Canada

How to Secure Your 2025 Legal Tech [Bailey at the ABA] + several other legaltech-related items

On 12/03/2024, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Canada, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, data related items, ethics, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, policy, privacy, strategy, using teams, vendors, by Daniel Christian

How to Secure Your 2025 Legal Tech — from americanbar.org by Rachel Bailey

Summary

With firms increasingly open to AI tools, now is an exciting time to do some blue-sky thinking about your firm’s technology as a whole.
This is a chance for teams to envision the future of their firm’s technology landscape and make bold choices that align with long-term goals.
Learn six tips that will improve your odds of approval for your legal tech budget.

Also relevant, see:

Why Technology-Driven Law Firms Are Poised For Long-Term Success — from forbes.com by Daniel Farrar

Client expectations have shifted significantly in today’s technology-driven world. Quick communication and greater transparency are now a priority for clients throughout the entire case life cycle. This growing demand for tech-enhanced processes comes not only from clients but also from staff, and is set to rise even further as more advances become available.
…
I see the shift to cloud-based digital systems, especially for small and midsized law firms, as evening the playing field by providing access to robust tools that can aid legal services. Here are some examples of how legal professionals are leveraging tech every day…

Just 10% of law firms have a GenAI policy, new Thomson Reuters report shows — from legaltechnology.com by Caroline Hill

Just 10% of law firms and 21% of corporate legal teams have now implemented policies to guide their organisation’s use of generative AI, according to a report out today (2 December) from Thomson Reuters.

AI & Law Symposium: Students Exploring Innovation, Challenges, and Legal Implications of a Technological Revolution — from allard.ubc.ca

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been rapidly deployed around the world in a growing number of sectors, offering unprecedented opportunities while raising profound legal and ethical questions. This symposium will explore the transformative power of AI, focusing on its benefits, limitations, and the legal challenges it poses.

AI’s ability to revolutionize sectors such as healthcare, law, and business holds immense potential, from improving efficiency and access to services, to providing new tools for analysis and decision-making. However, the deployment of AI also introduces significant risks, including bias, privacy concerns, and ethical dilemmas that challenge existing legal and regulatory frameworks. As AI technologies continue to evolve, it is crucial to assess their implications critically to ensure responsible and equitable development.

The role of legal teams in creating AI ethics guardrails — from legaldive.com by Catherine Dawson
For organizations to balance the benefits of artificial intelligence with its risk, it’s important for counsel to develop policy on data governance and privacy.

How Legal Aid and Tech Collaboration Can Bridge the Justice Gap — from law.com by Kelli Raker and Maya Markovich
“Technology, when thoughtfully developed and implemented, has the potential to expand access to legal services significantly,” write Kelli Raker and Maya Markovich.

Challenges and Concerns
Despite the potential benefits, legal aid organizations face several hurdles in working with new technologies:

1. Funding and incentives: Most funding for legal aid is tied to direct legal representation, leaving little room for investment in general case management or exploration of innovative service delivery methods to exponentially scale impact.

2. Jurisdictional inconsistency: The lack of a unified court system or standardized forms across regions makes it challenging to develop accurate and widely applicable tech solutions in certain types of matters.

3. Organizational capacity: Many legal aid organizations lack the time and resources to thoroughly evaluate new tech offerings or collaboration opportunities or identify internal workflows and areas of unmet need with the highest chance for impact.

4. Data privacy and security: Legal aid providers need assurance that tech protects client data and avoids misuse of sensitive information.

5. Ethical considerations: There’s significant concern about the accuracy of information produced by consumer-facing technology and the potential for inadvertent unauthorized practice of law.

“Leveraging AI to Grow Your Legal Practice” [americanbar.org] + other items re: legaltech

On 11/19/2024, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Australia, bots, Canada, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, UK, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Five key issues to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech — from legalfutures.co.uk by Mark Hughes

As more of our familiar legal resources have started to embrace a generative AI overhaul, and new players have come to the market, there are some key issues that your law firm needs to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech.

Licensing
Data protection
The data sets
…and others

Knowable Introduces Gen AI Tool It Says Will Revolutionize How Companies Interact with their Contracts — from lawnext.com by Bob Ambrogi

Knowable, a legal technology company specializing in helping organizations bring order and organization to their executed agreements, has announced Ask Knowable, a suite of generative AI-powered tools aimed at transforming how legal teams interact with and understand what is in their contracts.

