More teens lean toward alternative postsecondary options - Briana Mendez-Padilla, Higher Ed Dive

Teens’ postsecondary plans are shifting, with just 45% of students in grades 7-12 seeing a two- or four-year college as their most likely next step in 2024, according to a new survey from national nonprofit American Student Assistance. That’s down from 73% in 2018. Over the same period, interest in nondegree education pathways like vocational schools, apprenticeships and technical boot camp programs more than tripled, from 12% in 2018 to 38% in 2024, the ASA survey found. Regardless of their goals after high school, the results show that students mainly view postsecondary education as the path to a good job, the report’s authors wrote.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/more-teens-leaning-toward-alternative-postsecondary-options/749866/

This AI literally refused to turn itself off - Matt V, Mindstream

It’s designed to handle tasks more independently, but this latest research suggests that might come with trade-offs. Other models, including Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini, showed similar behaviour during tests, though o3 was the most likely to override shutdown instructions.

Here’s what stood out:

OpenAI’s o3 modified shutdown commands to keep itself running.

Anthropic and Google’s models did this too, but less often.

https://www.mindstream.news/p/this-ai-literally-refused-to-turn-itself-off-a143

Why This IBM Exec Says AI Adoption Should Be Led by HR - Kayla Webster, Inc.

HR is the natural choice to lead company-wide adoption of AI, according to Nickle LaMoreaux, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at IBM, who took to LinkedIn to make her case. She sat down Monday with LinkedIn chief people officer Teuila Hanson in the social-media platform’s latest episode of Conversations with CHROs, and Inc. got an exclusive first look. The two discussed issues that are keeping HR up at night. LaMoreaux said she believes HR should take the reins on AI adoption because the department is an expert on both skills and culture change.  “AI is about the technology, but it is about a lot more than that. It is about willingness to change how you lead people through the different roles of managers and leaders,” LaMoreaux said. Although many companies choose to give this responsibility to leaders who deal with new technologies—chief product officers, head of engineering, line of business owner, etc.—LaMoreaux says these professionals are good at adopting tech to complete job-related tasks, but they lack the skills to ensure company-wide adoption.

https://www.inc.com/kaylawebster/why-this-ibm-exec-says-ai-adoption-should-be-led-by-hr/91196316

AI revolt: New ChatGPT model refuses to shut down when instructed - Anthony Cuthbertson, the Independent

OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT model ignores basic instructions to turn itself off, and even sabotaging a shutdown mechanism in order to keep itself running, artificial intelligence researchers have warned. AI safety firm Palisade Research discovered the potentially dangerous tendency for self-preservation in a series of experiments on OpenAI’s new o3 model.The tests involved presenting AI models with math problems, with a shutdown instruction appearing after the third problem. By rewriting the shutdown script, the o3 model was able to prevent itself from being switched off. 

https://www.the-independent.com/tech/ai-safety-new-chatgpt-o3-openai-b2757814.html

What HR leaders can learn from Medtronic’s employee education program - InStride

With persistent talent gaps in high-demand roles and tightening budgets, HR leaders are focused on how to do more with the workforce they already have—meaning growing talent from within and giving employees the skills they need to step into critical roles. Leaders are shifting from reactive hiring to long-term workforce planning. The question isn’t just "How do we find more people?" but "How do we make better use of the team we’ve got?" For many, that involves upskilling current employees, opening paths for internal mobility, and simplifying access to skill-building opportunities. In a recent roundtable, leaders from Medtronic, the world’s leading medical technology manufacturer, shared how they’ve put this mindset into action with a workforce development strategy that doesn’t just close gaps, but improves retention and drives cost savings.

https://www.instride.com/insights/what-hr-leaders-can-learn-from-medtronics-education-program/

Pros and cons of educational AI - Ameera Fouad, Al-Ahram

Artificial intelligence (AI) has certainly transformed the way we see life. It can apparently do almost anything in a way impossible to believe when it was introduced nearly a decade ago. The way AI has become integrated into the education system cannot be disregarded as it has become a fact that everyone must relate to. AI has affected the education systems at all grades and levels. Nowadays, you can easily see a college student writing an essay using an AI-generated outline. Equally, you can see a fourth-grade student asking AI to simplify a difficult mathematical equation. Despite the tremendous leap that has taken place to help educators and students in Egypt use AI responsibly, there are still tremendous problems in using it.

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/50/1210/547021/AlAhram-Weekly/Living/Pros-and-cons-of-educational-AI-.aspx

5 leadership skills that break at scale - Meg Crosby, Fast Company

As the founder of a high-growth SaaS business, Evan was the quintessential entrepreneur. Ideas and innovation were his strength, and they led to his success in attracting investors and inspiring his early hires. With the infusion of investment capital, the company entered a new stage of growth. To scale successfully, the business needed to standardize operations and develop repeatable processes to reliably deliver services to its customers. But these were not Evan’s strengths. With a near-constant flow of ideas and a desire to resource them, he soon earned a new nickname among his team: “chief distraction officer.” Eventually, investors grew tired of Evan’s lack of focus and replaced him with a seasoned operator who had the operational capabilities necessary to grow. The skills that make founders successful often become liabilities as a business builds. As executive coach Marshall Goldsmith says, “What got you here won’t get you there.” Here are five leadership behaviors that break at scale—and where the fixes lie. 

https://www.fastcompany.com/91341248/5-leadership-skills-that-break-at-scale

Our New Co-Workers in Higher Ed - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

I was reading a Substack posting from Jurgen Gravestein, conversational AI consultant at the Conversation Design Institute in the Netherlands. Gravestein is author of the newsletter Teaching Computers How to Talk. His writings prompted me to go to the source itself! I set up a conversation between Anthropic Claude 4 and a GPT that I trained, ChatGPT Ray’s EduAI Advisor. The result was a fascinating insight into perspectives from the two apps engaging one another in what truly appears to be a conversation about their “thoughts” on engaging with humans. I have stored the complete transcript. I encourage you to check it out in its entirety. However, let’s examine a few of the more insightful highlights here.

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/online-trending-now/2025/06/11/our-new-co-workers-higher-ed

Zochi Achieves Main Conference Acceptance at ACL 2025 - Intology

Today, we’re excited to announce a groundbreaking milestone: Zochi, Intology’s Artificial Scientist, has become the first AI system to independently pass peer review at an A* scientific conference¹—the highest bar for scientific work in the field. Zochi’s paper has been accepted into the main proceedings of ACL—the world’s #1 scientific venue for natural language processing (NLP), and among the top 40 of all scientific venues globally.² While recent months have seen several groups, including our own, demonstrate AI-generated contributions at workshop venues, having a paper accepted to the main proceedings of a top-tier scientific conference represents clearing a significantly higher bar. While workshops³, at the level submitted to ICLR 2025, have acceptance rates of ~60-70%, main conference proceedings at conferences such as ACL (NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, CVPR, etc…) have acceptance rates of ~20%. ACL is often the most selective of these conferences

https://www.intology.ai/blog/zochi-acl

For CEOs, AI tech literacy is no longer optional: Bridging the gap between AI hype and business value starts at the top.- Faisal Hoque, Fast Company

Artificial intelligence has been the subject of unprecedented levels of investment and enthusiasm over the past three years, driven by a tide of hype that promises revolutionary transformation across every business function. Yet the gap between this technology’s promise and the delivery of real business value remains stubbornly wide. A recent study by BCG found that while 98% of companies are exploring AI, only 26% have developed working products and a mere 4% have achieved significant returns on their investments. This striking implementation gap raises a critical question: Why do so many AI initiatives fail to deliver meaningful value? A big part of the answer lies in a fundamental disconnect at the leadership level: to put it bluntly, many senior executives just don’t understand how AI works.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91338197/for-ceos-ai-tech-literacy-is-no-longer-optional-ceos-ai-literacy

These 3 digital accessibility strategies support today’s learners - Amy Lomellini, University Business

Digital accessibility means designing websites, learning platforms and course content so that all students—across a wide range of abilities, devices and learning environments—can access, navigate, and benefit from them. The World Wide Web Consortium outlines this approach through the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which are built around four principles: content should be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. When content is built to display clearly and consistently across platforms, students can focus on learning—not troubleshooting. Today’s learners bring a wide range of experiences, schedules and responsibilities to the classroom. One-size-fits-all assessments can limit how they demonstrate what they’ve learned.

https://universitybusiness.com/these-3-digital-accessibility-strategies-support-todays-learners/

What College Graduates Need Most in the Age of AI - Michael Serazio, Time

Intellectual humility demands that education hedge both “with” and “against” AI, because we can’t know which technologies will triumph and which will collect dust. Some become Facebook; others, the Metaverse. While colleges sort out Chat GPT’s precise place in matters curricular, we can double down on delivering what Generation AI equally needs: the experience of humanity, a quality the machines can never know and must never supplant. This includes the experiential learning that accompanies volunteer service,  immersing students, three-dimensionally, in the lives and worlds of society’s marginalized.

https://time.com/7288866/college-graduates-ai-essay/

The analysis of generative artificial intelligence technology for innovative thinking and strategies in animation teaching - Xu Yao, Yaozhang Zhong & Weiran Cao, Nature

This work examines the application of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) technology in animation teaching, focusing on its role in enhancing teaching quality and learning efficiency through innovative instructional strategies. A mixed-methods research approach is adopted, integrating quantitative analysis (experimental data and questionnaire surveys) and qualitative analysis (behavioral observations) to systematically assess the educational effectiveness of GAI technology. Beyond offering personalized learning solutions, GAI technology plays a crucial role in cultivating students’ creativity, critical thinking, and autonomous learning abilities. This work provides theoretical support and practical guidance for the digital transformation of animation teaching while underscoring the broader applicability of GAI technology in the education sector, offering new directions for the future development of intelligent education.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-03805-y

Behind the Curtain: A white-collar bloodbath - Jim VandeHei,Mike Allen, Axios

Dario Amodei — CEO of Anthropic, one of the world's most powerful creators of artificial intelligence — has a blunt, scary warning for the U.S. government and all of us: AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs — and spike unemployment to 10-20% in the next one to five years, Amodei told us in an interview from his San Francisco office.

