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

An AI toolkit for all aspects of academic life - Urbi Ghosh, Times Higher Ed

Artificial intelligence is no longer a theoretical concept; it is a practical tool that is fundamentally transforming the landscape of education and research. AI renders educational experiences more visual and engaging, while also streamlining repetitive tasks associated with teaching and research activities. Building an AI toolkit can help in all areas of academic life, from the classroom to the laboratory, fostering innovation in research and sparking student engagement. Here are the most helpful ones I’ve found. 

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/ai-toolkit-all-aspects-academic-life

Small Language Models (SLMs): A Cost-Effective, Sustainable Option for Higher Education - Tom Mangan, Ed Tech

Small language models, known as SLMs, create intriguing possibilities for higher education leaders looking to take advantage of artificial intelligence and machine learning.  SLMs are miniaturized versions of the large language models (LLMs) that spawned ChatGPT and other flavors of generative AI. For example, compare a smartwatch to a desktop workstation (monitor, keyboard, CPU and mouse): The watch has a sliver of the computing muscle of the PC, but you wouldn’t strap a PC to your wrist to monitor your heart rate while jogging. SLMs can potentially reduce costs and complexity while delivering identifiable  benefits — a welcome advance for institutions grappling with the implications of AI and ML. SLMs also allow creative use cases for network edge devices such as cameras, phones and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors.

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2025/03/small-language-models-slms-for-hied-perfcon

Strategies for Teaching Complex Subjects in Large Hybrid Classrooms Across Campus: Bridging Engagement and Equity Across Modalities - Fang Lei, Faculty Focus

Teaching complex subjects in a large classroom across campus presents unique challenges, especially in a hybrid format that combines in-person and remote learners (Ochs, Gahrmann & Sonderegger, 2024). In this setup, students from one campus attend the class physically, while their counterparts in another campus join as a group in classroom via Zoom, creating a complex dynamic that demands meticulous planning and adaptability. The diverse needs of in-person and virtual students must be balanced to ensure equitable learning experiences. Maintaining engagement across these modalities can be difficult, as instructors need to address potential technological disruptions, varying levels of participation, and the limitations of remote interaction (Ochs, Gahrmann & Sonderegger, 2024).

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/blended-flipped-learning/strategies-for-teaching-complex-subjects-in-large-hybrid-classrooms-across-campus-bridging-engagement-and-equity-across-modalities/

6 Myths We Got Wrong About AI (And What’s the Reality) - Kolawole Samuel Adebayo, HubSpot

Over the past decade, I've written extensively about some of the world’s greatest innovations. With these technologies, you know what to expect: an improvement here, a new functionality there. This one got faster, and that other one got cheaper. But when the AI boom began with ChatGPT a few years ago, it was quite unlike anything I’d ever seen. It was easy to get caught up in the headlines and be carried away by varying predictions and “demystifications” of this new, disruptive technology. Unfortunately, a lot of ideas were either miscommunicated, assumed, or lost in translation. The result? In came AI myths that were far from reality. So, let’s unpack those. In this article, I’ll discuss six of the biggest AI myths and shed light on what the reality truly is.

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/ai-myths

Could this be the END of Chain of Thought? - Chain of Draft BREAKDOWN! - Matthew Berman, YouTube

This podcast introduces a new prompting strategy called "chain of draft" for AI models, which aims to improve upon the traditional "chain of thought" method [00:00]. Chain of draft encourages LLMs to generate concise, dense information outputs at each step, reducing token usage and latency while maintaining or exceeding the accuracy of chain of thought [11:41]. Implementing chain of draft is simple, requiring only an update to the prompt [08:06]. {summary provided by Gemini 2.0 Flash}

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYnisU10wu0

Introducing GPT-4.5 - OpenAI

Early testing shows that interacting with GPT‑4.5 feels more natural. Its broader knowledge base, improved ability to follow user intent, and greater “EQ” make it useful for tasks like improving writing, programming, and solving practical problems. We also expect it to hallucinate less. We’re sharing GPT‑4.5 as a research preview to better understand its strengths and limitations. We’re still exploring what it’s capable of and are eager to see how people use it in ways we might not have expected.