Released today as a commercial preview and set to launch for general availability in March 2025, the feature marks a significant step forward in leveraging large language models to address the complexities of contract management, the company says.

The Global Legal Post teams up with LexisNexis to explore challenges and opportunities of Gen AI adoption — from globallegalpost.com by
Series of articles will investigate key criteria to consider when investing in Gen AI

The Global Legal Post has teamed up with LexisNexis to help inform readers’ decision-making in the selection of generative AI (Gen AI) legal research solutions.

The Generative AI Legal Research Hub in association with LexisNexis will host a series of articles exploring the key criteria law firms and legal departments should consider when seeking to harness the power of Gen AI to improve the delivery of legal services.

Leveraging AI to Grow Your Legal Practice — from americanbar.org

Summary

AI-powered tools like chat and scheduling meet clients’ demand for instant, personalized service, improving engagement and satisfaction.
Firms using AI see up to a 30% increase in lead conversion, cutting client acquisition costs and maximizing marketing investments.
AI streamlines processes, speeds up response times, and enhances client engagement—driving growth and long-term client retention.

How a tech GC views AI-enabled efficiencies and regulation — from legaldive.com by Justin Bachman
PagerDuty’s top in-house counsel sees legal AI tools as a way to scale resources without adding headcount while focusing lawyers on their high-value work.

Innovations in Legal Practice: How Tim Billick’s Firm Stays Ahead with AI and Technology — from techtimes.com by Elena McCormick

Enhancing Client Service through Technology
Beyond internal efficiency, Billick’s firm utilizes technology to improve client communication and engagement. By adopting client-facing AI tools, such as chatbots for routine inquiries and client portals for real-time updates, Practus makes legal processes more transparent and accessible to its clients. According to Billick, this responsiveness is essential in IP law, where clients often need quick updates and answers to time-sensitive questions about patents, trademarks, and licensing agreements.

AI-driven client management software is also part of the firm’s toolkit, enabling Billick and his team to track each client’s case progress and share updates efficiently. The firm’s technology infrastructure supports clients from various sectors, including engineering, software development, and consumer products, tailoring case workflows to meet unique needs within each industry. “Clients appreciate having immediate access to their case status, especially in industries where timing is crucial,” Billick shares.

New Generative AI Study Highlights Adoption, Use and Opportunities in the Legal Industry — from prnewswire.com by Relativity

CHICAGO, Nov. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Relativity, a global legal technology company, today announced findings from the IDC InfoBrief, Generative AI in Legal 2024, commissioned by Relativity. The study uncovers the rapid increase of generative AI adoption in the legal field, examining how legal professionals are navigating emerging challenges and seizing opportunities to drive legal innovation.

The international study surveyed attorneys, paralegals, legal operations professionals and legal IT professionals from law firms, corporations and government agencies. Respondents were located in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. The data uncovered important trends on how generative AI has impacted the legal industry and how legal professionals will use generative AI in the coming years.

“The end of courts?” [Furlong] + other legaltech-related items

On 10/29/2024, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, assessment, Canada, emerging technologies, experimentation, funding / grants, future, innovation, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, podcasting, UK, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Introducing QuizBot an Innovative AI-Assisted Assessment in Legal Education — from papers.ssrn.com by Sean A Harrington

Abstract

This Article explores an innovative approach to assessment in legal education: an AI-assisted quiz system implemented in an AI & the Practice of Law course. The system employs a Socratic method-inspired chatbot to engage students in substantive conversations about course materials, providing a novel method for evaluating student learning and engagement. The Article examines the structure and implementation of this system, including its grading methodology and rubric, and discusses its benefits and challenges. Key advantages of the AI-assisted quiz system include enhanced student engagement with course materials, practical experience in AI interaction for future legal practice, immediate feedback and assessment, and alignment with the Socratic method tradition in law schools. The system also presents challenges, particularly in ensuring fairness and consistency in AI-generated questions, maintaining academic integrity, and balancing AI assistance with human oversight in grading.

The Article further explores the pedagogical implications of this innovation, including a shift from memorization to conceptual understanding, the encouragement of critical thinking through AI interaction, and the preparation of students for AI-integrated legal practice. It also considers future directions for this technology, such as integration with other law school courses, potential for longitudinal assessment of student progress, and implications for bar exam preparation and continuing legal education. Ultimately, this Article argues that AI-assisted assessment systems can revolutionize legal education by providing more frequent, targeted, and effective evaluation of student learning. While challenges remain, the benefits of such systems align closely with the evolving needs of the legal profession. The Article concludes with a call for further research and broader implementation of AI-assisted assessment in law schools to fully understand its impact and potential in preparing the next generation of legal professionals for an AI-integrated legal landscape.