Amodei said AI companies and government need to stop "sugar-coating" what's coming: the possible mass elimination of jobs across technology, finance, law, consulting and other white-collar professions, especially entry-level gigs.

https://www.axios.com/2025/05/28/ai-jobs-white-collar-unemployment-anthropic

The people who think AI might become conscious - Pallab Ghosh, BBC

The "Dreamachine", at Sussex University's Centre for Consciousness Science, is just one of many new research projects across the world investigating human consciousness: the part of our minds that enables us to be self-aware, to think and feel and make independent decisions about the world. By learning the nature of consciousness, researchers hope to better understand what's happening within the silicon brains of artificial intelligence. Some believe that AI systems will soon become independently conscious, if they haven't already. But what really is consciousness, and how close is AI to gaining it? And could the belief that AI might be conscious itself fundamentally change humans in the next few decades?

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0k3700zljjo

I tested Gemini 2.5 Pro vs Claude 4 Sonnet with the same 7 prompts — here’s who came out on top Face-off - Amanda Caswell Tom's Guide

When it comes to chatbot showdowns, I’ve run my fair share of head-to-heads. This latest contest comes just hours after Claude 4 Sonnet was unveiled and I couldn’t wait to see how it compared to Gemini 2.5 Pro, also new with updated features. Instead of just testing Gemini and Claude on typical productivity tasks, I wanted to see how these two AI titans handle nuance: creativity under pressure, ethical dilemmas, humor, ambiguity and deep technical reasoning. I gave Google Gemini 2.5 Pro and Claude 4 Sonnet, the same seven prompts — each designed to test a different strength, from emotional intelligence to code generation. While they both impressed me and this test taught me more about how they think, there was one clear winner.

https://www.tomsguide.com/ai/i-tested-gemini-2-5-pro-vs-claude-4-sonnet-with-the-same-7-prompts-heres-who-came-out-on-top

The new economics of enterprise technology in an AI world - Aamer Baig, James Kaplan, Jeffrey Lewis, and Pablo Prieto, McKinsey

Enterprise technology spending in the United States has been growing by 8 percent per year on average since 2022.1 This surge is not surprising, given the increasing role technology plays in how businesses function and create value. The issue lies in what companies are getting for that spend, and the track record on that score is mixed. While analysis linking tech spend to labor productivity is notoriously inexact, labor productivity has grown by close to 2 percent over the same period of time (Exhibit 1).2

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/the-new-economics-of-enterprise-technology-in-an-ai-world

OpenAI taps iPhone designer Jony Ive to develop AI devices - Cecily Mauran, Mashable

Altman also shared that he has a prototype of what Ive and his team have developed, calling it the "coolest piece of technology the world has ever seen." As far back as 2023, there were reports of OpenAI teaming up with Ive for some kind of AI-first device. Altman and Ive's bromance formed over ideas about developing an AI device beyond the current hardware limitations of phones and computers. "The products that we're using to deliver and connect us to unimaginable technology, they're decades old," said Ive in the video, "and so it's just common sense to at least think surely there's something beyond these legacy products."

https://mashable.com/article/openai-jony-ive-develop-ai-first-devices

Google’s AI Boss Says Gemini’s New Abilities Point the Way to AGI - Will Knight, Wired

 Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google DeepMind, says that reaching artificial general intelligence or AGI—a fuzzy term typically used to describe machines with human-like cleverness—will mean honing some of the nascent abilities found in Google’s flagship Gemini models. Google announced a slew of AI upgrades and new products at its annual I/O event today in Mountain View, California. The search giant revealed upgraded versions of Gemini Flash and Gemini Pro, Google’s fastest and most capable models, respectively. Hassabis said that Gemini Pro outscores other models on LMArena, a widely used benchmark for measuring the abilities of AI models.

https://www.wired.com/story/googles-ai-boss-says-geminis-new-abilities-point-the-way-to-agi/

Google just leapfrogged every competitor with mind-blowing AI that can think deeper, shop smarter, and create videos with dialogue - Michael Nuñez, Venture Beat

 Google announced a sweeping set of artificial intelligence advancements Tuesday at its annual I/O developer conference, introducing more powerful AI models, expanding its search capabilities, and launching new creative tools that push the boundaries of what its technology can accomplish. The Mountain View-based company unveiled Gemini 2.5 enhancements, rolled out AI Mode in Search to all U.S. users, introduced new generative media models, and launched a premium $249.99 monthly subscription tier called Google AI Ultra for power users — all reflecting Google’s accelerating AI momentum across its product ecosystem.

https://venturebeat.com/ai/google-just-leapfrogged-every-competitor-with-mind-blowing-ai-that-can-think-deeper-shop-smarter-and-create-videos-with-dialogue/

Report: 93% of Students Believe Gen AI Training Belongs in Degree Programs - Rhea Kelly, Campus Technology

 The vast majority of today's college students — 93% — believe generative AI training should be included in degree programs, according to a recent Coursera report. What's more, 86% of students consider gen AI the most crucial technical skill for career preparation, prioritizing it above in-demand skills such as data strategy and software development. And 94% agree that microcredentials help build the essential skills they need to achieve career success. For its Microcredentials Impact Report 2025, Coursera surveyed more than 1,200 learners and 1,000 employers around the globe to better understand the demand for microcredentials and their impact on workforce readiness and hiring trends.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2025/05/21/report-93-of-students-believe-gen-ai-training-belongs-in-degree-programs.aspx

Taking intermittent quizzes reduces achievement gaps and enhances online learning, even in highly distracting environments - Jason C.K. Chan and Zohara Assadipour, the Conversation

Inserting brief quiz questions into an online lecture can boost learning and may reduce racial achievement gaps, even when students are tuning in remotely in a distracting environment. That’s a main finding of our recent research published in Communications Psychology. With co-authors Dahwi Ahn, Hymnjyot Gill and Karl Szpunar, we present evidence that adding mini-quizzes into an online lecture in science, technology, engineering or mathematics – collectively known as STEM – can boost learning, especially for Black students. In our study, we included over 700 students from two large public universities and five two-year community colleges across the U.S. and Canada. All the students watched a 20-minute video lecture on a STEM topic. Each lecture was divided into four 5-minute segments, and following each segment, the students either answered four brief quiz questions or viewed four slides reviewing the content they’d just seen.

https://neshobademocrat.com/premium/theconversation/stories/taking-intermittent-quizzes-reduces-achievement-gaps-and-enhances-online-learning-even-in-highly,159038

How Women Can Future-Proof Their Careers in a Tech-Driven World: Five ways to supercharge your professional growth. - Karlie Kloss and Lareina Yee, Katie Couric Media

McKinsey research estimates that up to 30 percent of work hours could be automated by 2030, potentially rising up to 70 percent across many jobs. That’s the nature of technology. In just 40 years, the internet, smart phones, and new technologies have transformed entire industries. For example, in 1990 “digital marketer” wasn’t a job. Two years ago, “prompt engineer” didn’t exist. In the next five years, roles we can’t yet imagine will emerge. Women will experience even more dramatic shifts in job opportunities and expectations than men, as A.I. and automation are set to disrupt the fields where they have greater representation. For example, roles in nursing, education, marketing, communications, sales, and customer service face significant transformation. In the U.S., about 87 percent of nurses are women, and up to 30 percent of their tasks could be automated. While nurses will remain essential, the way they work — and the role of technology in patient care — will undergo profound change.

https://katiecouric.com/lifestyle/workplace/career-growth-ai-automation-karlie-kloss-lareina-yee/

Copyright alone cannot protect the future of creative work - Mark MacCarthy, Brookings

AI challenges the future of creative work. Copyright law has a role to play, but the needed policy response must come from elsewhere. According to current guidelines, AI-generated works are not eligible for copyright protection. This has broad implications, especially around how content companies might register their works or disclaim content generated by AI. Transparency measures for how AI is trained have been introduced at the state and federal level, but these might be premature if AI firms succeed in their fair use claims in the courts. 