https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-4-5/

The Most In-Demand Jobs on LinkedIn Right Now - Greg Lewis and Co-authored byManas Mohapatra, LinkedIn

New Year’s resolutions almost always revolve around self-improvement: Maybe you want to be healthier, beef up your tech skills, or fix a few things around the house. Employers’ plans aren’t so different. Heading into 2025, the three jobs with the fastest-growing demand — nurses, IT consultants, and mechanical technicians — all focus on fixing things up. From restoring physical health to managing digital assets to keeping things running like a well-oiled machine, these in-demand roles are all about problem-solving and improvement. 

https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/talent-strategy/most-in-demand-jobs

Gen Z isn’t quiet quitting. They’re rejecting outdated leadership - Jeff Leblanc, Fast Company

The phrase “quiet quitting” has become a catch-all for blaming Gen Z workers for workplace disengagement. Older generations stereotype them as unmotivated, unwilling to go the extra mile, and too demanding. But here’s the reality: Gen Z isn’t disengaged—they’re just done tolerating bad leadership. My research, including surveys, interviews, and case studies across industries, shows that what many have labelled  “quitting” is actually a rational response to workplaces that lack fairness, structure, and alignment with employee values. Instead of writing off an entire generation, leaders should be asking: What are we doing wrong?

https://www.fastcompany.com/91281732/gen-z-isnt-quiet-quitting-theyre-rejecting-outdated-leadership

A College Degree Isn’t for Everyone - Susan H. Greenberg, Inside Higher Ed

Kathleen deLaski unpacks her new book, which envisions higher education as a stepladder to skills that learners collect over a lifetime and present to employers. In her eloquent new book, Who Needs College Anymore? Imagining a Future Where Degrees Won’t Matter (Harvard Education Press), Kathleen deLaski, a former journalist who founded the Education Design Lab to help colleges develop alternative pathways for learners to achieve their goals, traces the history of the skills-based education movement and outlines a compelling vision for a future where hiring and economic success are driven by skills—not degrees. DeLaski, who also teaches at George Mason University and serves on the board of Credential Engine, a nonprofit seeking to create standards and clarity for alternative credentials, spoke with Inside Higher Ed via Zoom.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/alternative-credentials/2025/02/24/new-book-envisions-future-where-degrees

Study: Generative AI Could Inhibit Critical Thinking - Chris Paoli, Campus Technology

A new study on how knowledge workers engage in critical thinking found that workers with higher confidence in generative AI technology tend to employ less critical thinking to AI-generated outputs than workers with higher confidence in personal skills, who tended to apply more critical thinking to verify, refine, and critically integrate AI responses. The study ("The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking: Self-Reported Reductions in Cognitive Effort and Confidence Effects From a Survey of Knowledge Workers"), conducted by Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon University scientists, surveyed 319 knowledge workers who reported using AI tools such as ChatGPT and Copilot at least once a week. The researchers analyzed 936 real-world examples of AI-assisted tasks.

https://campustechnology.com/Articles/2025/02/21/Study-Generative-AI-Could-Inhibit-Critical-Thinking.aspx?admgarea=news

San Jose State University Creates 'AI Librarian' Position - Government Technology

Thinking ahead at what artificial intelligence (AI) means for academic assets and services, San Jose State University (SJSU) last week announced a new job title: AI librarian. One of the first dedicated AI librarians at any university, according to a news release last week, Sharesly Rodriguez, who has worked at the university library since 2020, will be responsible for integrating and developing AI technology for the university's academic library. According to SJSU, librarians typically collaborate with faculty and IT staff to provide information, resources and instruction both online and in person. They also manage digital assets, develop technology resources and promote library services. Within these duties, academic librarians often have one or more subject matter specialty, such as chemistry, history, or in Rodriguez’s case, AI.