Keywords: Legal Education, Artificial Intelligence, Assessment, Socratic Method, Chatbot, Law School Innovation, Educational Technology, Legal Pedagogy, AI-Assisted Learning, Legal Technology, Student Engagement, Formative Assessment, Critical Thinking, Legal Practice, Educational Assessment, Law School Curriculum, Bar Exam Preparation, Continuing Legal Education, Legal Ethics, Educational Analytics

How Legal Startup Genie AI Raises $17.8 Million with Just 13 Slides — from aisecret.us

Genie AI, a London-based legal tech startup, was founded in 2017 by Rafie Faruq and Nitish Mutha. The company has been at the forefront of revolutionizing the legal industry by leveraging artificial intelligence to automate and enhance legal document drafting and review processes. The recent funding round, led by Google Ventures and Khosla Ventures, marks a significant milestone in Genie AI’s growth trajectory.

In-house legal teams are adopting legal tech at lower rate than law firms: survey — from canadianlawyermag.com
The report suggests in-house teams face more barriers to integrating new tools

Law firms are adopting generative artificial intelligence tools at a higher rate than in-house legal departments, but both report similar levels of concerns about data security and ethical implications, according to a report on legal tech usage released Wednesday.

Legal tech company Appara surveyed 443 legal professionals in Canada across law firms and in-house legal departments over the summer, including lawyers, paralegals, legal assistants, law clerks, conveyancers, and notaries.

Twenty-five percent of respondents who worked at law firms said they’ve already invested in generative AI tools, with 24 percent reporting they plan to invest within the following year. In contrast, only 15 percent of respondents who work in-house have invested in these tools, with 26 percent planning investments in the future.

The end of courts? — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
Civil justice systems aren’t serving the public interest. It’s time to break new ground and chart paths towards fast and fair dispute resolution that will meet people’s actual needs.

We need to start simple. System design can get extraordinarily complex very quickly, and complexity is our enemy at this stage. Tom O’Leary nicely inverted Deming’s axiom with a question of his own: “We want the system to work for [this group]. What would need to happen for that to be true?”

If we wanted civil justice systems to work for the ordinary people who enter them seeking solutions to their problems — as opposed to the professionals who administer and make a living off those systems — what would those systems look like? What would be their features? I can think of at least three:

Fair: …
Fast: …
Fine: …

100-Day Dispute Resolution: New Era ADR is Changing the Game (Rich Lee, CEO)

New Era ADR CEO Rich Lee makes a return appearance to Technically Legal to talk about the company’s cutting-edge platform revolutionizing dispute resolution. Rich first came on the podcast in 2021 right as the company launched. Rich discusses the company’s mission to provide a faster, more efficient, and cost-effective alternative to traditional litigation and arbitration, the company’s growth and what he has learned from a few years in.

Key takeaways:

New Era ADR offers a unique platform for resolving disputes in under 100 days, significantly faster than traditional methods.
The platform leverages technology to streamline processes, reduce costs, and enhance accessibility for all parties involved.
New Era ADR boasts a diverse pool of experienced and qualified neutrals, ensuring fair and impartial resolutions.
The company’s commitment to innovation is evident in its use of data and technology to drive efficiency and transparency.

“As we enter the Age of Accessible Law” [Furlong] + other legaltech-related items

On 08/15/2024, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Access to Justice (A2J), Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Canada, emerging technologies, future, law schools, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, platforms, productivity / tips and tricks, tools, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

How Generative AI will change what lawyers do — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
As we enter the Age of Accessible Law, a wave of new demand is coming our way — but AI will meet most of the surge. What will be left for lawyers? Just the most valuable and irreplaceable role in law.

AI can already provide actionable professional advice; within the next ten years, if it takes that long, I believe it will offer acceptable legal advice. No one really wants “AI courts,” but soon enough, we’ll have AI-enabled mediation and arbitration, which will have a much greater impact on everyday dispute resolution.

I think it’s dangerous to assume that AI will never be able to do something that lawyers now do. “Never” is a very long time. And AI doesn’t need to replicate the complete arsenal of the most gifted lawyer out there. If a Legal AI can replicate 80% of what a middling lawyer can do, for 10% of the cost, in 1% of the time, that’s all the revolution you’ll need.

