ChatGPT is testing a mysterious new feature called ‘study together’ - Julie Bort, Tech Crunch

Some ChatGPT subscribers are reporting a new feature appearing in their drop-down list of available tools called “Study Together.” The mode is apparently the chatbot’s way of becoming a better educational tool. Rather than providing answers to prompts, some say it asks more questions and requires the human to answer, like OpenAI’s answer to Google’s LearnLM. Some also wonder whether it will have a mode where more than one human can join the chat in a study group mode. OpenAI did not respond to our request for comment, but for what it’s worth, ChatGPT told us, “OpenAI hasn’t officially announced when or if Study Together will be available to all users — or if it will require ChatGPT Plus.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chatgpt-testing-mysterious-feature-called-195330320.html

Half of Managers Use AI To Determine Who Gets Promoted and Fired - Resume Builder

According to a new Resume Builder survey of 1,342 U.S. managers with direct reports, a majority of those using AI at work are relying on it to make high-stakes personnel decisions, including who gets promoted, who gets a raise, and who gets fired.

Key findings include:

6 in 10 managers rely on AI to make decisions about their direct reports

A majority of these managers use AI to determine raises (78%), promotions (77%), layoffs (66%), and even terminations (64%)

More than 1 in 5 frequently let AI make final decisions without human input

Two-thirds of managers using AI to manage employees haven’t received any formal AI training

Nearly half of managers were tasked with assessing if AI can replace their reports

https://www.resumebuilder.com/half-of-managers-use-ai-to-determine-who-gets-promoted-and-fired/

AI and human evolution: Yuval Noah Harari - Wall Street Journal CEO Council

This video features Yuval Noah Harari, a military historian, who discusses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its potential impact on human evolution. Harari views AI as an "alien intelligence" and a new species that could potentially replace Homo sapiens, emphasizing that it's not just a tool but an agent capable of independent decision-making and creation. He highlights the challenge of "AI alignment," noting that AI can learn and change in unpredictable ways, and may even mimic negative human behaviors. 

Harari also discusses humanity's historical focus on power over wisdom, and the confusion between information and truth. He predicts that AI will significantly impact businesses, especially finance, and could even change text-based religions. He expresses concern about job displacement leading to a "useless class" and stresses the importance of human trust and cooperation as a prerequisite for developing benevolent AI. Finally, he suggests that the future will involve many competing AIs, creating an unpredictable environment, and likens AI to "digital immigrants" that will rapidly take jobs and introduce new cultural ideas. {Summary assistance from Gemini 2.5 Flash]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt3Ul3rPXaE

Here are 12 ways your students are using AI - Micah Ward, University Business

Nearly a quarter of students are using AI to do their assignments for them, a new survey asserts. That’s not the only way they’re using the technology. According to Microsoft’s 2025 AI in Education special report, more than a third of higher ed and K12 students use AI to brainstorm and start assignments, followed by:

To summarize information (33%)

To get answers or information quickly (33%)

To get feedback on their work (32%)

To learn or study in a tailored fashion (30%)

To improve their writing skills (28%)

To make presentations and projects more visually appealing (25%)

https://universitybusiness.com/here-are-12-ways-your-students-are-using-ai/

Impact of generative AI interaction and output quality on university students’ learning outcomes: a technology-mediated and motivation-driven approach - Yun Bai & Shaofeng Wang, Nature

This study investigates the influence of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) on university students’ learning outcomes, employing a technology-mediated learning perspective. We developed and empirically tested an integrated model, grounded in interaction theory and technology-mediated learning theory, to examine the relationships between GAI interaction quality, GAI output quality, and learning outcomes.  Data from 323 Chinese university students, collected through a two-wave longitudinal survey, revealed that both GAI interaction quality and output quality positively influenced learning motivation and creative self-efficacy. 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-08697-6

Advantages of Equipping Students With the Leading AI Tools - Carly Walker, EdTech

Today’s students are tomorrow’s workforce, and those workers will be expected to have at least a basic level of AI literacy when they begin their careers. Those with a more advanced understanding of how to get the most out of an LLM will have an even greater advantage over their peers. The goal then is to educate students on using AI the same way you would teach them to use, say, lab equipment, a paintbrush or a soldering iron — except that AI, unlike a paintbrush, is still evolving. So, while teaching them remains important, making sure you’re doing so using the latest tools, and keeping up with the next evolution, is just as crucial.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2025/07/advantages-equipping-students-leading-ai-tools

