audio, experimentation, health, innovation, intelligent systems, Microsoft, multimedia, music, NVIDIA, pace of change, platforms, tools, trends, UK, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

The Beatles’ final song is now streaming thanks to AI — from theverge.com by Chris Welch
Machine learning helped Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr turn an old John Lennon demo into what’s likely the band’s last collaborative effort.

Scientists excited by AI tool that grades severity of rare cancer — from bbc.com by Fergus Walsh

Artificial intelligence is nearly twice as good at grading the aggressiveness of a rare form of cancer from scans as the current method, a study suggests.

By recognising details invisible to the naked eye, AI was 82% accurate, compared with 44% for lab analysis.

Researchers from the Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research say it could improve treatment and benefit thousands every year.

They are also excited by its potential for spotting other cancers early.

Microsoft unveils ‘LeMa’: A revolutionary AI learning method mirroring human problem solving — from venturebeat.com by Michael Nuñez

Researchers from Microsoft Research Asia, Peking University, and Xi’an Jiaotong University have developed a new technique to improve large language models’ (LLMs) ability to solve math problems by having them learn from their mistakes, akin to how humans learn.

The researchers have revealed a pioneering strategy, Learning from Mistakes (LeMa), which trains AI to correct its own mistakes, leading to enhanced reasoning abilities, according to a research paper published this week.

Also from Michael Nuñez at venturebeat.com, see:

Adobe researchers create 3D models from 2D images ‘within 5 seconds’ in new AI breakthrough

GPTs for all, AzeemBot; conspiracy theorist AI; big tech vs. academia; reviving organs ++448 — from exponentialviewco by Azeem Azhar and Chantal Smith

Personalized A.I. Agents Are Here. Is the World Ready for Them? — from ytimes.com by Kevin Roose (behind a paywall)

You could think of the recent history of A.I. chatbots as having two distinct phases.

The first, which kicked off last year with the release of ChatGPT and continues to this day, consists mainly of chatbots capable of talking about things. Greek mythology, vegan recipes, Python scripts — you name the topic and ChatGPT and its ilk can generate some convincing (if occasionally generic or inaccurate) text about it.

That ability is impressive, and frequently useful, but it is really just a prelude to the second phase: artificial intelligence that can actually do things. Very soon, tech companies tell us, A.I. “agents” will be able to send emails and schedule meetings for us, book restaurant reservations and plane tickets, and handle complex tasks like “negotiate a raise with my boss” or “buy Christmas presents for all my family members.”

From DSC:
Very cool!

Introducing, Motion Brush.

A new way to add controlled movement to your generations.

Coming soon to Gen-2. pic.twitter.com/htyjf1gstz

— Runway (@runwayml) November 10, 2023

Nvidia Stock Jumps After Unveiling of Next Major AI Chip. It’s Bad News for Rivals. — from barrons.com

On Monday, Nvidia (ticker: NVDA) announced its new H200 Tensor Core GPU. The chip incorporates 141 gigabytes of memory and offers up to 60% to 90% performance improvements versus its current H100 model when used for inference, or generating answers from popular AI models.

From DSC:
The exponential curve seems to be continuing — 60% to 90% performance improvements is a huge boost in performance.

Also relevant/see:

NVIDIA Supercharges Hopper, the World’s Leading AI Computing Platform — from nvidianews.nvidia.com
HGX H200 Systems and Cloud Instances Coming Soon From World’s Top Server Manufacturers and Cloud Service Providers

The 5 Best GPTs for Work — from the AI Exchange

Custom GPTs are exploding, and we wanted to highlight our top 5 that we’ve seen so far:

FAQ Generator: Simply input a URL and it’ll generate an FAQ for that webpage
Canva GPT: Generate Canva graphics in seconds
Automation Consultant: By Zapier
Content Matrix GPT: Mirroring prolific online writer Justin Welsh
Summarizer GPT: Can summarize in different formats, by TikTok friend of ours, Riley Brown

From the military to the workforce: How to leverage veterans’ skills [mckinsey.com]

On 11/11/2023, in business, career development, change, corporate / business world, skills, United States, vendors, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From the military to the workforce: How to leverage veterans’ skills — from mckinsey.com
Traditional ways of hiring make it harder for many service members to land civilian jobs. A new approach could help veterans transition to the workforce—and add $15 billion to the US economy.

This is where military veterans can make a difference. Veterans represent a source of labor potential that is untapped relative to the breadth of experience and depth of skills that they acquire and develop during their service. Members of the military receive technical training, operate under pressure in austere environments, and develop strong interpersonal skills throughout their service, making them well qualified for numerous civilian occupations. While not every military role is directly transferrable to a civilian job, most skills are—including those that correspond to US industries experiencing labor shortages, such as infrastructure and manufacturing.

Learning Ecosystems

Gifting articles and/or learning modules should be quick and easy — with benefits for several of the parties involved! [Christian]

From the military to the workforce: How to leverage veterans’ skills [mckinsey.com]

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From DSC: The recent drama over at OpenAI reminds me of how important a few individuals are in influencing the lives of millions of people.

Categories

Tags

From DSC:
The recent drama over at OpenAI reminds me of how important a few individuals are in influencing the lives of millions of people.