From DSC:
It is my sincere hope that AI will open up the floodgates to FAR great Access to Justice (A2J) in the future.

It’s the Battle of the AI Legal Assistants, As LexisNexis Unveils Its New Protégé and Thomson Reuters Rolls Out CoCounsel 2.0 — from lawnext.com by Bob Ambrogi

It’s not quite BattleBots, but competitors LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters both made significant announcements today involving the development of generative AI legal assistants within their products.

Thomson Reuters, which last year acquired the CoCounsel legal assistant originally developed by Casetext, and which later announced plans to deploy it throughout its product lines, today unveiled what it says is the “supercharged” CoCounsel 2.0.

Meanwhile, LexisNexis said today it is rolling out the commercial preview version of its Protégé Legal AI Assistant, which it describes as a “substantial leap forward in personalized generative AI that will transform legal work.” It is part of the launch of the third generation of Lexis+ AI, the AI-driven legal research platform the company launched last year.

Thomson Reuters Launches CoCounsel 2.0 — from abovethelaw.com by Joe Patrice
New release promises results three times faster than the last version.

It seems like just last year we were talking about CoCounsel 1.0, the generative AI product launched by Casetext and then swiftly acquired by Thomson Reuters. That’s because it was just last year. Since then, Thomson Reuters has worked to marry Casetext’s tool with TR’s treasure trove of data.

It’s not an easy task. A lot of the legal AI conversation glosses over how constructing these tools requires a radical confrontation with the lawyers’ mind. Why do attorneys do what they do every day? Are there seemingly “inefficient” steps that actually serve a purpose? Does an AI “answer” advance the workflow or hinder the research alchemy? As recently as April, Thomson Reuters was busy hyping the fruits of its efforts to get ahead of these challenges.

Though this next item is not necessarily related to legaltech, it’s still relevant to the legal realm:

A Law Degree Is No Sure Thing— from cew.georgetown.edu
Some Law School Graduates Earn Top Dollar, but Many Do Not

Summary
Is law school worth it? A Juris Doctor (JD) offers high median earnings and a substantial earnings boost relative to a bachelor’s degree in the humanities or social sciences—two of the more common fields of study that lawyers pursue as undergraduate students. However, graduates of most law schools carry substantial student loan debt, which dims the financial returns associated with a JD.

A Law Degree Is No Sure Thing: Some Law School Graduates Earn Top Dollar, but Many Do Not finds that the return on investment (ROI) in earnings and career outcomes varies widely across law schools. The median earnings net of debt payments are $72,000 four years after graduation for all law school graduates, but exceed $200,000 at seven law schools. By comparison, graduates of 33 law schools earn less than $55,000 net of debt payments four years after graduation.

From DSC:
A former boss’ husband was starting up a local public defender’s office in Michigan and needed to hire over two dozen people. The salaries were in the $40K’s she said. This surprised me greatly, as I thought all lawyers were bringing in the big bucks. This is not the case, clearly. Many lawyers do not make the big bucks, as this report shows:

…graduates of 33 law schools earn less than $55,000 net of debt payments four years after graduation.

.

Also relevant/see:

Explore Our ROI Rankings — from cew.georgetown.edu

AI literacy emerges as a global imperative
AI readiness initiatives drive emerging skill adoption across regions
The digital skills gap persists in a rapidly evolving job market
Cybersecurity skills remain crucial amid talent shortages and evolving threats
Micro-credentials are a rapid pathway for learners to prepare for in-demand jobs
The global gender gap in online learning continues to narrow, but regional disparities persist
Different regions prioritize different skills, but the majority focus on emerging or foundational capabilities

You can use the Global Skills Report 2024 to:

Identify critical skills for your students to strengthen employability
Align curriculum to drive institutional advantage nationally
Track emerging skill trends like GenAI and cybersecurity
Understand entry-level and digital role skill trends across six regions

Information Age vs Generation Age Technologies for Learning — from opencontent.org by David Wiley

Remember (emphasis DSC)

the internet eliminated time and place as barriers to education, and
generative AI eliminates access to expertise as a barrier to education.

Just as instructional designs had to be updated to account for all the changes in affordances of online learning, they will need to be dramatically updated again to account for the new affordances of generative AI.