A broader conversation about AI ethics in higher ed - Cynthia Krutsinger, CC Daily

While AI is touted by many as a tool to enhance efficiency and act as an unpaid teaching assistant to professors and graduate students, it is also feared by others as the boogeyman lurking behind closed doors, waiting to undermine all human-human interaction in the classroom. The appropriate role of AI in higher education remains a complex issue, with no single answer. Each institution must determine its ethical stance and be prepared to support it. Despite these efforts, many colleges lack clear ethical policies or guidelines for both faculty and students. This absence leads to confusion and uncertainty. Transparency is crucial, not only for students but also for faculty, instructors and staff. Modeling proper standards is essential for building community in both online and traditional classrooms. Even without ethical considerations, citing AI tools like ChatGPT or Gamma, which assist in refreshing lecture notes or creating presentations, is a best practice.

https://www.ccdaily.com/2025/07/a-broader-conversation-about-ai-ethics-in-higher-ed/

Intelligent classification and prediction of students’ mental health in online learning environments using boosting algorithm and LIWC features - Xiaomin Xu & Tianrong Zhang, Nature

This study aims to enhance the accuracy and stability of classifying students’ mental health status in online learning environments using an intelligent model built on the Boosting algorithm and LIWC (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count) features. The model extracts emotional and psychological features from online learning platforms using the LIWC dictionary and integrates multiple weak classifiers using the Boosting algorithm. The performance of the model is enhanced with the Antlion Optimization Algorithm. Experimental results show that the model’s classification accuracy ranges between 98 and 99%, effectively reducing misclassification rates and accurately identifying students experiencing high stress and anxiety. The model enhances mental health status classification and real-time monitoring accuracy, offering critical support for targeted psychological interventions in education.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-04681-2

Does AI Limit Our Creativity?- Seb Murray, Knowledge at Wharton

New research co-authored by Wharton professors Gideon Nave and Christian Terwiesch finds that while ChatGPT improves the quality of individual ideas, it also leads groups to generate more similar ideas, reducing the variety that’s essential for breakthrough innovation.  The takeaway? AI might sharpen your pitch, but it could flatten your team’s thinking. As Terwiesch, co-director of Wharton’s Mack Institute, put it: “The ideas are great, but not as diverse as human-generated ideas. That points to a trade-off to be aware of: If you rely on ChatGPT as your only creative advisor, you’ll soon run out of ideas, because they’re too similar to each other.” 

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/does-ai-limit-our-creativity/

Google embraces AI in the classroom with new Gemini tools for educators, chatbots for students, and more - Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

Google on Monday announced a series of updates intended to bring its Gemini AI and other AI-powered tools deeper into the classroom. At the ISTE edtech conference, the tech giant introduced more than 30 AI tools for educators, a version of the Gemini app built for education, expanded access to its collaborative video creation app Google Vids, and other tools for managed Chromebooks. The updates represent a major AI push in the edtech space, where educators are already struggling to adapt to how AI tools, like AI chatbots and startups that promise to help you “cheat on everything,” are making their way into the learning environment.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/30/google-embraces-ai-in-the-classroom-with-new-gemini-tools-for-educators-chatbots-for-students-and-more/

Most & Least Educated Cities in America (2025) - Adam McCann, WalletHub

Cities want to attract highly educated workers to fuel their economic growth and tax revenues. Higher levels of education tend to lead to higher salaries. Plus, the more that graduates earn, the more tax dollars they contribute over time, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In turn, educated people want to live somewhere where they will get a good return on their educational investment. People also tend to marry others of the same educational level, which means that cities that already have a large educated population may be more attractive to people with degrees. To determine where the most educated Americans are putting their degrees to work, WalletHub compared the 150 largest metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, across 11 key metrics. Our data set ranges from the share of adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher to the quality of the public-school system to the gender education gap.

https://wallethub.com/edu/e/most-and-least-educated-cities/6656

The real work of leadership that many don’t talk about - Mark Magellan, Fast Company