https://www.govtech.com/education/higher-ed/san-jose-state-university-creates-ai-librarian-position

Why Workers Should Evaluate Their Managers - Shing-Yi Wang, Knowledge at Wharton

What happens when workers get a say in evaluating their managers? At one Chinese carmaker, the results speak for themselves: happier teams, better leadership, and a noticeable boost in productivity — without a single downside. Those are key findings of a recent study by Wharton associate professor of business economics and public policy Shing-Yi Wang, and Jing Cai from the University of Maryland. Their research, published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics, shows that worker feedback did not just lift morale — it cut turnover by half and made teams run more effectively, a big result in an industry like manufacturing where high turnover is a persistent challenge for companies.

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/why-workers-should-evaluate-their-managers/

What Is Digital Citizenship in 2025? How Is It Taught? - Brian T. Horowitz, Ed Tech

Today, the concept has expanded to encompass how students use digital tools, says Eisha Buch, head of teaching and learning at Common Sense Media. "Digital citizenship is really empowering young people to think critically about their digital lives and participate in safe, healthy and responsible ways,” Buch says. Common Sense Media’s digital citizenship curriculum addresses these topics:

Media balance and well-being

Privacy and safety

Digital footprint and identity

Relationships and communication

Cyberbullying, digital drama and hate speech

News and media literacy

https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2025/02/what-digital-citizenship-2025-how-it-taught-perfcon

Should I Get Microcredentials To Complement My Four-Year Degree In Today’s Job Market? - Maja Zelihic, Forbes

The data supports this evolution. A 2023 report by the Education Design Lab highlights that 70% of employers recognize microcredentials as valuable indicators of specialized skills, while 87% continue to value the foundational knowledge provided by traditional degrees. As micropathways grow in popularity, they are increasingly regarded as complementary to degrees rather than standalone solutions. The conversation is shifting from choosing one path over the other to understanding how they work together to create versatile, future-ready professionals.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/majazelihic/2025/01/27/should-i-get-microcredentials-to-complement-my-four-year-degree-in-todays-job-market/

AI math tutor: ChatGPT can be as effective as human help, study suggests - Eric W. Dolan, PsyPost

A recent study published in PLOS One provides evidence that artificial intelligence can be just as helpful as a human tutor when it comes to learning mathematics. Researchers discovered that students using hints generated by ChatGPT, a popular artificial intelligence chatbot, showed similar learning improvements in algebra and statistics as those receiving guidance from human-authored hints. Educational technology is increasingly looking towards advanced artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT to enhance learning experiences. The chatbot’s ability to generate human-like text has sparked interest in its potential for tutoring and providing educational support.

https://www.psypost.org/ai-math-tutor-chatgpt-can-be-as-effective-as-human-help-study-suggests/

6 Ways Technology Transforms Learning Across Generations - Alexa Wang, Flux Magazine

The integration of technology in education has revolutionized how learners of all ages acquire knowledge. From children in preschool to adults seeking continued education, technology provides a multitude of resources that cater to diverse learning styles, making education more engaging and accessible. As we explore how technology transforms learning across generations, it becomes evident that innovations such as online courses, educational apps, and collaborative tools enhance the educational experience while fostering lifelong learning.

https://www.fluxmagazine.com/technology-transforms-learning-across-generations/

Leading Through Disruption: Higher Education Leaders Assess AI’s Impacts on Teaching and Learning - Imagining the Digital Future, Elon University

The spread of artificial intelligence tools in education has disrupted key aspects of teaching and learning on the nation’s campuses and will likely lead to significant changes in classwork, student assignments and even the role of colleges and universities in the country, according to a national survey of higher education leaders. The survey was conducted Nov. 4-Dec. 7, 2024, by the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) and Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center. A total of 337 university presidents, chancellors, provosts, rectors, academic affairs vice presidents, and academic deans responded to questions about generative artificial intelligence tools (GenAI) such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and CoPilot. The survey covered the current situation on campuses, the struggles institutional leaders encounter, the changes they anticipate and the sweeping impacts they foresee. The survey results covered in a new report, Leading Through Disruption, were released at the annual AAC&U meeting, held Jan. 22-24, 2024, in Washington, D.C.