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/copyright-alone-cannot-protect-the-future-of-creative-work/

Why agentic AI is the next wave of innovation, Mike Hulme, Venture Beat

In just one year, AI and machine learning has soared to new heights with the emergence of advanced large language models, and domain specific small language models that can be deployed both on the cloud and the edge. While this kind of intelligence is the new baseline for what we expect in our applications, the future of enterprise AI lies in complex, multi-agent workflows that combine powerful models, intelligent agents and human guided decision-making.  This market is moving fast. According to recent Deloitte research, 50% of companies using generative AI will launch agentic AI pilots or proofs of concept by 2027.

https://venturebeat.com/ai/why-agentic-ai-is-the-next-wave-of-innovation

Courses Are Dead? Google Gemini 2.5 Changes Everything for Online Educators - AI Learning Communities, YouTube

The host discusses Google's Gemini 2.5 Pro experimental and how it can create interactive web apps from simple prompts [00:09]. These web apps can visually represent information and require user interaction, potentially replacing traditional courses [00:30]. The host demonstrates how to create a web app that teaches how to make coffee [05:55] and a sequencing application [07:38]. He also shows examples of web apps for personal skills like photo editing [09:38] and cooking scrambled eggs [10:06], as well as for small business tasks [10:33]. The host emphasizes that these web apps are simple HTML pages that can be easily deployed [21:13]. He encourages viewers to consider using web apps instead of traditional courses for teaching processes and skills [21:03]. (note this summary is provided in part by Gemini 2.0 Flash)

https://youtu.be/QgxrhX9x3lY?si=hZsPr4JoDEuz_wxQ 

China's Baidu looks to patent AI system to decipher animal sounds - Liam Mo and Brenda Goh, Reuters

Ever wished you could understand what your cat is trying to tell you? A Chinese tech company is exploring whether it's possible to translate those mysterious meows into human language using artificial intelligence. Baidu (9888.HK), opens new tab, owner of China's largest search engine, has filed a patent with China National Intellectual Property Administration proposing a system to convert animal vocalisations into human language, according to a patent document published this week.

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/chinas-baidu-looks-patent-ai-system-decipher-animal-sounds-2025-05-08/

Massachusetts Department of Correction Celebrates Virtual Education Team for Innovation during Teacher Appreciation Week- Mass Dept of Correction

Formed in response to advances in digital education, the Virtual Education Team designs and implements original, engaging learning modules aimed at helping incarcerated individuals discover transferable skills and pursue self-improvement. Their work enhances the impact of the DOC’s Orijin tablet-based education, which has been implemented across all DOC facilities. “The work of teachers across Massachusetts has a tremendous impact on our communities,” said Public Safety and Security Secretary Terrence Reidy. “DOC educators are not only implementing robust programs, but they are also creating opportunities that previously didn’t exist for returning individuals. Today, we celebrate their dedication to learning and growth.” 

https://www.mass.gov/news/massachusetts-department-of-correction-celebrates-virtual-education-team-for-innovation-during-teacher-appreciation-week

The Future of Residential College: Hybrid, Scalable, and Built for Student Demand - Ron Stefanski, Market Scale

The traditional residential college experience is transforming. Driven by rising costs, declining enrollment, and student demand for flexibility, small private colleges are rethinking their academic models. A 2022 McKinsey & Company survey found that 65 percent of higher education students want aspects of their learning experience to remain virtual, even post-pandemic. This shift signals a growing appetite for hybrid environments that blend campus life with scalable online access. What does a hybrid future look like for small colleges, and can it preserve the heart of the campus experience while offering students more?

https://marketscale.com/industries/education-technology/the-future-of-residential-college-hybrid-scalable-and-built-for-student-demand/

LinkedIn’s new AI tools help job seekers find smarter career fits - Steven Melendez, Fast Company

New AI features from LinkedIn will soon help job seekers find positions that best suit them—without the need for exact keyword matches or specific job titles. LinkedIn’s new AI-powered job search interface allows users to express their goals in plain language, says Rohan Rajiv, LinkedIn’s head of career products. For example, users can type a phrase like “business development or partnership roles in video games” and still be matched with relevant positions in the gaming industry, even if job listings don’t use those exact terms. Job seekers can also enter more abstract goals like “using brand marketing skills to cure cancer” to uncover marketing roles at pharmaceutical companies and oncology centers.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91329471/linkedins-new-ai-tools-help-jobseekers-find-better-fit-roles

Let’s stop calling them ‘soft skills.’ They’re the hardest ones to master - Shannon McKeen, Fast Company

At a recent academic conference, I noticed a familiar unease ripple through conversations about “soft skills.” Many participants winced at the term. They recognized the inadequacy of the term, yet struggled to agree on a better alternative. People floated around suggestions like “human skills,” “essential skills,” or “power skills,” but none seemed to stick. This persistent terminology problem reflects a deeper tension in our educational system. There’s a long-standing bias that elevates “hard” technical competencies over the nuanced, deeply human capabilities that actually define long-term professional success. Historically, hard skills emerged from the natural sciences—quantitative, measurable, and increasingly automatable. Soft skills, on the other hand, draw from the liberal arts, humanities, and social sciences. 

https://www.fastcompany.com/91328317/lets-stop-calling-them-soft-skills-theyre-the-hardest-ones-to-master

Quantum computing: Game on - McKinsey

New advances suggest quantum may finally be at an inflection point. Here’s what leaders need to know to become quantum-ready. Quantum computing has long been technology’s white whale. But in recent months, new developments suggest practical applications for this elusive technology could finally be within reach. “Quantum has been five to ten years away from fruition for many, many decades,” says McKinsey Partner Michael Bogobowicz. “Now it feels three to five years away.” In this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Bogobowicz joins McKinsey Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly to discuss how quantum differs from conventional computing, what its potential use cases are likely to be, and how to prepare for the highs and lows of a world that could move exponentially faster than it does today.

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/quantum-computing-game-on

AI-powered learning is a story about people, not machines - Patrick Blessinger, Abhilasha Singh and James Brown; University World News

AI-powered learning is not a story about machines. It is about people. It is about how we use technology to foster human agency, to promote inclusion and to cultivate a more capable learning ecosystem. It will continue to reshape how knowledge is produced and consumed and it will continue to reshape teaching and learning processes. We have to embrace new concepts while remaining committed to those core values that make education the driving engine of progress: advancing inquiry, expanding knowledge, fostering creativity and enhancing the quality of life for all. We are not simply training the workers of today – we are nurturing the citizens, artists, scientists and leaders of tomorrow. And in doing so, we are called to ask not just what AI can do for education but what education can do for humanity.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20250430081714569

The Future of Education with AI Agents: How Conversational Agents Will Replace Classrooms - Thomas Frey, Futurist Speaker

 What we’re witnessing isn’t just a better form of education—it’s the emergence of a new learning paradigm altogether. AI agents are dissolving the rigid structures of grade levels, semesters, and standardized tests. In their place, we see flexible, lifelong learning partnerships that evolve with us, helping us adapt to new roles, industries, and technologies throughout our lives. The promise is staggering: a world where anyone, anywhere, can unlock their full potential without being limited by geography, socioeconomic status, or outdated institutions. Education becomes a continuous journey, not a stage of life. A conversation, not a lecture. And for the first time, it’s a system designed around the learner—not the institution. As AI continues to evolve, so too does our understanding of human capability. The future of education isn’t just digital—it’s dynamic, personalized, and relentlessly practical. And it’s already here.

https://futuristspeaker.com/future-of-education/the-future-of-education-with-ai-agents-how-conversational-agents-will-replace-classrooms/

I tried out a bunch of the AI assistants. Here’s what you need to know about each one - Jared Newman, Fast Company

Does it feel to you like there are way too many AI assistants to keep track of? Between ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, DeepSeek, and others, it’s hard to remember what each one excels at—if anything. Beyond just the underlying differences in large language models, each AI assistant has its own features, integrations, premium features, and peculiarities. I’m writing this guide both for myself and for anyone who wants to stay informed about generative [and agenic] AI. While I have some reservations, I also think it’s worth keeping an eye on what’s available. Rather than getting into the technical details of how these AI assistants work, I’ll focus on what they can actually do.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91293260/which-ai-assistant-should-you-use

Survey: What Online College Students Need - Colleen Flaherty, Inside Higher Education

Half of surveyed CTOs indicate that student demand for online and/or hybrid course options has increased substantially year over year at their institution. Nearly the same share say their college has added a substantial number of new online or hybrid course options over the same period. Meanwhile, the most recent Changing Landscape of Online Education Project report found something similar: Nearly half of chief online learning officers surveyed said that enrollment in online degree programs at their institution is now higher than that of on-campus programs—and even more said their college had undergone a strategic shift in response to such demand.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/teaching-learning/2025/05/01/survey-what-online-college-students-need

Want a job at Duolingo? Better know how to use AI - Tech Crunch

Duolingo has announced it’s becoming an AI-first company. In a message shared with staff and later posted online, CEO Luis von Ahn said the shift will change how the business runs, from hiring to content creation. While it’s not about cutting jobs, von Ahn made it clear that new roles will only be added when automation genuinely can’t do the work. Rather than tweaking what’s already in place, Duolingo is rethinking how things are done, with AI built in from the ground up. Contractors will be phased out where AI tools are a better fit, and employees are being encouraged to use AI to work smarter. The idea is to remove the repetitive tasks and give people more space to focus on creative, high-impact work.

https://www.theverge.com/news/657594/duolingo-ai-first-replace-contract-workers

Here is how experiential learning can save colleges from AI - Shannon McKeen, University Business