The Curious Educator’s Guide to AI | Strategies and Exercises for Meaningful Use in Higher Ed — from ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub by Kyle Mackie and Erin Aspenlieder; via Stephen Downes

This guide is designed to help educators and researchers better understand the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in higher education. This openly-licensed resource contains strategies and exercises to help foster an understanding of AI’s potential benefits and challenges. We start with a foundational approach, providing you with prompts on aligning AI with your curiosities and goals.

The middle section of this guide encourages you to explore AI tools and offers some insights into potential applications in teaching and research. Along with exposure to the tools, we’ll discuss when and how to effectively build AI into your practice.

The final section of this guide includes strategies for evaluating and reflecting on your use of AI. Throughout, we aim to promote use that is effective, responsible, and aligned with your educational objectives. We hope this resource will be a helpful guide in making informed and strategic decisions about using AI-powered tools to enhance teaching and learning and research.

Annual Provosts’ Survey Shows Need for AI Policies, Worries Over Campus Speech — from insidehighered.com by Ryan Quinn
Many institutions are not yet prepared to help their faculty members and students navigate artificial intelligence. That’s just one of multiple findings from Inside Higher Ed’s annual survey of chief academic officers.

Only about one in seven provosts said their colleges or universities had reviewed the curriculum to ensure it will prepare students for AI in their careers. Thuswaldner said that number needs to rise. “AI is here to stay, and we cannot put our heads in the sand,” he said. “Our world will be completely dominated by AI and, at this point, we ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Is GenAI in education more of a Blackberry or iPhone? — from futureofbeinghuman.com by Andrew Maynard
There’s been a rush to incorporate generative AI into every aspect of education, from K-12 to university courses. But is the technology mature enough to support the tools that rely on it?

In other words, it’s going to mean investing in concepts, not products.

This, to me, is at the heart of an “iPhone mindset” as opposed to a “Blackberry mindset” when it comes to AI in education — an approach that avoids hard wiring in constantly changing technologies, and that builds experimentation and innovation into the very DNA of learning.
…
For all my concerns here though, maybe there is something to being inspired by the Blackberry/iPhone analogy — not as a playbook for developing and using AI in education, but as a mindset that embraces innovation while avoiding becoming locked in to apps that are detrimentally unreliable and that ultimately lead to dead ends.

Do teachers spot AI? Evaluating the detectability of AI-generated texts among student essays — from sciencedirect.com by Johanna Fleckenstein, Jennifer Meyer, Thorben Jansen, Stefan D. Keller, Olaf Köller, and Jens Möller

Highlights

Randomized-controlled experiments investigating novice and experienced teachers’ ability to identify AI-generated texts.
Generative AI can simulate student essay writing in a way that is undetectable for teachers.
Teachers are overconfident in their source identification.
AI-generated essays tend to be assessed more positively than student-written texts.

Can Using a Grammar Checker Set Off AI-Detection Software? — from edsurge.com by Jeffrey R. Young
A college student says she was falsely accused of cheating, and her story has gone viral. Where is the line between acceptable help and cheating with AI?

Use artificial intelligence to get your students thinking critically — from timeshighereducation.com by Urbi Ghosh
When crafting online courses, teaching critical thinking skills is crucial. Urbi Ghosh shows how generative AI can shape how educators can approach this

ChatGPT shaming is a thing – and it shouldn’t be — from futureofbeinghuman.com by Andrew Maynard
There’s a growing tension between early and creative adopters of text based generative AI and those who equate its use with cheating. And when this leads to shaming, it’s a problem.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

This will sound familiar to anyone who’s incorporating generative AI into their professional workflows. But there are still many people who haven’t used apps like ChatGPT, are largely unaware of what they do, and are suspicious of them. And yet they’ve nevertheless developed strong opinions around how they should and should not be used.

From DSC:
Yes…that sounds like how many faculty members viewed online learning, even though they had never taught online before.

The University Student’s Guide To Ethical AI Use — from studocu.com; with thanks to Jervise Penton at 6XD Media Group for this resource

This comprehensive guide offers:

Up-to-date statistics on the current state of AI in universities, how institutions and students are currently using artificial intelligence
An overview of popular AI tools used in universities and its limitations as a study tool
Tips on how to ethically use AI and how to maximize its capabilities for students
Current existing punishment and penalties for cheating using AI
A checklist of questions to ask yourself, before, during, and after an assignment to ensure ethical use

Some of the key facts you might find interesting are:

The total value of AI being used in education was estimated to reach $53.68 billion by the end of 2032.
68% of students say using AI has impacted their academic performance positively.
Educators using AI tools say the technology helps speed up their grading process by as much as 75%.

