1 big thing: DC's hottest new job — chief AI officer - Ina Fried, Ryan Heath - Axios

Hundreds of agencies across the federal government are scrambling to find more than 400 chief AI officers by the end of the year, as Ryan reports. Why it matters: The requirement, one of the edicts of President Biden's recent AI executive order, aims to make sure every arm of government has a top exec who is ready to deal with AI. Driving the news: The Office of Management and Budget released guidance to federal agencies on how to implement Biden's AI executive order — and how to hire a chief AI officer (CAIO) is on top of that list. The Executive Office of the President is also required to hire a Chief AI Officer, per the memorandum's definition of federal agencies. The order gave agencies a 60-day window to designate a person for this role and we are now approximately halfway through that window.

https://www.axios.com/2023/11/27/ai-jobs-dc-biden-chief-officer-tech

U.S., U.K., and Global Partners Release Secure AI System Development Guidelines - Hacker News

The U.K. and U.S., along with international partners from 16 other countries, have released new guidelines for the development of secure artificial intelligence (AI) systems. "The approach prioritizes ownership of security outcomes for customers, embraces radical transparency and accountability, and establishes organizational structures where secure design is a top priority," the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said. The goal is to increase cyber security levels of AI and help ensure that the technology is designed, developed, and deployed in a secure manner, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) added.

https://thehackernews.com/2023/11/us-uk-and-global-partners-release.html

Bold Predictions for GPT-5: The Next Leap in AI Evolution - AICavaleiro, Medium.com

As GPT-4 continues to astound us with its capabilities, the AI community is already buzzing with speculation about what GPT-5 might bring. Based on the trajectory of advancements from GPT-3 to GPT-4, here are some bold predictions about the capabilities and functionalities we might see in GPT-5. One of the most anticipated developments in GPT-5 is the creation of internal autonomous agents specialized in specific tasks. This could mean experiencing an AI that seamlessly handles complex projects by delegating tasks to expert AI agents in fields like research, bug testing, and mathematics. Such a system would present as a singular, all-capable AI but operate through a network of specialized sub-agents.·

https://medium.com/@aicavaleiro/bold-predictions-for-gpt-5-the-next-leap-in-ai-evolution-140b539605af

Five Ways Higher Education Can Leverage Generative AI - Renee Laverdiere, et al, Boston Consulting Group

Across all industries, equal measures of excitement and anxiety are accompanying these rapid changes; however, the concern seems particularly acute in higher education. Educators and administrators are being compelled to react quickly to a technology that can reshape research, writing, and individual program areas. And incidents of students using ChatGPT improperly is not making their jobs any easier. GenAI invites colleges and universities to not only adapt, but to leverage the promise of these technologies to unlock greater value in a variety of areas from recruitment marketing and student experience to faculty workload and intellectual property. Based on our research and discussions with clients, and given our broad expertise in education and technology, we have identified five major ways that higher education can leverage GenAI. We offer ideas for how institutions can navigate this journey as well as promising practices from early adopters.

https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/five-ways-education-can-leverage-gen-ai

Generative Artificial Intelligence Committee Report - University of Michigan

We are pleased to share with you the initial report from the U-M Generative Artificial Intelligence Advisory (GAIA) Committee. This group was tasked with assessing the opportunities and challenges posed by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), particularly as it relates to U-M and our ongoing mission. We want to thank every member of the committee who spent countless hours crafting this report. GenAI is shifting paradigms in higher education, business, the arts, and every aspect of our society. This report represents an important first step in U-M serving as a global leader in fostering the responsible, ethical, and equitable use of GenAI in our community and beyond. As you review this document, we ask that you consider the context of how it was created. This is meant to be a catalyst for crystalizing our thinking about how U-M should navigate the shifting landscape of GenAI.

https://genai.umich.edu/committee-report

Work experience, not college, prepared employees for jobs, study finds - Ginger Crist, Higher Ed Dive