https://imaginingthedigitalfuture.org/collaborations/ai_higher_ed_survey_jan2025/

Higher education is warming up to AI, new survey shows - EdScoop

A growing number of educators view artificial intelligence as a strategic priority, according to a paper published Monday by the nonprofit Educause. The group’s 2025 AI Landscape Study includes a survey result showing that 57% of educators polled view “AI as a strategic priority,” up from 49% in last year’s poll. While educational leaders are warming up to AI, Educause researchers wrote that institutions still have more work to do in preparing for AI. Only 22% of survey respondents said their schools had implemented institution-wide AI strategies. Fifty-five percent said AI strategy was being rolled out on an ad-hoc basis in various colleges and departments. The survey also showed that 34% of educators believe executive leaders at their institutions are underestimating the cost of AI, and only 2% said there are new funding sources for AI projects.

https://edscoop.com/higher-education-warming-ai-survey-educause-2025/

Superagency: The transformative potential of AI - McKinsey

There’s a critical difference between AI and AGI [artificial general intelligence]. Although the latest gen AI technologies, including ChatGPT, DALL-E, and others, have been hogging headlines, they are essentially prediction machines—albeit very good ones. In other words, they can predict, with a high degree of accuracy, the answer to a specific prompt because they’ve been trained on huge amounts of data. This is impressive, but it’s not at a human level of performance in terms of creativity, logical reasoning, sensory perception, and other capabilities. By contrast, AGI tools could feature cognitive and emotional abilities—like empathy—indistinguishable from those of a human.

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/ai-in-action/superagency-the-transformative-potential-of-ai

Groundbreaking BBC research shows issues with over half the answers from Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants

New BBC research published today provides a warning around the use of AI assistants to answer questions about news, with factual errors and the misrepresentation of source material affecting AI assistants.

The findings are concerning, and show:

51% of all AI answers to questions about the news were judged to have significant issues of some form

19% of AI answers which cited BBC content introduced factual errors – incorrect factual statements, numbers and dates

13% of the quotes sourced from BBC articles were either altered or didn’t actually exist in that article.

https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2025/bbc-research-shows-issues-with-answers-from-artificial-intelligence-assistants

A new operating model for people management: More personal, more tech, more human - McKinsey

The way organizations manage their most important assets—their people—is ready for a fundamental transformation. New technologies, hybrid working practices, multigenerational workforces, heightened geopolitical risks, and other major disruptions are prompting leaders to rethink their methods for attracting, developing, and retaining employees. In the past year alone, for instance, we have seen more and more companies adopt, innovate, and invest in technology—particularly in gen AI—in ways that have spurred more changes to people operations than we have observed in the past decade.

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/a-new-operating-model-for-people-management-more-personal-more-tech-more-human

‘Self-inflicted wound’: Widespread alarm as Trump administration slashes NIH funding - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive

A coalition of 22 attorneys general filed a lawsuit in federal court on Monday seeking to block the National Institutes of Health’s newly announced research funding cuts. NIH announced Friday it would cut roughly $4 billion a year worth of funding for indirect research costs such as administration and facilities — by capping reimbursement for these expenses at 15% for current and new grants. Research institutions have previously negotiated individual indirect cost rates, with an average of 27% to 28%, NIH said. Organizations, universities and researchers quickly raised alarms about the cuts, warning they could hurt important medical research and the economy.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/nih-indirect-cost-rate-cap-funding-cut-ags-lawsuit/739735/

Does OpenAI's Deep Research signal the end of human-only scholarship? - Andrew Maynard, The Future of Being Human