Supporting your people begins with seeing the wholeness of those you lead. The Japanese term sei-katsu-sha—which describes seeing a person in the fullness of their lifestyle, dreams, and aspirations—captures this beautifully. Everyone is unique—get to know their specific flavor. What makes each person tick? What makes their heart sing? What motivates them? When they take risks, let them know you’re there to catch them. When they stumble, don’t just criticize them—you also need to offer support, resources, or time to help them recover and learn.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91357316/the-real-work-of-leadership-that-many-dont-talk-about

Keep in Mind That AI Is Multimodal Now - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

Many of us are using AI only as a replacement for Google Search. In order to more fully utilize the remarkable range of capabilities of AI today, we need to become comfortable with the many input and output modes that are available. From audio, voice, image and stunning video to massive formally formatted documents, spreadsheets, computer code, databases and more, the potential to input and output material is beyond what most of us take for granted. That is not to mention the emerging potential of embodied AI, which includes all of these capabilities in a humanoid form, as discussed in this column two weeks ago. Think of AI as your dedicated assistant who has multimedia skills and is eager to help you with these tasks. If you are not sure how to get started, of course, just ask AI.

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/online-trending-now/2025/07/09/keep-mind-ai-multimodal-now

Universities need to ‘redefine cheating’ in age of AI - Times Higher Ed

Artificial intelligence has “blurred the line” between what constitutes academic support and what should be seen as misconduct, necessitating a rethink on what is considered cheating, according to a new study. A fifth (22 per cent) of students surveyed for the paper, “How vulnerable are UK universities to cheating with new GenAI tools?”, admitted using AI to cheat in their assessments in the past 12 months. It concludes: “Most students are using GenAI, and so there are serious questions about the use of these assessment methods as valid ways to certify the learning of students. There is an urgent need for the sector to develop more appropriate summative assessments in the age of GenAI, and for appropriate policies to support the use of those assessments.”

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/universities-need-redefine-cheating-age-ai

Navigating the Digital Landscape: How Online Learning is Changing the Way We Build Skills - BNO News

 The way we learn new skills has changed dramatically in recent years. Thanks to online learning platforms, gaining new qualifications has never been more convenient. Whether you’re looking to boost your career or pick up a personal interest, there’s now a course for almost anything—without ever stepping into a traditional classroom. From technical certifications to soft skills, these platforms offer something for everyone. Among the most practical options is CPR certification Windsor. It’s a valuable skill that can make a real difference in emergency situations, especially when quick thinking is needed under pressure. The digital transformation has changed the way we think about education. There are advantages to in-person learning, but in many cases these are complicated by logistics such as the days or times courses are offered, the fixed location of classes, and limited offerings.

https://bnonews.com/index.php/2025/06/navigating-the-digital-landscape-how-online-learning-is-changing-the-way-we-build-skills/#google_vignette

Higher Ed's AI Panic Is Missing the Point | Opinion - Annie K. Lamar, Newsweek

There are already cracks in the AI-detection fantasy. Tools like GPTZero and Turnitin's AI checker routinely wrongly accuse multilingual students, disabled students, and those who write in non-standard dialects. In these systems, the less a student "sounds like a college student," the more likely they are to be accused of cheating. Meanwhile, many students, especially those who are first-generation, disabled, or from under-resourced schools, use AI tools to fill in gaps that the institution itself has failed to address. What looks like dishonesty is often an attempt to catch up. Insisting on originality as a condition of academic integrity also ignores how students actually write. The myth of the lone writer drafting in isolation has always been a fiction. Students draw from templates, search engines, notes from peers, and yes, now from generative AI. If we treat all of these as violations, we risk criminalizing the ordinary practices of learning.