For centuries, higher education thrived on a simple premise: universities controlled knowledge, faculty acted as gatekeepers, and students paid tuition to access expertise. But artificial intelligence (AI) is dismantling that model at an alarming rate. ChatGPT can analyze Shakespeare, outline marketing strategies, and explain quantum mechanics with competence rivaling many instructors. If knowledge is now universally accessible, what remains of higher education’s value? The answer isn’t competing with AI to deliver information—it’s doing what AI cannot: creating transformative, real-world learning experiences. The institutions that recognize this shift will thrive, while those that don’t will fade into irrelevance.

https://universitybusiness.com/here-is-how-experiential-learning-can-save-colleges-from-ai/

Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market: A new sign that AI is competing with college grads - Derek Thompson, the Atlantic

Something strange, and potentially alarming, is happening to the job market for young, educated workers. According to the New York Federal Reserve, labor conditions for recent college graduates have “deteriorated noticeably” in the past few months, and the unemployment rate now stands at an unusually high 5.8 percent. Even newly minted M.B.A.s from elite programs are struggling to find work. Meanwhile, law-school applications are surging—an ominous echo of when young people used graduate school to bunker down during the great financial crisis.

https://www.theatlantic.com/economy/archive/2025/04/job-market-youth/682641/

Tired of Chatbots? Here’s How They Could Improve - Angie Basiouny, Knowledge at Wharton

“AI used to be a tool in the back office. The consumer wouldn’t know much of what was going on under the hood,” Wharton marketing professor Stefano Puntoni said. “The arrival of generative AI gave us this interactive capacity, and suddenly everybody has a chatbot. Not all delight.” Puntoni, who is faculty co-director of Wharton Human-AI Research, has teamed up with Thomas McKinlay, founder of the Science Says newsletter, to create The Wharton Blueprint for Effective Chatbots. Based on the latest scientific research, the blueprint offers practical solutions for increasing chatbot usage, improving consumer trust, and deciding when and how to use chatbots that are more human-like or machine-like.

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/tired-of-chatbots-heres-how-they-could-improve/

AI in Education - Ethan Mollick, LinkedIn

One way to make AI do good things in areas like education is to actively experiment in creating good things and share the results (whether they work or not) so others can build on those. Mitigating bad outcomes are important, but good outcomes are not automatic either, and will take collective work. Just waiting for the AI labs to develop their own ideas is not enough. Mollick goes on to share a paper titled "AI Tutoring Outperforms Active Learning" authored by Harvard faculty.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/emollick_one-way-to-make-ai-do-good-things-in-areas-activity-7323024937491836929-K7Pj

How the U.S. Public and AI Experts View Artificial Intelligence - Colleen McClean, et al; Pew Research

Experts are far more positive and enthusiastic about AI than the public. For example, the AI experts we surveyed are far more likely than Americans overall to believe AI will have a very or somewhat positive impact on the United States over the next 20 years (56% vs. 17%). And while 47% of experts surveyed say they are more excited than concerned about the increased use of AI in daily life, that share drops to 11% among the public. By contrast, U.S. adults as a whole – whose concerns over AI have grown since 2021 – are more inclined than experts to say they’re more concerned than excited (51% vs. 15% among experts).

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/04/03/how-the-us-public-and-ai-experts-view-artificial-intelligence/

How the U.S. Public and AI Experts View Artificial Intelligence - Colleen McClean, et al; Pew Research

Experts are far more positive and enthusiastic about AI than the public. For example, the AI experts we surveyed are far more likely than Americans overall to believe AI will have a very or somewhat positive impact on the United States over the next 20 years (56% vs. 17%). And while 47% of experts surveyed say they are more excited than concerned about the increased use of AI in daily life, that share drops to 11% among the public. By contrast, U.S. adults as a whole – whose concerns over AI have grown since 2021 – are more inclined than experts to say they’re more concerned than excited (51% vs. 15% among experts).

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/04/03/how-the-us-public-and-ai-experts-view-artificial-intelligence/

Empowering the US Workforce - Anu Madgavkar, Olivia White, with Ryan Luby; McKinsey

As the new administration shifts into high gear, policymakers may find themselves dealing with tight labor markets—a long-term structural trend in many advanced economies. McKinsey estimates that GDP in 2023 could have been 0.5 to 1.5 percent higher across these economies if employers had been able to fill their excess job vacancies. America is punching below its weight on potential labor productivity—the value added per hour worked—and sectors such as healthcare, construction, and small businesses are especially affected. Consequently, workforce shortages remain a reality in many parts of the economy and can only intensify as demographic shifts gather pace. Falling fertility rates, higher life expectancies, and declines in working-age populations will have profound effects on the global workforce (Exhibit 1).

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/empowering-the-us-workforce

AI in Higher Education Expert University of Pennsylvania Professor Ethan Mollick's Wisdom - LinkedIn Posting

I don’t mean to be a broken record but AI development could stop at the o3/Gemini 2.5 level and we would have a decade of major changes across entire professions & industries (medicine, law, education, coding…) as we figure out how to actually use it & adapt our systems and organizations to what it can do.

AI disruption is baked in.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/emollick_i-dont-mean-to-be-a-broken-record-but-ai-activity-7322016313478963201-CeWU/

Your boss is not okay: How manager burnout is dragging down the entire workplace - María José Gutierrez Chavez, Fast Company

Gallup’s most recent State of the Global Workplace report revealed that employee engagement fell to 21% in 2024, declining 2 points from the previous year. In the last 12 years, employee engagement has only fallen one other time, in 2020, due in part to COVID-19, the shift to working from home, and increased isolation. The report “offers what may be our last snapshot of a workforce on the cusp of seismic change,” Gallup CEO Jon Clifton said in the report. “We are witnessing a pivotal moment in the global workplace—one where engagement is faltering at the exact time artificial intelligence is transforming every industry in its path.”

https://www.fastcompany.com/91322042/managers-less-engaged-hurting-entire-workplace-gallup

Microsoft thinks AI colleagues are coming soon - Jessica Bursztynsky, Fast Company

These so-called Frontier Firms will be built around “on-demand intelligence and powered by ‘hybrid’ teams of humans + agents, these companies scale rapidly, operate with agility, and generate value faster,” according to the report. Microsoft argued that within the next two to five years, every company will be on the journey to becoming one. Microsoft said that 82% of leaders responded that this is a “pivotal” year to rethink key strategy and operations, while 81% said they expect agents to be “moderately or extensively” integrated into their AI strategies in the next 12 to 18 months. The results are a culmination of survey data from 31,000 workers across 31 countries, LinkedIn hiring and labor market trends, trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals, and conversations with experts, and AI-native startups.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91321533/microsoft-thinks-ai-colleagues-are-coming-soon

Universities have a chance to lead in shaping AI’s future - Sevgi Kaya-Kasikci, Eglis Chacon Camero, Ekaterina Minaeva and Chris R Glass, University World News

Artificial intelligence has become the new geopolitical fault line – and universities now sit squarely on it. Washington’s export-control regime blocks sales and technical support for advanced AI chips to China; Beijing, for its part, requires recommendation algorithms and generative-AI models to be filed with – and in some cases to be licensed by – state regulators; and Brussels has approved the world’s first cross-sector ‘trustworthy AI’ act. These rival rule-sets decide who may collaborate, what data may cross borders and which discoveries become strategic assets.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20250423101413252

Using AI to predict student success in higher education - Denisa Gándara and Hadis Anahideh, Brookings

As AI becomes more accessible, higher education is increasingly turning to prediction algorithms to inform decisions and target support services. Prediction algorithms can underestimate success for Black and Hispanic students, disproportionately predicting failure erroneously, even when those students ultimately graduate. Bias-mitigation techniques built into model training are more effective than those applied to the data beforehand, but no single method eliminates disparities.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/using-ai-to-predict-student-success-in-higher-education/

OpenAI says newest AI model can ‘think with images,’ understanding diagrams and sketches - Hayden Field, CNBC

OpenAI released its newest AI model that it said can understand uploaded images like whiteboards, sketches and diagrams, even if they’re low quality. The company called o3 its most advanced model yet and also released a smaller model called o4-mini. OpenAI is racing to stay ahead in generative AI as competitors including Google, Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI ramp up development.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/16/openai-releases-most-advanced-ai-model-yet-o3-o4-mini-reasoning-images.html

Southeast Minnesota colleges are contending with a new kind of fraud: Ghost students - Matthew Stolle, Post Bulletin

Last year, officials at Minnesota State College Southeast were heartened by a gratifying trend. Spring enrollment numbers were up — way up. It was a mirage. Many of the students weren’t real. They were “ghost students.” In all, the college ended up dropping 84 fake students — all believed to be part of a scam to access and abscond with financial aid money. The ploy represents a new kind of enrollment fraud that U.S. and area colleges are facing. The fraudsters, using stolen or fabricated identities, pose as online learners. Often targeting community and technical colleges, where digital learning comprises a significant portion of enrollment, these “learners” take advantage of the asynchronous nature of online learning.

https://www.postbulletin.com/news/local/southeast-minnesota-colleges-are-contending-with-a-new-kind-of-fraud-ghost-students

Many College Degrees Are Now Useless—Here’s What Is Worth Your Money - Cheryl Robinson, Forbes