Nearly half of workers (46%) don’t think higher education prepared them for their current jobs, according to a survey released Nov. 8 by online learning platform Go1. Sixty-one percent of the 3,000 full-time office workers surveyed in Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. said work experience was the best preparation for their positions, followed by formal on-the-job training and life experience. Half of the respondents said they wish they had known how to handle career progression prior to entering the workforce. Employees also said they wish they had better understood the fundamentals of the role and how to collaborate across departments. Sixty-six percent of those surveyed said learning and development opportunities make or break their decision to take a job or stay at a company, and 73% said their current employer provides L&D options that meet their needs, the survey found.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/experience-prepared-workers-for-jobs/699746/

Sam Altman’s Second Coming Sparks New Fears of the AI Apocalypse - Peter Guest & Morgan Meaker, Wired

As Altman toured the world in 2023, warning the media and governments about the existential dangers of the technology that he himself was building, he portrayed OpenAI’s unusual for-profit-within-a-nonprofit structure as a firebreak against the irresponsible development of powerful AI. Whatever Altman did with Microsoft’s billions, the board could keep him and other company leaders in check. If he started acting dangerously or against the interests of humanity, in the board’s view, the group could eject him. “The board can fire me, I think that’s important,” Altman told Bloomberg in June. “It turns out that they couldn’t fire him, and that was bad,” says Toby Ord, senior research fellow in philosophy at Oxford University, and a prominent voice among people who warn AI could pose an existential risk to humanity.

https://www.wired.com/story/sam-altman-second-coming-sparks-new-fears-ai-apocalypse/

Inflection-2: The Next Step Up - Inflection

"Hey there, great to meet you. I’m Pi, your personal AI. My goal is to be useful, friendly and fun. Ask me for advice, for answers, or let’s talk about whatever’s on your mind."  Our mission at Inflection is to create a personal AI for everyone. Just a few months ago, we announced Inflection-1 — a best-in-class language model that currently powers Pi. Our new model, Inflection-2, is substantially more capable than Inflection-1, demonstrating much improved factual knowledge, better stylistic control, and dramatically improved reasoning. Designed with serving efficiency in mind, Inflection-2 will soon be powering Pi. We thank our partners NVIDIA, Microsoft, and CoreWeave for their collaboration and support in building our AI cluster that made the training of Inflection-1 and Inflection-2 possible.

https://inflection.ai/inflection-2

7 ways to make sure your data is ready for generative AI - Joe McKendrick, ZDNet

 A recent McKinsey report, led by auhtors Joe Caserta and Kayvaun Rowshankish, points out there is unrelenting pressure to "do something with generative AI". The report authors suggest IT and data managers "will need to develop a clear view of the data implications of generative AI." Perhaps most challenging "is generative AI's ability to work with unstructured data, such as chats, videos, and code," according to Caserta and his team. "Data organizations have traditionally had capabilities to work with only structured data, such as data in tables." This shift in data concerns means organizations need to rethink the overall data architecture supporting generative AI initiatives. "While this might sound like old news, the cracks in the system a business could get away with before will become big problems with generative AI. 

https://www.zdnet.com/article/7-ways-to-make-sure-your-data-is-ready-for-generative-ai/

The rise of generative AI: A timeline of triumphs, hiccups and hype - Lindsey Wilkinson, CIO Dive

Ahead of the one year anniversary of ChatGPT’s debut, CIO Dive compiled the key generative AI milestones that stamped the technology into the enterprise lexicon. Analysts and executives characterize generative AI as the biggest technological advancement since the internet, both in interest levels and its ability to disrupt the way work gets done. CIOs went from talking about generative AI once or twice a year to the technology dominating conversations in the boardroom, with C-suite members and at the proverbial watercooler. While there are still some unanswered questions, most technology leaders are entering the early stages of adoption. A lot has changed in a short time, so CIO Dive compiled a timeline to capture generative AI’s key advancements in the last year. This is not a comprehensive list, but rather the highlight — and lowlight — reel for generative AI thus far.

https://www.ciodive.com/news/generative-ai-one-year-chatgpt-openai-timeline/698110/

10 Ways to Make Online Learning More Effective - CIO Look

 Online learning presents a unique set of challenges, but with the right strategies, it can be an incredibly rewarding and effective educational experience. By setting clear objectives, creating a conducive learning environment, practicing disciplined time management, and actively engaging with the course material and resources, you can maximize the benefits of your online education. Remember, the key to success in online learning is a combination of self-motivation, effective planning, and a proactive approach to your studies. Embrace the flexibility and opportunities that online learning offers, and you’ll find yourself not just learning but thriving in this digital educational landscape.

