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

ChatGPT's Knowledge Base Finally Extends Beyond 2021 - Michael Kan, PC Mag

 OpenAI is updating ChatGPT’s knowledge base so that it can finally respond about things that occurred after September 2021.The change is part of a slew of improvements OpenAI is making to its AI program, including the ability for anyone—including people who can’t program—to create custom ChatGPT models. During its first annual developer day, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman introduced GPT-4 Turbo, a new large language model for ChatGPT, which currently runs on GPT-3.5 or GPT-4 models. GPT-4 Turbo is designed to address “many of the things” that developers and users have been asking for, Altman says, including more up-to-date information. "We will try to never let it get that out-of-date again,” according to Altman, who says the GPT-4 Turbo model updates the chatbot’s knowledge base up to April 2023. “And we will continue to improve that over time,” he adds.

https://www.pcmag.com/news/chatgpts-knowledge-base-finally-extends-beyond-2021

White House’s Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence Identifies Education as a Critical Field for AI Use and Oversight - MICHELLE HON DONOVAN, Duane Morris

The executive order identifies education as a critical field where the federal government will take advantage of advances in AI technologies, but also needs to protect consumers and the public from adverse impacts. Job training and education will provide access to students to learn about AI. Resources will be made available to those who experience displacement in the workforce due to AI. The order makes clear that the federal government will continue to enforce existing consumer protections as AI evolves. These include those safeguarding consumers from “fraud, unintended bias, discrimination, infringements on privacy, and other harms from AI.” The executive order also directs the Secretary of Education to develop policies concerning the use and impact of AI in education in consultation with stakeholders.

https://blogs.duanemorris.com/updateeducation/2023/11/06/white-houses-executive-order-identifies-education-as-a-critical-field-for-ai-use-and-oversight/

Adjunct faculty face low pay, minimal administrative support, AFT finds - Laura Spitalniak, Higher Ed Dive

A new American Federation of Teachers survey documents the struggles contingent faculty face, including a lack of healthcare benefits and job security.  More than a quarter of adjunct faculty report annual earnings under $26,500, which is below the federal poverty line for a family of four. That’s according to survey data released October by American Federation of Teachers, a major union which represents 300,000 higher education workers. Many contingent faculty also lack access to employer benefits and have little, if any, job security, the survey found. For most, employment is only guaranteed for a term or semester at a time, the survey found. Among respondents who had been terminated for nonperformance reasons, almost 41% received less than a week’s notice.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/adjunct-faculty-face-low-pay-minimal-support-aft-finds/698945/

Maximizing Return on Education with Micropathways for Workforce Development - Joseph Thiel & Lisa Larson, Evolllution

The importance of a robust college-to-career pipeline strategy has become increasingly evident in higher education. By forging partnerships and designing pathways, higher ed institutions can help learners get on a good career path for themselves and their families. In this interview, Joe Thiel and Lisa Larson discuss the career pipeline strategy higher ed needs, common challenges they face and what it takes to get intuitional buy-in.

https://evolllution.com/maximizing-return-on-education-with-micropathways-for-workforce-development

Trump Free College Plan Taps ‘Restless Discontent’ Over Higher Ed - Katherine Knott, Inside Higher Ed

The plan to create a national online college is a political nonstarter, experts say, but it capitalizes on concerns about price and politics in higher education. Trump, in rolling out his plan last week for what he is calling the American Academy, said he’s seeking “a revolution in higher education.” Experts, however, aren’t so sure that the plan will move forward at all if Trump is elected. But the vision for a national college funded with taxes on wealthy private universities reflects the growing bipartisan frustrations with American higher education, particularly about the cost, experts said.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/student-aid-policy/2023/11/06/trump-hits-colleges-wokeness-pitches-free-online

Will ChatGPT change our definitions of cheating? - Tom Muir, Times Higher Education

One is that we might need to write modules in which we tell students that they can use ChatGPT to their hearts’ content – it will not be classed as misconduct, but they need to document what they are doing. Such an approach would allow us to get an understanding of what students are doing and how they are incorporating LLMs into their own work habits. We could then start refining our definitions of misconduct in the light of what we find out. Our starting points, in other words, should be understanding how students might benefit from using LLMs at different points in their degrees. From there, we might consider what uses are legitimate and what might be “too much”.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/will-chatgpt-change-our-definitions-cheating