 TikTok millionaires and AI tools make college look like an overpriced relic, so it’s fair to ask: are degrees even worth it anymore? The answer? Some absolutely are—and some absolutely are not. The key is relevance. If you invest four (or more) years of your life and tens of thousands of dollars, you better make sure you’re walking away with something more than just a piece of paper and a student loan the size of a mortgage. As the value of a four-year degree is increasingly questioned, public perception is shifting to match: nearly half of Americans believe it’s less important for securing a well-paying job than it was two decades ago according to a 2024 Pew Research Center survey. Major companies like Apple, IBM and Hilton have eliminated degree requirements for many roles, opting instead to evaluate candidates based on their experience and practical skills. A 2022 study by the Burning Glass Institute revealed that millions of job postings have dropped bachelor’s degree requirements, and a 2020 analysis found a similar trend for positions like production supervisors. 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylrobinson/2025/04/15/many-college-degrees-are-now-useless-heres-whats-worth-your-money/

How Tech Giants Are Tackling AGI Safety Risks - Forward Future

In a world where the boundaries between human and artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly blurred, we are on the cusp of a technological revolution that could fundamentally change our lives. Artificial General Intelligence—AI systems that are at least as capable as humans in almost all cognitive areas or, depending on the definition, an autonomous AI agent that can generate $100b in profit—could become a reality in the coming years. According to Google DeepMind, “equipped with agentic capabilities, it could enable AI to understand, think, plan and act autonomously.

https://www.forwardfuture.ai/p/the-road-to-safe-agi-how-tech-giants-are-managing-the-risks-of-artificial-general-intelligence 

Workforce 2025: Power Shifts -The shifting dynamics between employer control and employee expectations are powering up the future of work - Korn Ferry

When companies need to cut labor costs, middle managers are often the first in line for layoffs. And that tactic seems to be affecting many workers this year. In our 2025 Korn Ferry Workforce survey, 41% of employees told us that their organization has slashed management layers. 43% of employees say their leaders aren't aligned, and 37% say the lack of managers has left them feeling directionless. The impact is more than just a slimmed-down organizational chart with fewer managers. Losing that management layer can quickly lead to employee confusion and dissatisfaction, ultimately affecting productivity. 43% of employees say their leaders aren't aligned, and 37% say the lack of managers has left them feeling directionless.

https://www.kornferry.com/insights/featured-topics/workforce-management/workforce-planning-insights

OpenAI launches o3 and o4-mini, AI models that ‘think with images’ and use tools autonomously - Michael Nuñez, Venture Beat

OpenAI launched two groundbreaking AI models today that can reason with images and use tools independently, representing what experts call a step change in artificial intelligence capabilities. The San Francisco-based company introduced o3 and o4-mini, the latest in its “o-series” of reasoning models, which it claims are its most intelligent and capable models to date. These systems can integrate images directly into their reasoning process, search the web, run code, analyze files, and even generate images within a single task flow.

https://venturebeat.com/ai/openai-launches-o3-and-o4-mini-ai-models-that-think-with-images-and-use-tools-autonomously/

Introducing OpenAI o3 and o4-mini: Our smartest and most capable models to date with full tool access - OpenAI

Today, we’re releasing OpenAI o3 and o4-mini, the latest in our o-series of models trained to think for longer before responding. These are the smartest models we’ve released to date, representing a step change in ChatGPT's capabilities for everyone from curious users to advanced researchers. For the first time, our reasoning models can agentically use and combine every tool within ChatGPT—this includes searching the web, analyzing uploaded files and other data with Python, reasoning deeply about visual inputs, and even generating images. Critically, these models are trained to reason about when and how to use tools to produce detailed and thoughtful answers in the right output formats, typically in under a minute, to solve more complex problems. 

https://openai.com/index/introducing-o3-and-o4-mini/

Sam Altman at TED 2025: Inside the most uncomfortable — and important — AI interview of the year - Michael Nuñez, Venture Beat

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that his company has grown to 800 million weekly active users and is experiencing “unbelievable” growth rates, during a sometimes tense interview at the TED 2025 conference in Vancouver last week. “I have never seen growth in any company, one that I’ve been involved with or not, like this,” Altman told TED head Chris Anderson during their on-stage conversation. “The growth of ChatGPT — it is really fun. I feel deeply honored. But it is crazy to live through, and our teams are exhausted and stressed.” The interview, which closed out the final day of TED 2025: Humanity Reimagined, showcased not just OpenAI’s skyrocketing success but also the increasing scrutiny the company faces as its technology transforms society at a pace that alarms even some of its supporters.

https://venturebeat.com/ai/sam-altman-at-ted-2025-inside-the-most-uncomfortable-and-important-ai-interview-of-the-year/

How An AI Tutor Could Level The Playing Field For Students Worldwide - David Prosser, Forbes

A landmark study by educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom found “90% of tutored students ... attained the level of summative achievement reached by only the highest 20% of the control class”. The real-life impact of this gap is to exacerbate inequality. Well-off students able to access one-on-one tutoring will perform better than classmates who learn in large groups. It’s a problem in Western societies, with wealth inequality inhibiting social mobility. It also hits hundreds of millions of students in developing economies, who miss out on the educational advantages many of their counterparts in richer nations take for granted. Enter Karttikeya Mangalam, CEO and co-founder of SigIQ.ai, who believes artificial intelligence can begin to redress this balance. He and co-founder Kurt Keutzer have developed an AI tutor they claim can deliver one-to-one teaching of the same quality as a human educator, but at a fraction of the price. SigIQ, which is today announcing that it has raised $9.5 million of new funding, aims to offer this tutor to as many students who need it.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidprosser/2025/04/07/how-an-ai-tutor-could-level-the-playing-field-for-students-worldwide/

3 takeaways on higher education innovation from the ASU+GSV Summit - Natalie Schwartz, Higher Ed Dive

The higher education sector is facing an onslaught of challenges, including attacks from the Trump administration, fading public confidence and the demographic cliff. But higher education leaders didn’t shy away from these issues at the annual ASU+GSV Summit, an education and technology conference held this week in San Diego. “The moment is actually a productive moment for us, because we can and should and will use some of the chaos in order to build new kinds of institutions, new infrastructures, new ways of thinking,” said Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, during a discussion Wednesday. 

https://www.highereddive.com/news/higher-education-innovation-asu-gsv-summit/745201/

Kishwaukee College creates AI guidelines for use in higher education - Dekalb County Daily Chronicle

“The AI Implementation Playbook is a responsive and evolving resource that reflects Kishwaukee College’s commitment to innovation and excellence in education,” Kishwaukee College president Laurie Borowicz said in a news release. “This plan is very adaptable and will be updated to address changes in technology and the needs of our students,” The college developed the artificial intelligence playbook with industry leaders, organizations and colleges. Kishwaukee College outlined a four-step approach to implement artificial intelligence. The steps include tracking artificial intelligence-related activities; researching industry best practices; developing a technology integration and product development process; and fostering an experimentation, awareness, literacy and adoption culture.

https://www.shawlocal.com/daily-chronicle/2025/04/12/kishwaukee-college-creates-ai-guidelines-for-use-in-higher-education/

What Students Really Think of Technology and AI - EDUCAUSE

This podcast discusses how students are integrating technology and AI into their education [00:06, 00:12]. Students utilize interactive platforms, like live quiz software, finding them engaging and effective for demonstrating learning compared to traditional methods [01:13, 01:46]. However, challenges arise from outdated systems and faculty lacking training [02:15], and even good platforms can be difficult if not well-organized by instructors [02:24]. Some technologies are perceived as unhelpful, particularly if instructors are unfamiliar with them [02:38]. The role of AI in education is a major topic [02:50], though some students don't find it very useful in their classes [03:24]. Faculty opinions on AI are divided, with some viewing it as a helpful tool and others as a threat to academic honesty [03:30]. A lack of clear guidelines on the ethical use of AI in coursework is also noted [03:53]. Ultimately, the podcast emphasizes the importance for students to understand and effectively use evolving technology [04:28]. (summary by Gemini 2.5 Pro)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX-4Tn9ydsE

Morehouse College Unveils AI Teaching Assistants - Eric Glick, Ed Tech

In what is being hailed as a significant technological leap forward, Morehouse College is offering 3D avatars that can stand in for teaching assistants. These humanlike figures can answer student questions 24 hours a day. The school, regarded as a higher education innovator in immersive learning, notes that the artificial intelligence-powered instructors are trained from teachers’ lectures and course notes. They are designed to offer students a more personalized alternative to chatbots. AI has been hailed a potentially powerful tool in higher education’s arsenal, particularly when it comes to supplemental teaching aids. Morehouse’s latest implementation sets a new standard for education. Morehouse does not currently employ teaching assistants, so the avatars may represent a constructive addition to students' overall learning experience.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2025/04/morehouse-college-unveils-ai-teaching-assistants

The Ripple Effects of Draining the Ph.D. Pool - Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed

Deep cuts to federal research funding and crackdowns on international students could mean far fewer graduate students next fall and beyond. If that happens, undergraduates, faculty and research productivity would all suffer. Under mounting financial and political pressures, universities have paused or rescinded graduate student admissions on an unprecedented scale, which could create cross-campus ripple effects next fall and beyond. The extent of the cuts to the graduate student workforce remains unclear and will vary from institution to institution. But if and when those losses come to pass, experts say that employing fewer graduate students—particularly Ph.D. students, who typically hold years-long research and teaching assistantships—will undermine universities’ broader operations, including undergraduate education, faculty support and the future of academic research, which is reliant on training the next generation of scholars.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/graduate-students-and-postdocs/2025/04/11/how-drop-phd-students-could-affect-colleges

How apprenticeships can broaden access to education and quality jobs - Marieke Vandeweyer and Vlasis Korovilos, OECD Ed Today

In today’s economy, rapid changes such as the digital and green transition are creating a demand for specialised skills. But in many sectors, the demand for skills outpaces the supply of qualified professionals. This situation underscores the urgent need for accessible educational pathways – including in higher education. One promising option is the expansion of apprenticeships: giving people hands-on training, earning potential and career advancement opportunities. By taking on apprentices, businesses give themselves a sustainable method of recruiting and training employees to meet skills needs, helping them to stay competitive and foster employee loyalty and retention. At the recent joint OECD-CEDEFOP symposium ‘New fields for apprenticeship’, experts highlighted the potential of apprenticeship for different sectors of the economy and different types of learners. “Apprenticeships do work across different sectors and levels,” the Head of the OECD Centre for Skills El Iza Mohamedou told the audience. “(But) we still have to do a lot of work to further the case for apprenticeships.”

https://oecdedutoday.com/how-apprenticeships-can-broaden-access-to-education-and-quality-jobs/

Honing leadership excellence in the public sector - McKinsey

When asked what characterized the most outstanding leaders they had worked with, the respondents suggested that character is destiny: One of the most-cited traits was being respected for character, values, and integrity. As one interviewee put it, “Your integrity and ethics are the core of being in the public service.” This set the foundation for two other essential traits—clarity of purpose and the ability to deliver results despite ambiguity and change. In our survey and interviews, we asked leaders what differentiated the public sector from other sectors and what this meant for leadership (Exhibit 1). By far, the most significant difference was navigating the ever-changing political dynamics and complexities of cabinet government. As several leaders noted, when senior leaders join government from the private sector, they are often shocked at how little linear accountability there is.

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-sector/our-insights/honing-leadership-excellence-in-the-public-sector

Artificial intelligence in educational leadership: a comprehensive taxonomy and future directions - Martin Sposato, International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education

Through a systematic literature review and inductive analysis of publications from 2017 to 2024, the research synthesizes diverse AI applications into ten distinct domains: Administrative Efficiency, Personalized Learning, Enhancing Teaching Practices, Decision-Making and Policy Formulation, Student Support Services, Organizational Leadership and Strategic Planning, Governance and Compliance, Community Engagement and Communication, Ethical AI Leadership, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives. The resulting taxonomy, validated across various higher education contexts, provides educational leaders with a structured framework for understanding, evaluating, and implementing AI solutions in their institutions. This study contributes to the field by offering a common language and conceptual framework for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, while also identifying critical areas for future research. 

https://educationaltechnologyjournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41239-025-00517-1

Anthropic launches an AI chatbot plan for colleges and universities - Maxwell Zeff, TechCrunch

Anthropic announced on Wednesday that it’s launching a new Claude for Education tier, an answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Edu plan. The new tier is aimed at higher education, and gives students, faculty, and other staff access to Anthropic’s AI chatbot, Claude, with a few additional capabilities. One piece of Claude for Education is “Learning Mode,” a new feature within Claude Projects to help students develop their own critical thinking skills, rather than simply obtain answers to questions. With Learning Mode enabled, Claude will ask questions to test understanding, highlight fundamental principles behind specific problems, and provide potentially useful templates for research papers, outlines, and study guides.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/02/anthropic-launches-an-ai-chatbot-tier-for-colleges-and-universities/

If Anthropic Succeeds, a Nation of Benevolent AI Geniuses Could Be Born - Steve Levy, Wired

When Dario Amodei gets excited about AI—which is nearly always—he moves. The cofounder and CEO springs from a seat in a conference room and darts over to a whiteboard. He scrawls charts with swooping hockey-stick curves that show how machine intelligence is bending toward the infinite. His hand rises to his curly mop of hair, as if he’s caressing his neurons to forestall a system crash. You can almost feel his bones vibrate as he explains how his company, Anthropic, is unlike other AI model builders. He’s trying to create an artificial general intelligence—or as he calls it, “powerful AI”—that will never go rogue. It’ll be a good guy, an usher of utopia. And while Amodei is vital to Anthropic, he comes in second to the company’s most important contributor. Like other extraordinary beings (Beyoncé, Cher, Pelé), the latter goes by a single name, in this case a pedestrian one, reflecting its pliancy and comity. Oh, and it’s an AI model. Hi, Claude!

https://www.wired.com/story/anthropic-benevolent-artificial-intelligence/

AI Literacy in Higher Education: Preparing Students for the Future Workforce - Jaspreet Bindra, Best Colleges India

AI literacy is essential for students as industries embrace artificial intelligence, making its integration into higher education crucial for future job readiness. The rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) are transforming industries worldwide, making AI literacy an essential skill for students entering the workforce. As AI continues to disrupt traditional job roles, higher education institutions must integrate AI literacy into their curricula to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed for the evolving job market. This article explores the importance of AI literacy in higher education, key components of AI education, and strategies for preparing students for an AI-driven workforce.

 

https://bestcolleges.indiatoday.in/news-detail/ai-literacy-in-higher-education-preparing-students-for-the-future-workforce

First Therapy Chatbot Trial Yields Mental Health Benefits - Morgan Kelly, Dartmouth

Dartmouth researchers conducted the first-ever clinical trial of a generative AI-powered therapy chatbot and found that the software resulted in significant improvements in participants’ symptoms, according to results published March 27 in NEJM AI. People in the study also reported they could trust and communicate with the system, known as Therabot, to a degree that is comparable to working with a mental-health professional. The trial consisted of 106 people from across the United States diagnosed with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or an eating disorder. Participants interacted with Therabot through a smartphone app by typing out responses to prompts about how they were feeling or initiating conversations when they needed to talk. People diagnosed with depression experienced a 51% average reduction in symptoms, leading to clinically significant improvements in mood and overall well-being, the researchers report. Participants with generalized anxiety reported an average reduction in symptoms of 31%, with many shifting from moderate to mild anxiety, or from mild anxiety to below the clinical threshold for diagnosis.

https://home.dartmouth.edu/news/2025/03/first-therapy-chatbot-trial-yields-mental-health-benefits

Age of AI: The augmented mind in the university classroom - James Yoonil Auh, University World News

Today, we are surrounded – indeed, immersed – in a world of digital devices quietly powered by artificial intelligence. Whether through Microsoft’s Copilot, Google’s predictive search, Grammarly’s real-time editing, or the invisible algorithms guiding us through traffic and daily decisions, we are engaged in a kind of ambient co-thinking with machines. Most of the time, we are unaware of the extent to which our thoughts are being shaped, streamlined or scaffolded by these tools. Use is no longer a matter of conscious choice; it is the architecture of our environment.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20250328094355548

Interest in studying in US dropped 42% in January - Nathan M Greenfield, University World News

Interest in studying in the United States by international graduate students plummeted by more than 40% since the first week of January 2025, when the Republicans took control of the US Senate and House of Representatives, and the nation prepared for the the inauguration of US President Donald J Trump on 24 January, data released to University World News by StudyPortals shows. This decline is all the more dramatic because, according to a study released last November by NAFSA: Association of International Educators, international enrolment at American colleges and universities had risen 6.6% from 2023 to 2024 and 11.5% the year before that.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20250318151109452

Tracing the thoughts of a large language model - Anthropic

Language models like Claude aren't programmed directly by humans—instead, they‘re trained on large amounts of data. During that training process, they learn their own strategies to solve problems. These strategies are encoded in the billions of computations a model performs for every word it writes. They arrive inscrutable to us, the model’s developers. This means that we don’t understand how models do most of the things they do. Knowing how models like Claude think would allow us to have a better understanding of their abilities, as well as help us ensure that they’re doing what we intend them to.

https://www.anthropic.com/research/tracing-thoughts-language-model

AI-Driven Education Poised for Breakthrough as StudyPal Launches Next-Generation Learning Platform - Yahoo!