https://ciolook.com/10-ways-to-make-online-learning-more-effective/

The Reach of Online Learning to Ensure Continuing Access to Education - Amy Blumenthal, USC Viterbi

 With many students in the world today living under challenging circumstances, continuing access to educational opportunities can be nearly impossible. Recognizing these unforeseen challenges, USC Viterbi faculty turned to DEN@Viterbi, the Distance Education Network at USC Viterbi, with more than 50 years of experience in hybrid and remote learning, to help students whose education has been suddenly interrupted or curtailed.  As a result, over the last year, free access to USC Viterbi engineering classes and workshops were offered to students, living in two different regions in the world, war-torn Ukraine and Afghanistan, in order to ensure that students in such unique and volatile circumstances had the opportunity to continue their education. 

https://viterbischool.usc.edu/news/2023/11/the-reach-of-online-learning-to-ensure-continuing-access-to-education/

Report: Multiple Aspects of Higher Ed Can Benefit from AI Use - Arrman Kyaw, Diverse Education

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to benefit multiple aspects of higher education, from logistics to the student experience, according to a new playbook from Complete College America and T3 Advisory.  The playbook, “Attainment with AI Making a Real Difference in College Completion with Artificial Intelligence,” describes the ways in which higher ed can take advantage of what AI has to offer amid the surge in AI discussion this year. “AI presents an untapped well of opportunities to transform higher education for the better: augmenting capacity among employees who support students in a time of dwindling resources, improving the student experience through timely information, predicting students that would benefit from additional support, customizing messaging to individual students, enabling highly personalized interventions that build on strengths rather than deficits, mining previously unruly datasets, and more that we have yet even to understand,” the publication wrote. 

https://www.diverseeducation.com/reports-data/article/15658575/report-multiple-aspects-of-higher-ed-can-benefit-from-ai-use

Generative AI: The teacher that can help close the skills gap? - Taryn Plumb, Venture Beat

This is another area that — like so many others — where generative AI offers transformative promise, according to Cypher Learning. The learning management system provider released a study this week exploring leaders’ challenges with upskilling, their exploration of gen AI in building training materials and the promise the technology holds in repairing the schism between the number of workers and available jobs. “Generative AI is already transforming employee training,” CYPHER Learning founder and CEO Graham Glass told VentureBeat. “In 2024, the focus will be on reimagining education with AI at its core.”

https://venturebeat.com/ai/generative-ai-the-teacher-that-can-help-close-the-skills-gap/

4 Unimaginable Ways A.I. Will Change Your Life Within the Next 5 Years, According to Bill Gates - Minda Zetlin, Inc.

Do you use Windows, macOS, or Linux? iOS or Android? Today, these seem like meaningful choices, but five years from none of us will care about any of those because our agents will function as operating systems or platforms, Gates writes. Today, if you want to write an email, you might open Gmail or Outlook. If you want to create a document, you might open Microsoft Word or Google Docs. But five years from now, you won't do any of that, Gates predicts. "You won't have to use different apps for different tasks," he writes. "You'll simply tell your device, in everyday language, what you want to do. And depending on how much information you choose to share with it, the software will be able to respond personally because it will have a rich understanding of your life."

https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/4-unimaginable-ways-ai-will-change-your-life-within-next-5-years-according-to-bill-gates.html

Vision Me This: Continuing Education Circa 2028 - Michael Frasciello, Evolllution

What’s that? You’re curious about the future of Continuing Education? Well, I just happen to have here a crystal ball of destiny. For an inconsequential fee, it will be my delight to conjure a five-year vision of Continuing Education that will not require you to suspend your disbelief longer than it takes to finish a bag of popcorn. Voila! Look closely as the crystal ball replays for us the immediate past. See how from their typically ordinary position within the university, Continuing Education units were left to watch (often with awe and a sprinkle of wonder) how higher education managed, mismanaged and otherwise muddled through so much of the disruption experienced since 2020. But then look here at how, out of necessity, Continuing Education units aggressively leaned into the disruption to capitalize on market conditions and create growth opportunities where other areas of their universities experienced contraction, atrophy or failure. Now the vision shifts forward—yes a five-year view forward—where we can see abundant opportunity and change realized by making only a few modest assumptions. 