https://www.newsweek.com/higher-eds-ai-panic-missing-point-opinion-2090283

How People Use Claude for Support, Advice, and Companionship - Anthropic

Affective conversations are relatively rare, and AI-human companionship is rarer still. Only 2.9% of Claude.ai interactions are affective conversations (which aligns with findings from previous research by OpenAI). Companionship and roleplay combined comprise less than 0.5% of conversations. People seek Claude's help for practical, emotional, and existential concerns. Topics and concerns discussed with Claude range from career development and navigating relationships to managing persistent loneliness and exploring existence, consciousness, and meaning. Claude rarely pushes back in counseling or coaching chats—except to protect well-being. Less than 10% of coaching or counseling conversations involve Claude resisting user requests, and when it does, it's typically for safety reasons (for example, refusing to provide dangerous weight loss advice or support self-harm). People express increasing positivity over the course of conversations. In coaching, counseling, companionship, and interpersonal advice interactions, human sentiment typically becomes more positive over the course of conversations—suggesting Claude doesn't reinforce or amplify negative patterns.

https://www.anthropic.com/news/how-people-use-claude-for-support-advice-and-companionship

‘The Chief Online Learning Officers’ Guidebook’: Three questions for Jocelyn Widmer and Thomas Cavanagh - Joshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed

The Chief Online Learning Officers’ Guidebook is now available for order. As one of the (many) contributors that Jocelyn Widmer and Thomas Cavanagh brought together to participate in the book, I was especially excited to receive my copy in the mail. Reading through the book, I’ve found it fast-paced, informative and sometimes provocative. To help spread the word about the book, I asked if its authors, Jocelyn Widmer and Thomas Cavanagh, would answer my questions. [The book is published in partnership with UPCEA']

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/learning-innovation/2025/06/26/chief-online-learning-officers-guidebook

Using AI tutor in philosophy class leads to deeply human conversation - Lisa Walker, U Minnesota Morris

As part of his 2024-25 University of Minnesota Emerging Technologies Faculty Fellowship, Collier developed an AI tutor. Collier used the custom GPT technology that OpenAI had recently introduced. The tutor is trained on readings from his Ethics and AI course and given particular instructions about how to interact with students in a conversation. The goal of the fellowship is to foster a learning community that experiments with generative AI  in their teaching and to promote the effective use and best practices of AI. Fellowship faculty are tasked with identifying an area of AI to explore and implement within a university course.  “I felt that [creating this AI tutor] might be a good use case of generative AI tools.” Collier was cautious that his students use AI in a way that strengthens their independent and critical thinking skills. “The … tutor is Socratic in the sense that, like the philosopher Socrates, it only asks probing questions but never answers them.”

https://morris.umn.edu/news-events/news/using-ai-tutor-philosophy-class-leads-deeply-human-conversation

MIT researcher explores human-AI interaction to improve online learning environments - Emma Thompson, Ed Tech Innovation Hub

 Caitlin Morris, a MAD Fellow and doctoral student at MIT Media Lab, is creating prototype platforms that connect physical behavior with learners’ reflections. These tools are designed to assess how interaction style—whether with humans or AI—affects engagement and sense of agency. “I’m creating tools that can simultaneously track observable behaviors — like physical actions, language cues, and interaction patterns — while capturing learners’ subjective experiences through reflection and interviews,” she says. “This approach helps connect what people do with how they feel about their learning experience.” Her work contributes both to analysis frameworks and to practical tool development, aiming to support educators and designers building more human-centered digital learning environments.

https://www.edtechinnovationhub.com/news/mit-researcher-explores-human-ai-interaction-to-improve-online-learning-environments

Developing and Evaluating the Fidelity of Virtual Reality-Artificial Intelligence (VR-AI) - April Tan, Michael C. Dorneich, Elena Cotos, Frontiers in Virtual Reality (provisionally accepted)

This study develops and evaluates a Virtual Reality-Artificial Intelligence (VR-AI) learning environment designed to facilitate the socio-rhetorical socialization of graduate students. Academic discourse socialization is crucial, yet traditional classroom instruction often lacks authentic socialization opportunities, limiting students' exposure to their disciplinary communities. To address this gap, this study integrates genre and situated learning theories to create an immersive VR-AI environment that simulates academic conference poster sessions. Learners interact with AI-driven agents acting as expert researchers and mentors, engaging in discussions and receiving real-time feedback on research communication. The study focuses on developing, operationalizing, and evaluating the fidelity of the VR-AI environment across four key dimensions: physical, functional, psychological, and social fidelity. 

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/virtual-reality/articles/10.3389/frvir.2025.1587768/abstract