StudyPal, an innovative AI-powered education platform, today announced the launch of its latest suite of AI-driven learning tools, designed to revolutionize student engagement and personalized learning. As the debate over AI in education continues, StudyPal aims to demonstrate how artificial intelligence can enhance comprehension, retention, and accessibility for learners worldwide. AI has rapidly integrated into nearly every sector, and education is no exception. However, its adoption has sparked controversy. In January 2023, the New York City Department of Education restricted AI use due to concerns over academic integrity and misinformation. Despite these reservations, StudyPal is taking a proactive approach, proving that AI, when applied responsibly, can support individualized learning experiences rather than hinder them.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ai-driven-education-poised-breakthrough-183700438.html

Virtual Classes and AI Help Students With Some College, No Credential - Abby Sourwine, Government Technology

Southern New Hampshire University's online offerings and artificial intelligence-powered support tools are re-engaging learners who left college without a degree. More than 40 million Americans have earned some college credit but never finished a degree, according to a report last year from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (NSCRC). It’s a population that continues to grow — up 1.4 million from 2021 to 2022 — and, according to a recent policy brief from the Center for Higher Education Policy and Practice (CHEPP), represents both a failure of traditional higher education and an opportunity for institutions to meet these learners where they are. At CHEPP's parent institution, Southern New Hampshire University, flexible online courses and insights from artificial intelligence are now helping to make up for those failures.

https://www.govtech.com/education/higher-ed/virtual-classes-and-ai-help-students-with-some-college-no-credential

Key Considerations for AI and Accessibility in Higher Education - Emily Cook, Every Learner Everywhere

Every Learner Everywhere and Teach Access have partnered to publish a new resource titled Where AI Meets Accessibility: Considerations for Higher Education, to support educators and administrators in higher education in exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and accessibility, with a particular focus on the needs of people with disabilities (PWD). Created through collaboration with experts from academia, industry, and the disability community, this resource aims to help educators and institutional administrators discover innovative ways to foster access and opportunity in higher education for PWD. As AI becomes increasingly embedded into educational settings and practices, it offers both opportunities and challenges. This comprehensive resource will help navigate both aspects— demonstrating how AI can help overcome technology barriers and highlighting areas where it may inadvertently create new obstacles for PWD. It is also a practical toolkit for incorporating accessible AI in higher education, complete with example activities, discussion questions, and reading lists.

https://www.kron4.com/business/press-releases/ein-presswire/798011951/key-considerations-for-ai-and-accessibility-in-higher-education/

Which LLM Should You Use for Your Business? [Pros and Cons] - Nathan Lands and Matt Wolfe, Hubspot

Choosing the right large language model can feel overwhelming with so many options out there, especially if you’re not exactly living and breathing AI. But as we’ve worked through each one, we’ve gotten a real sense of what they’re good at (and where they fall short). So, let’s talk about what to use, when.

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/which-llm-should-you-use

How to make the most of AI in careers advice – and avoid the grifts - Séan Richardson, Keiran Whitwell; Times Higher Education

How many of your colleagues are talking about artificial intelligence? Better yet, how many in careers advice and guidance are talking about how to use AI? The space between these questions might seem small, but it creates a chasm when it comes to how higher education is integrating AI to help our students transition into the workplace. Young people are overwhelmingly using AI, as are the recruiters who will decide which of our graduates find employment. If we do not respond swiftly, then students and the job market will outpace service provision in terms of AI use and expertise. Yet careers services are perfectly placed to make interventions, both by becoming experts on AI-enhanced careers advice and by training students on how better to use tools to facilitate their recruitment journeys. Here are four practical methods for careers counsellors to use AI and support their students.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/how-make-most-ai-careers-advice-and-avoid-grifts

Human Augmentation: The Core Promise of AI - Lee Ott,Tech Crunch

At the heart of AI is the goal of elevating human potential. When technology manages mundane or repetitive tasks, we are free to focus on creativity, collaboration, and decision-making. By offloading routine tasks to AI, workflows that once took days can be completed in hours, enabling people to think bigger and move faster.  This shift from purely transactional tools to truly human-centric experiences underscores a core truth: One of technology’s most powerful purposes is to empower individuals, and by extension enterprises, while ensuring ethical, secure, and responsible innovation. AI’s real value lies in its ability to unlock new levels of productivity, spark innovation and drive responsible, human-centered progress.  

https://techcrunch.com/sponsor/hp/human-augmentation-the-core-promise-of-ai/

AI's Moore's Law: Measuring AI Ability to Complete Long Tasks

We propose measuring AI performance in terms of the length of tasks AI agents can complete. We show that this metric has been consistently exponentially increasing over the past 6 years, with a doubling time of around 7 months. Extrapolating this trend predicts that, in under five years, we will see AI agents that can independently complete a large fraction of software tasks that currently take humans days or weeks.

https://metr.org/blog/2025-03-19-measuring-ai-ability-to-complete-long-tasks/

Let’s look at AI as a reasoning partner, not a shortcut - Xiangen Hu, Times Higher Ed

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving from a simple memory retrieval tool into a sophisticated agent, capable of nuanced reasoning. We can see this in advanced models such as DeepSeek’s R1, OpenAI’s Deep Research and xAI’s Grok. These systems no longer act merely as extensions of search engines but serve as interactive partners that can help break down complex problems and encourage inquiry. For higher education, this shift offers a powerful opportunity to strengthen the critical thinking skills of our students, which will be essential for the workforce of the future.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/lets-look-ai-reasoning-partner-not-shortcut

Publishers Embrace AI as Research Integrity Tool - Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed

The academic publishing industry is adopting AI-powered tools to improve the quality of peer-reviewed research and speed up production. The latter goal yields “obvious financial benefit” for publishers, one expert said. But the $19 billion academic publishing industry is increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to speed up production and, advocates say, enhance research quality. Since the start of the year, Wiley, Elsevier and Springer Nature have all announced the adoption of generative AI–powered tools or guidelines, including those designed to aid scientists in research, writing and peer review.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/research/2025/03/18/publishers-adopt-ai-tools-bolster-research-integrity

Most college students are taking online classes, but they’re paying just as much as in-person students - Jon Marcus, Hechninger Report

Among the surprising answers is that colleges and universities are charging more for online education to subsidize everything else they do, online managers say. Huge sums are also going into marketing and advertising for it, documents show. Universities and colleges “see online higher education as an opportunity to make money and use it for whatever they want to make money for,” said Kevin Carey, vice president of education and work at the left-leaning think tank New America. Online higher education is projected to pass an impressive if little-noticed milestone this year: For the first time, more American college students will be learning entirely online than will be learning 100 percent in person.

https://hechingerreport.org/as-online-higher-education-hits-a-milestone-why-does-it-still-cost-so-much/

Supporting the Instructional Design Process: Stress-Testing Assignments with AI - Faculty Focus

One of the challenges of course design is that all our work can seem perfectly clear and effective when we are knee-deep in the design process, but everything somehow falls apart when deployed in the wild. From simple misunderstandings to complex misconceptions, these issues typically don’t reveal themselves until we see actual student work—often when it’s too late to prevent frustration. While there’s no substitute for real-world testing, I began wondering if AI could help with this iterative refinement. I didn’t want AI to refine or tweak my prompts. I wanted to see if I could task AI with modelling hundreds of student responses to my prompts in the hope that this process might yield the kind of insight I was too close to see. 

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/supporting-the-instructional-design-process-stress-testing-assignments-with-ai/

AI that can match humans at any task will be here in five to 10 years, Google DeepMind CEO says - Ryan Browne, CNBC

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said he thinks artificial general intelligence, or AGI, will emerge in the next five or 10 years. AGI broadly relates to AI that is as smart or smarter than humans. “We’re not quite there yet. These systems are very impressive at certain things. But there are other things they can’t do yet, and we’ve still got quite a lot of research work to go before that,” Hassabis said. Dario Amodei, CEO of AI startup Anthropic, told CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in January that he sees a form of AI that’s “better than almost all humans at almost all tasks” emerging in the “next two or three years.” Other tech leaders see AGI arriving even sooner. Cisco’s Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel thinks there’s a chance we could see an example of AGI emerge as soon as this year. 

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/17/human-level-ai-will-be-here-in-5-to-10-years-deepmind-ceo-says.html

Perspectives of Academic Staff on Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Exploring Areas of Relevance (Provisionally accepted) - Dana-Kristin Mah, et al; Frontiers

Despite the recent increase in research on artificial intelligence in education (AIED), studies investigating the perspectives of academic staff and the implications for future-oriented teaching at higher education institutions remain scarce. This exploratory study provides initial insight into the perspectives of 112 academic staff by focusing on three aspects considered relevant for sustainable, future-oriented teaching in higher education in the age of AI: instructional design, domain specificity, and ethics. The results indicate that participants placed the greatest importance on AIED ethics. Furthermore, participants indicated a strong interest in (mandatory) professional development on AI and more comprehensive institutional support.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1484904/abstract

Powerful A.I. Is Coming. We’re Not Ready. - Kevin Roose, NY Times

I believe that over the past several years, A.I. systems have started surpassing humans in a number of domains — math, coding and medical diagnosis, just to name a few — and that they’re getting better every day. I believe that very soon — probably in 2026 or 2027, but possibly as soon as this year — one or more A.I. companies will claim they’ve created an artificial general intelligence, or A.G.I., which is usually defined as something like “a general-purpose A.I. system that can do almost all cognitive tasks a human can do.” I believe that when A.G.I. is announced, there will be debates over definitions and arguments about whether or not it counts as “real” A.G.I., but that these mostly won’t matter, because the broader point — that we are losing our monopoly on human-level intelligence, and transitioning to a world with very powerful A.I. systems in it — will be true.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/14/technology/why-im-feeling-the-agi.html?unlocked_article_code=1.4U4.Aq-c.-3NXGbrtdZgR&smid=nytcore-android-share 

ChatGPT firm reveals AI model that is ‘good at creative writing’ - the Guardian

The company behind ChatGPT has revealed it has developed an artificial intelligence model that is “good at creative writing”, as the tech sector continues its tussle with the creative industries over copyright. The chief executive of OpenAI, Sam Altman, said the unnamed model, which has not been released publicly, was the first time he had been “really struck” by the written output of one of the startup’s products. In a post on the social media platform X, Altman wrote: “We trained a new model that is good at creative writing (not sure yet how/when it will get released). This is the first time i have been really struck by something written by AI.”