For marketers, generative AI changed everything in 2023 - Sharon Goldman, Venture Beat

Generative AI is completely transforming the business of marketing, say a variety of experts VentureBeat spoke to over the past few weeks, including executives, vendors, agencies and consultants.  Marketing, with its goal of identifying and communicating with customers — through data analysis and content creation — has long been cited as one of the most obvious candidates for disruption by generative AI tools. Hundreds of generative AI marketing applications and platforms have gotten attention in the wake of ChatGPT’s release in November 2022 (even if they were released earlier), including Jasper, Writer, Copy.ai and Notion for copywriting; and DALL-E 3, Midjourney, Runway Gen-2,  Synthesia, Canva and Adobe Firefly for images, video and design. 

https://venturebeat.com/ai/for-marketers-generative-ai-changed-everything-in-2023/

Ask the Professor: Is ChatGPT an issue or a tool? - Maya Dampier, University of Nevada Reno

There is a large spectrum on which students and professors fall on whether or not AI has a place in higher educatio. At the University of Nevada Reno, Kathy Hanselman and Angie Chase are part of a team that has created micro-learning events for faculty breaking down different questions and topics in 12 minutes. Hanselman and Chase are Instructional Designers with the Office of Digital Learning and have conducted these events called “Teach in 12” since the spring semester of 2023. This semester they have focused on technology in teaching, specifically with AI, to try and tackle some of the difficult issues surrounding its use by students.“I don’t think we should be afraid of AI,” Hanselman said. “I think all of us, students and faculty, should be doing our best to understand how best to work with it and realize that we do have a place in guiding AI. I think it’s important to use it responsibly and for us faculty members to teach our students how to do that.”

https://www.unr.edu/nevada-today/news/2023/atp-ai-in-higher-education

FACT SHEET: President Biden Issues Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence - WhiteHouse

The Executive Order establishes new standards for AI safety and security, protects Americans’ privacy, advances equity and civil rights, stands up for consumers and workers, promotes innovation and competition, advances American leadership around the world, and more. As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s comprehensive strategy for responsible innovation, the Executive Order builds on previous actions the President has taken, including work that led to voluntary commitments from 15 leading companies to drive safe, secure, and trustworthy development of AI.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/30/fact-sheet-president-biden-issues-executive-order-on-safe-secure-and-trustworthy-artificial-intelligence/

Women academics quit due to workplace climate: Study - Nathan M Greenfield, University World News

Women professors are more likely to leave the profession because of the ‘chilly climate’ of their departments than are their male colleagues, says a new study of American professors active between 2011 and 2020. The odds of these women feeling ‘pushed from their jobs’ is 44% higher than it is for their male colleagues, while the odds of these women feeling pulled towards a better position is 39% lower than for men professors, says the study, conducted by Katie Spoon, computer science professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and eight co-authors.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20231026141118285

Enhancing Online Student Learning with Academic Library Services - Faye L. Lesht, Faculty Focus

I begin with a caveat. I am not an academic librarian. In fact, I have never worked in a library. However, as a former instructor of online courses, I have seen first-hand the power of introducing a librarian to a group of online students and how such exposure can lead to curiosity on a topic and deepen student learning. I have also heard online students praise library services as the most valuable support service they experienced during their programs. Furthermore, I watched while an institution changed the role of library services specialist from a one-person position with its own office including “stacks” of books and materials that could be sent to off-campus sites where instruction was held, to a role integrated within several information specialists throughout the campus’ libraries due to the growth of online programs and the ubiquitous nature of online learning.  