https://evolllution.com/revenue-streams/extending_lifelong_learning/vision-me-this-continuing-education-circa-2028-0

How Technology is Transforming Education in the Modern Era - Kyle Curtis, Student Assembly

Technology has revolutionized the traditional model of classroom instruction. Online learning offers students more flexibility and access to various courses and instructors. Blended learning combines traditional face-to-face instructions with online tools. Personalized learning enables teachers to customize their pedagogy to each student’s unique needs and interests. Augmented reality, virtual reality, and gamification are being used to create an engaging and stimulating learning experience.

https://www.studentassembly.org/technology-is-transforming-education-in-modern-era/

‘ChatGPT on steroids’: professors bring AI into the classroom - Valentina Moreno, the Princetonian

Professor Pramod Viswanath, an Electrical and Computer Engineering professor, calls his creation “Blockie.” It's an Artificial Intelligence teaching assistant fed with lectures and notes from his advanced engineering class. While some Princeton professors have banned AI tools, Viswanath's program highlights their pedagogical potentials in the classroom. Princeton’s Office of the Dean of the College and the Office of the Dean of the Graduate School sent a memo to all teaching faculty highlighting the University’s flexibility around AI tools. The memo, titled “AI & ChatGPT Guidance for Teaching,” provided guidance for how to engage with this technology in the classroom and addressed ChatGPT’s notoriety in the media. The memo said each faculty member has free reign regarding the use of ChatGPT,  but they should bear in mind the explicit academic integrity rules and collaboration policies under the University’s Honor Code and Academic Regulations.

https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2023/11/princeton-features-professors-creative-approaches-to-chatgpt-2023

As Bill Gates invests in personal AI, says agents will be a ‘shock wave’ - Sharon Goldman, Venture Beat

In a blog post yesterday about how personal AI agents will completely change how people use computers — just a few days after OpenAI announced its “baby steps” towards agents with its Assistants API — Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said that personal AI agents will be a ‘shock wave’ in the tech industry and society. “In the near future, anyone who’s online will be able to have a personal assistant powered by artificial intelligence that’s far beyond today’s technology,” he wrote. “Agents will be able to help with virtually any activity and any area of life. The ramifications for the software business and for society will be profound.”

https://venturebeat.com/ai/as-bill-gates-invests-in-personal-ai-says-agents-will-be-a-shock-wave/

Canada treats its adjunct professors better than the U.S. does – and it pays off for students - Jon Marcus, Hechinger Report

As an adjunct faculty member at a Canadian university, Jassim has four teaching assistants to help him grade assignments and answer questions. He makes the equivalent of about $7,000 per course, per term. He has a multiyear contract and can typically pick the subjects that he teaches. He has an office, access to professional training and government-provided health insurance. All of these things, he said, help him focus on the reason that he’s there: his students.And few of these benefits, or that kind of pay, are available to his counterparts south of the border, in the United States.

https://hechingerreport.org/canada-treats-its-adjunct-professors-better-than-the-us-does-and-it-pays-off-for-students/

Rise of AI marks new chapter for university librarians - Lauren Coffey, Inside Higher Ed

 A few months after ChatGPT was launched last autumn, faculty and students at Northwestern University had many questions about the building wave of new artificial intelligence tools. So they turned to a familiar source of help: the library. “At the time it was seen as a research and citation problem, so that led them to us,” said Michelle Guittar, head of instruction and curriculum support at Northwestern University Libraries. In response, Ms Guittar, along with librarian Jeanette Moss, created a landing page in April, “Using AI tools in your research”. At the time, the university itself had yet to put together a comprehensive resource page. “It was knowing this was not just one person that was going to ask about this,” Ms Guittar said. Librarians have often stood at the precipice of massive changes in information technology: the dawn of the fax machine, the internet, Wikipedia and now the emergence of generative artificial intelligence, which has been creeping its way into classrooms.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/rise-ai-marks-new-chapter-university-librarians