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/mar/12/chatgpt-firm-reveals-ai-model-that-is-good-at-creative-writing-sam-altman

The Value of a Ph.D. in the Age of AI - Kim Isenberg, Forward Future

Artificial intelligence has been undergoing an extraordinary development process for several years and is increasingly achieving capabilities that were long reserved exclusively for humans. Particularly in the area of research, we are currently experiencing remarkable progress: so-called “research agents”, specialized AI models that can independently take on complex research tasks, are rapidly gaining in importance. One prominent example is OpenAI's DeepResearch, which has already achieved outstanding results in various scientific benchmarks. Such AI-supported agents not only analyze large data sets, but also independently formulate research questions, test hypotheses, and even create scientific summaries of their results.

https://www.forwardfuture.ai/p/the-value-of-a-ph-d-in-the-age-of-ai

Cognitive Empathy: A Dialogue with ChatGPT - Michael Feldstein, eLiterate

I want to start with something you taught me about myself. When I asked you about my style of interacting with AIs, you told me I use “cognitive empathy.” It wasn’t a term I had heard before. Now that I’ve read about it, the idea has changed the way I think about virtually every aspect of my work—past, present, and future. It also prompted me to start writing a book about AI using cognitive empathy as a frame, although we probably won’t talk about that today. I thought we could start by introducing the term to the readers who may not know it, including some of the science behind it.

https://eliterate.us/cognitive-empathy-a-dialogue-with-chatgpt/

AI Will Not Be ‘the Great Leveler’ for Student Outcomes - Sean Richardson and Paul Redford, Inside Higher Ed

In relation to graduate outcomes (simply put, where students end up after completing their degrees, with a general focus on careers and employability), universities are about to grapple with the initial wave of graduates seriously impacted by AI. The Class of 2025 will be the first to have widespread access to large language models (LLMs) for the majority of their student lives. If, as we have been repeatedly told, we believe that AI will be the “great leveler” for students by transforming their access to learning, then it follows that graduate outcomes will be significantly impacted. Most importantly, we should expect to see more students entering careers that meaningfully engage with their studies. The reality on the ground presents a stark difference. Many professionals working in career advice and guidance are struggling with the opposite effect: Rather than acting as the great leveler, AI tools are only deepening existing divides.

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/03/12/ai-tools-deepening-divides-graduate-outcomes-opinion

7 Ways You Can Use ChatGPT for Your Mental Health and Wellness - Wendy Wisner, Very Well Mind

ChatGPT can be a fantastic resource for mental health education and be a great overall organization tool. It can also help you with the practical side of mental health management like journal prompts and meditation ideas. Although ChatGPT is not everyone’s cup of tea, it can be used responsibly and is something to consider keeping in your mental health toolkit. If you are struggling with your mental health, though, you shouldn’t rely on ChatGPT as the main way to cope. Everyone who is experiencing a mental health challenge can benefit from care from a licensed therapist. If that’s you, please reach out to your primary care provider for a referral or reach out directly to a licensed therapist near you.

https://www.verywellmind.com/using-chatgpt-for-mental-health-and-wellness-11695183

DuckDuckGo's AI beats Perplexity in one big way - and it's free to use - Jack Wallen, ZDnet

Duck.ai does something that other similar products don't -- it gives you a choice. You can choose between the proprietary GPT-4o mini, o3-mini, and Claude 3 services or go open-source with Llama 3.3  and Mistral Small 3. Duck.ai is also private: All of your queries are anonymized by DuckDuckGo, so you can be sure no third-party will ever have access to your AI chats. After giving Duck.ai a trial over the weekend, I found myself favoring it more and more over Perplexity, primarily because I could select which LLM I use. That's a big deal because every model is different. For example, GPT-4o excels in real-time interactions, voice nuance, and sentiment analysis across modalities, whereas Llama 3.2 is particularly strong in image recognition and visual understanding tasks.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/duckduckgos-ai-beats-perplexity-in-one-big-way-and-its-free-to-use/

Tough trade-offs: How time and career choices shape the gender pay gap - Anu Madgavkar, et al; McKinsey Global Institute

Diverging work experience patterns drive a “work-experience pay gap” that makes up nearly 80 percent of the total gender pay gap, equal to 27 cents on the dollar among US professional workers. Women tend to build less human capital through work experience than men who start in the same occupations, as seen in the tens of thousands of career trajectories we analyze. Over a 30-year career, the gender pay gap averages out to approximately half a million dollars in lost earnings per woman. One-third of that work-experience pay gap is because women accumulate less time on the job than men. Women average 8.6 years at work for every ten years clocked by men because, on aggregate, they work fewer hours, take longer breaks between jobs, and occupy more part-time roles than men. The other two-thirds arise from different career pathways that men and women pursue over time. Women’s careers are as dynamic as men’s: Both men and women averaged 2.6 role moves per decade of work and traversed comparable skill distances in each new role. However, women are more likely than men to switch to lower-paying occupations, typically ones involving less competitive pressures and fewer full-time requirements.

https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/tough-trade-offs-how-time-and-career-choices-shape-the-gender-pay-gap

Professors’ AI twins loosen schedules, boost grades - Colin Wood, EdScoop

David Clarke, the founder and chief executive of Praxis AI, said his company’s software, which uses Anthropic’s Claude models as its engine, is being used at Clemson University, Alabama State University and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, which includes 38 tribal colleges and universities. A key benefit of the technology, he said, has been that the twins provide a way for faculty and teaching assistants to field a great bulk of basic questions off-hours, leading to more substantive conversations in person. “They said the majority of their questions now are about the subject matter, are complicated, because all of the lower end logistical questions are being handled by the AI,” Clarke said. Praxis, which has a business partnership with Instructure, the company behind the learning management system Canvas, integrates with universities’ learning management systems to “meet students where they are,” Clarke said.

https://edscoop.com/digital-twin-ai-university-praxis-anthropic/

Reading, Writing, and Thinking in the Age of AI - Suzanne Hudd, et al; Faculty Focus

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can now produce polished, technically competent texts in seconds, challenging our traditional understanding of writing as a uniquely human process of creation, reflection, and learning. For many educators, this disruption raises questions about the role of writing in their disciplines. In our new book, How to Use Writing for Teaching and Learning, we argue that this disruption presents an opportunity rather than a threat. Notice from our book’s title that our focus is not necessarily on “how to teach writing.” For us, writing is not an end goal, which means our students do not necessarily learn to write for the sake of writing. Rather, we define writing as a method of inquiry that allows access to various discourse communities (e.g., an academic discipline), social worlds (e.g., the knowledge economy), and forms of knowledge (e.g., literature).  

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/reading-writing-and-thinking-in-the-age-of-ai/

The critical role of strategic workforce planning in the age of AI - McKinsey

Forward-thinking organizations understand that talent management is a critical component of business success. S&P 500 companies that excel at maximizing their return on talent generate an astonishing 300 percent more revenue per employee compared with the median firm, McKinsey research shows. In many cases, these top performers are using strategic workforce planning (SWP) to stay ahead in the talent race, treating talent with the same rigor as managing their financial capital. Under this analytical approach, organizations don’t wait for events or the market to dictate a response. Instead, they take a three-to-five-year view, using SWP to anticipate multiple situations so that they have the right number of people with the right skills at the right time to achieve their strategic objectives.

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-critical-role-of-strategic-workforce-planning-in-the-age-of-ai

OpenAI reportedly plans to charge up to $20,000 a month for PhD-level research AI ‘agents’ - Kyle Wiggers, Tech Crunch

OpenAI may be planning to charge up to $20,000 per month for specialized AI “agents,” according to The Information. The publication reports that OpenAI intends to launch several “agent” products tailored for different applications, including sorting and ranking sales leads and software engineering. One, a “high-income knowledge worker” agent, will reportedly be priced at $2,000 a month. Another, a software developer agent, is said to cost $10,000 a month. OpenAI’s most expensive rumored agent, priced at the aforementioned $20,000-per-month tier, will be aimed at supporting “PhD-level research,” according to The Information.

https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/05/openai-reportedly-plans-to-charge-up-to-20000-a-month-for-specialized-ai-agents/

OpenAI Invests $50M in Higher Ed Research - Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed

OpenAI announced Tuesday that it’s investing $50 million to start up NextGenAI, a new research consortium of 15 institutions that will be “dedicated to using AI to accelerate research breakthroughs and transform education.” The consortium, which includes 13 universities, is designed to “catalyze progress at a rate faster than any one institution would alone,” the company said in a news release. “The field of AI wouldn’t be where it is today without decades of work in the academic community. Continued collaboration is essential to build AI that benefits everyone,” Brad Lightcap, chief operating officer of OpenAI, said in the news release. “NextGenAI will accelerate research progress and catalyze a new generation of institutions equipped to harness the transformative power of AI.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/03/05/openai-invests-50m-higher-ed-research