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/effective-teaching-strategies/enhancing-online-student-learning-with-academic-library-services/

Using AI to help more college students graduate - Dean Dara N. Byrne, Google Public Policy

When I started as Undergraduate Dean of John Jay College, our senior graduation rate was 54%. I knew we could do better for our students. To address this problem, we partnered with DataKind, a nonprofit that works to tackle the world’s toughest challenges using data science. For two years, we collaborated on a predictive Artificial Intelligence (AI) model to identify students most at risk of dropping out. We looked at indicators including years of enrollment, grades, and number of hours passed to create a risk score for every student, while controlling for bias. Students identified as high risk of dropping out received extra, proactive support from advisors such as one-on-one coaching. Hundreds of students benefited from this program, which ultimately drove the College’s senior graduation rate up to 86%.

https://publicpolicy.google/article/ai-helping-college-students-graduate/

Advancing Student Learning at CMU Through Generative AI - Michael Henninger, Carnegie Mellon University

Carnegie Mellon University’s Eberly Center for Teaching Excellence and Educational Innovation is launching a Generative Artificial Intelligence Teaching as Research (GAITAR) Initiative, which will include several new efforts to bring generative AI to classrooms across CMU. The Center launched a series of GAITAR Institutes to promote instructor-led innovations and educational research designs across diverse contexts. Additionally, the Eberly Center is now seeking applicants for its GAITAR Fellowship 2023. New to the Eberly Center’s portfolio of offerings, the GAITAR Fellowship provides $5,000 for a CMU instructor to design and implement a teaching innovation using a generative AI tool in a spring, summer or fall 2024 CMU course. They must then measure the impacts of the innovation on student learning and disseminate their findings at CMU and beyond. The deadline for applications is Nov. 1. 

https://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2023/october/advancing-student-learning-at-cmu-through-generative-ai

U.S. Bans Most Withholding of Transcripts - Katherine Knott, Inside Higher Ed

A federal policy change could give thousands of students access to transcripts and academic credits their colleges have withheld because they owed the institutions money. The new rule, part of a broad package of regulations the U.S. Education Department unveiled Tuesday, could amount to a national ban on the practice of transcript withholding, experts say. Institutions sometimes withhold transcripts to force a student to pay a balance on their account. Without their transcripts, students often can’t continue their education elsewhere without starting over, and they cannot apply for certain jobs. The practice has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, with dozens of states enacting their own bans.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/student-aid-policy/2023/10/25/new-us-rules-ban-transcript-holds-bolster-oversight

Frontier risk and preparedness - OpenAI

 We believe that frontier AI models, which will exceed the capabilities currently present in the most advanced existing models, have the potential to benefit all of humanity. But they also pose increasingly severe risks. Managing the catastrophic risks from frontier AI will require answering questions like:

How dangerous are frontier AI systems when put to misuse, both now and in the future? 

How can we build a robust framework for monitoring, evaluation, prediction, and protection against the dangerous capabilities of frontier AI systems?

If our frontier AI model weights were stolen, how might malicious actors choose to leverage them?

We need to ensure we have the understanding and infrastructure needed for the safety of highly capable AI systems.

https://openai.com/blog/frontier-risk-and-preparedness

8 Generative AI Lessons From The Classroom - Beata M. Jones, Forbes

The marriage between Generative AI and academia is more of a dynamic dance than a set path—where both teachers and students are perpetually learning new steps. Consider the lessons we've gathered as new dance moves, each one improving our educational ballet.Offering courses that effectively prepare students today for collaborative work with generative AI in the future is a challenge that few instructors have mastered well. Several key lessons have emerged from the Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University classrooms, where I teach, that might be helpful to effectively harness the generative AI tools in other educational contexts.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/beatajones/2023/10/26/8-generative-ai-lessons-from-the-classroom/

Ghost in the Machine: OpenAI CEO Sees ChatGPT on Track From AI to AGI - Jose Antonio Lanz, Decrypt

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman delved into the transformative potential of AI, hinting at a future where data takes a backseat to reasoning. Sam Altman, the visionary CEO of OpenAI, shared his take on the trajectory of artificial intelligence, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "The future might see AI models requiring less training data, focusing more on their reasoning capabilities," Altman said. This statement doesn't just suggest a technical shift, but presages a new era where AI's thought processes could mirror human logic and intuition. An AI able to reach such capabilities—the adaptability and common sense of a person—is broadly known as Artificial General Intelligence. Sam Altman defines it as “a system that can generalize across many domains that would be equivalent to human work.”

https://decrypt.co/202877/openai-ai-agi-sam-altman-wall-street-journal