School Librarian Day – April 4, 2024

On 04/04/2024, in Africa, Asia, Canada, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, education, higher education, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, library / librarians, UK, United States, universities, youth, by Daniel Christian

School Librarian Day – April 4, 2024 — from nationaltoday.com

“Lifelong Learning Models for a Changing Higher Ed Marketplace” + “The New Academic Arms Race”

On 03/29/2024, in business side of he, Canada, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, community colleges, cost of getting a degree, credentialing, culture, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, Design Thinking, education technology, emerging technologies, experimentation, faculty, future of higher education, game-changing environment, higher education, ideas, innovation, instructional design, IT in HE, leadership, learning ecosystem, liberal arts, lifelong learning, marketplaces, parents/guardians, reinvent, skills, society, staying relevant, strategy, student-related, surviving, teaching & learning, technology (general), United States, universities, vision/possibilities, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The New Academic Arms Race | Competition over amenities is over. The next battleground is technology. — from chronicle.com by Jeffrey J. Selingo

Now, after the pandemic, with the value of the bachelor’s degree foremost in the minds of students and families, a new academic arms race is emerging. This one is centered around academic innovation. The winners will be those institutions that in the decade ahead better apply technology in teaching and learning and develop different approaches to credentialing.

Sure, technology is often seen as plumbing on campuses — as long as it works, we don’t worry about it. And rarely do prospective students on a tour ever ask about academic innovations like extended reality or microcredentials. Campus tours prefer to show off the bells and whistles of residential life within dorms and dining halls.

That’s too bad.

The problem is not a lack of learners, but rather a lack of alignment in what colleges offer to a generation of learners surrounded by Amazon, Netflix, and Instagram, where they can stream entertainment and music anytime, anywhere.

From DSC:
When I worked for Calvin (then College, now University) from 2007-2017, that’s exactly how technologies and the entire IT Department were viewed — as infrastructure providers. We were not viewed as being able to enhance the core business/offerings of the institution. We weren’t relevant in that area. In fact, the IT Department was shoved down in the basement of the library. Our Teaching & Learning Digital Studio was sidelined in a part of the library where few students went to. The Digitial Studio’s marketing efforts didn’t help much, as faculty members didn’t offer assignments that called for multimedia-based deliverables. It was a very tough and steep hill to climb.

Also the Presidents and Provosts over the last couple of decades (not currently though) didn’t think much of online-based learning, and the top administrators dissed the Internet’s ability to provide 24/7 worldwide conversations and learning. They missed the biggest thing to come along in education in 500 years (since the invention of the printing press). Our Teaching & Learning Group provided leadership by starting a Calvin Online pilot. We had 13-14 courses built and inquiries from Christian-based high schools were coming in for dual enrollment scenarios, but when it came time for the College to make a decision, it never happened. The topic/vote never made it to the floor of the Faculty Senate. The faculty and administration missed an enormous opportunity.

When Calvin College became Calvin University in 2019, they were forced to offer online-based classes. Had they supported our T&L Group’s efforts back in the early to mid-2010’s, they would have dove-tailed very nicely into offering more courses to working adults. They would have built up the internal expertise to offer these courses/programs. But the culture of the college put a stop to online-based learning at that time. They now regret that decision I’m sure (as they’ve had to outsource many things and they now offer numerous online-based courses and even entire programs — at a high cost most likely).

My how times have changed.

For another item re: higher education at the 30,000-foot level, see:

Lifelong Learning Models for a Changing Higher Ed Marketplace — from changinghighered.com by Dr. Drumm McNaughton and Amrit Ahluwalia
Exploring the transformation of higher education into lifelong learning hubs for workforce development, with innovative models and continuing education’s role.

Higher education is undergoing transformational change to redefine its role as a facilitator of lifelong learning and workforce development. In this 200th episode of Changing Higher Ed, host Dr. Drumm McNaughton and guest Amrit Ahluwalia, incoming Executive Director for Continuing Studies at Western University, explore innovative models positioning universities as sustainable hubs for socioeconomic mobility.

The Consumer-Driven Educational Landscape
Over 60% of today’s jobs will be redefined by 2025, driving demand for continuous upskilling and reskilling to meet evolving workforce needs. However, higher education’s traditional model of imparting specific knowledge through multi-year degrees is hugely misaligned with this reality.

Soaring education costs have fueled a consumer mindset shift, with learners demanding a clear return on investment directly aligned with their career goals. The expectation is to see immediate skills application and professional impact from their educational investments, not just long-term outcomes years after completion.

Robotics and AI moves forward, majorly. European Lawmakers Pass AI Act + other AI-related items

On 03/16/2024, in Africa, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, Australia, biology, bots, Canada, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, Europe, future, game-changing environment, global / globalization, Google, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), India, innovation, intelligent systems, learning ecosystem, legislatures / government / legal, Natural Language Processing (NLP), NVIDIA, Open AI, open courseware and systems, platforms, policy, productivity / tips and tricks, programming, research, robotics, society, STEAM-related, tools, trends, UK, Uncategorized, United States, vendors, vision/possibilities, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, by Daniel Christian

OpenAI + Figure

conversations with humans, on end-to-end neural networks:

? OpenAI is providing visual reasoning & language understanding
? Figure’s neural networks are delivering fast, low level, dexterous robot actions

(thread below)pic.twitter.com/trOV2xBoax

— Brett Adcock (@adcock_brett) March 13, 2024

[Report] Generative AI Top 150: The World’s Most Used AI Tools (Feb 2024) — from flexos.work by Daan van Rossum
FlexOS.work surveyed Generative AI platforms to reveal which get used most. While ChatGPT reigns supreme, countless AI platforms are used by millions.

As the FlexOS research study “Generative AI at Work” concluded based on a survey amongst knowledge workers, ChatGPT reigns supreme.
…
2. AI Tool Usage is Way Higher Than People Expect – Beating Netflix, Pinterest, Twitch.
As measured by data analysis platform Similarweb based on global web traffic tracking, the AI tools in this list generate over 3 billion monthly visits.

With 1.67 billion visits, ChatGPT represents over half of this traffic and is already bigger than Netflix, Microsoft, Pinterest, Twitch, and The New York Times.

.

Artificial Intelligence Act: MEPs adopt landmark law — from europarl.europa.eu

Safeguards on general purpose artificial intelligence
Limits on the use of biometric identification systems by law enforcement
Bans on social scoring and AI used to manipulate or exploit user vulnerabilities
Right of consumers to launch complaints and receive meaningful explanations

The untargeted scraping of facial images from CCTV footage to create facial recognition databases will be banned © Alexander / Adobe Stock

A New Surge in Power Use Is Threatening U.S. Climate Goals — from nytimes.com by Brad Plumer and Nadja Popovich
A boom in data centers and factories is straining electric grids and propping up fossil fuels.

Something unusual is happening in America. Demand for electricity, which has stayed largely flat for two decades, has begun to surge.

Over the past year, electric utilities have nearly doubled their forecasts of how much additional power they’ll need by 2028 as they confront an unexpected explosion in the number of data centers, an abrupt resurgence in manufacturing driven by new federal laws, and millions of electric vehicles being plugged in.

OpenAI and the Fierce AI Industry Debate Over Open Source — from bloomberg.com by Rachel Metz

The tumult could seem like a distraction from the startup’s seemingly unending march toward AI advancement. But the tension, and the latest debate with Musk, illuminates a central question for OpenAI, along with the tech world at large as it’s increasingly consumed by artificial intelligence: Just how open should an AI company be?
…
The meaning of the word “open” in “OpenAI” seems to be a particular sticking point for both sides — something that you might think sounds, on the surface, pretty clear. But actual definitions are both complex and controversial.

Researchers develop AI-driven tool for near real-time cancer surveillance — from medicalxpress.com by Mark Alewine; via The Rundown AI
Artificial intelligence has delivered a major win for pathologists and researchers in the fight for improved cancer treatments and diagnoses.

In partnership with the National Cancer Institute, or NCI, researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Louisiana State University developed a long-sequenced AI transformer capable of processing millions of pathology reports to provide experts researching cancer diagnoses and management with exponentially more accurate information on cancer reporting.

State of Higher Ed LMS Market for US and Canada: Year-End 2023 Edition — from onedtech.philhillaa.com by Phil Hill

The market continues to be a matter of Canvas and Brightspace winning new accounts, Anthology Bb Learn and Moodle losing accounts, with more variety for smaller institutions.
Canvas has further consolidated its position as the market leader in North America, with 41% of the market share. Blackboard fell from 18% of the market share to 17%. Moodle has plateaued at 16% while Brightspace increased to 16%. As a reminder, we have removed Open LMS from the Moodle market share.
Populi LMS (3%), Open LMS (3%), Sakai (2%), and Schoology (1%) round out the remainder of the market, with 1% of the market going to Other.
As always, market share is very much a story of size, type of institution (public or private), and control. The numbers above refer to the market take as a whole, but if we start to drill down to different sizes and types of institution, we get very different market dynamics.

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Announcing the 2024 GSV 150: The Top Growth Companies in Digital Learning & Workforce Skills — from prnewswire.com with information provided by ASU+GSV Summit

“The world is adapting to seismic shifts from generative AI,” says Luben Pampoulov, Partner at GSV Ventures. “AI co-pilots, AI tutors, AI content generators—AI is ubiquitous, and differentiation is increasingly critical. This is an impressive group of EdTech companies that are leveraging AI and driving positive outcomes for learners and society.”

Workforce Learning comprises 34% of the list, K-12 29%, Higher Education 24%, Adult Consumer Learning 10%, and Early Childhood 3%. Additionally, 21% of the companies stretch across two or more “Pre-K to Gray” categories. A broader move towards profitability is also evident: the collective gross and EBITDA margin score of the 2024 cohort increased 5% compared to 2023.

See the list at https://www.asugsvsummit.com/gsv-150

Selected from 2,000+ companies around the world based on revenue scale, revenue growth, user reach, geographic diversification, and margin profile, this impressive group is reaching an estimated 3 billion people and generating an estimated $23 billion in revenue.

For those who celebrate it: Merry Christmas to you and to yours!!! [Daniel S. Christian]

On 12/23/2023, in Africa, Asia, Australia, Canada, communications, communities of practice, Daniel S. Christian, Emotion, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, history, India, relationships, religion, society, UK, United States, by Daniel Christian

For those who celebrate it: Merry Christmas to you and to yours!!!

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

The new apprenticeships [Furlong]

On 11/14/2023, in Access to Justice (A2J), Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Canada, ideas, innovation, Legal operations, legal reform, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, United States, by Daniel Christian

The new apprenticeships — from jordanfurlong.substack.com by Jordan Furlong
Several American states are rewriting the rules of lawyer licensure and bringing the US into line with a key element of lawyer formation worldwide: supervised practice.

Change comes so gradually and fitfully to the legal sector that when something truly revolutionary happens — an actual turning point with an identifiable real-world impact — we have to mark the occasion. One such revolution broke out in the United States last week, opening up fantastic new possibilities for Americans who want to become lawyers.

The Oregon Supreme Court approved a new licensure program that does not require passage of a traditional written bar exam. After graduating from law school, aspiring Oregon lawyers can complete 675 hours of paid legal work under the supervision of an experienced attorney, assembling a portfolio of legal work to be assessed by bar admission officials. Candidates must submit eight samples of legal writing, take the lead in at least two initial client interviews or client counseling sessions, and oversee two negotiations, among other requirements.

Jordan mentions what’s going on in several other states including:

Utah
Washington
Minnesota
Nevada
California
Massachusetts
South Dakota

From DSC:
The Bar Exam doesn’t have a good reputation for actually helping get someone ready to practice law. So this is huge news indeed! The U.S. needs more people/specialists at the legal table moving forward. The items Jordan relays in this posting are a huge step forward in making that a reality.

For other innovations within the legal realm, see:

We are excited to announce the launch of our @lawschoolai YouTube channel!

Our “Law Student Edition” series is specifically crafted to enhance your learning experience.

? https://t.co/NtJLROqJjo

So, why wait? ? Hit ‘Subscribe’ pic.twitter.com/BKnV5QCivs

— Law School Ai (@lawschoolai) November 14, 2023

LawSchoolAi — from youtube.com

Picture this: A world where anyone can unlock the doors to legal expertise, no matter their background or resources. Introducing Law School AI – the game-changing platform turning this vision into reality. Our mission? To make legal education accessible, affordable, and tailored to every learner’s unique style, by leveraging the power of artificial intelligence.

As a trailblazing edtech company, Law School AI fuses cutting-edge AI technology with modern pedagogical techniques to craft a personalized, immersive, and transformative learning experience. Our platform shatters boundaries, opening up equal opportunities for individuals from all walks of life to master the intricacies of law.

Embrace a new era of legal education with Law School AI, where the age-old law school experience is reimagined as a thrilling, engaging, and interactive odyssey. Welcome to the future of legal learning.

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For those who celebrate it: Merry Christmas to you and to yours!!! [Daniel S. Christian]

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