This past Sunday, OpenAI launched Deep Research — an extension of its growing platform of AI tools, and one which the company claims is an “agent that can do work for you independently … at the level of a research analyst.” I got access to the new tool first thing yesterday morning, and immediately put it to work on a project I’ve been meaning to explore for some time: writing a comprehensive framing paper on navigating advanced technology transitions. I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but I didn’t anticipate being impressed as much as I was. I’m well aware of the debates and discussions around whether current advances in AI are substantial, or merely smoke and mirrors hype. But even given the questions and limitations here, I find myself beginning to question the value of human-only scholarship in the emerging age of AI. And my experiences with Deep Research have only enhanced this.

https://futureofbeinghuman.com/p/openai-deep-research-ai-scholarship

Interns Impacted by Hiring Freeze Left ‘In Limbo’ - Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed

The hiring freeze appears to have forced federal agencies to cancel numerous internships; most prominently, thousands of legal internships and entry-level positions within the Department of Justice and beyond have been impacted, according to reports on social media and in news outlet like Reuters and Law360. “We’ve most definitely seen impacts of the federal hiring freeze and subsequent actions related to college recruiting and internships. We’re hearing from colleges that there have been internships that have been canceled and we have heard that federal agencies have pulled out of going onto campuses to recruit,” said Shawn VanDerziel, executive director of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, an advocacy group for campus career centers and the businesses that work with them. “I would hope once the dust settles over the coming weeks and months that we will have many more answers and that the trajectory will be more positive.”

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/careers/2025/02/07/hiring-freeze-cancels-internships-federal-agencies

College Presidents’ Survey Finds Alarm Over Trump - Josh Moody, Inside Higher Ed

The majority of college presidents surveyed by Inside Higher Ed believe the Trump administration will have a negative impact on the sector. Many are still optimistic. Even before President Donald Trump unleashed a flurry of executive orders involving higher education, college and university presidents expressed serious concerns about his possible impact on the sector and on their own institutions. That’s according to findings released today from Inside Higher Ed’s forthcoming 2025 Survey of College and University Presidents with Hanover Research. More than half of presidents surveyed in December and early January—51 percent—at that point believed Trump’s second administration would have a somewhat or significant negative impact on the regulatory environment for higher education.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/governance/executive-leadership/2025/02/06/college-presidents-survey-finds-alarm-over-trump

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warns: AI will match ‘country of geniuses’ by 2026 - Michael Nuñez, Venture Beat

AI will match the collective intelligence of “a country of geniuses” within two years, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned in a sharp critique of this week’s AI Action Summit in Paris. His timeline — targeting 2026 or 2027 — marks one of the most specific predictions yet from a major AI leader about the technology’s advancement toward superintelligence. Amodei labeled the Paris summit a “missed opportunity,” challenging the international community’s leisurely pace toward AI governance. His warning arrives at a pivotal moment, as democratic and authoritarian nations compete for dominance in AI development.

https://venturebeat.com/ai/anthropic-ceo-dario-amodei-warns-ai-will-match-country-of-geniuses-by-2026/

The Industry Reacts to OpenAI's Deep Research - "Hard Takeoff" - Matthew Berman, YouTube

Matthew Berman responds to the release of OpenAI's "Deep Research." Generalized PhD: Deep Research's performance on STEM benchmarks surpasses that of human PhDs, demonstrating the potential for AI to outperform humans in specialized fields. Economic Impact: Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, estimates that Deep Research can already accomplish a single-digit percentage of all economically valuable tasks in the world. Game Changer for Research: Deep Research is being used in various fields, including medicine, to assist with research, publishing, and even patient care. Google's Response: Google employees have expressed surprise and amusement at OpenAI's decision to name their product Deep Research, which is the same name as Google's research product. Overall, the podcast conveys a sense of excitement and urgency about the rapid advancements in AI and the potential impact on society. Berman emphasizes the importance of understanding and adapting to these changes as AI continues to evolve. (summary provided in part by Gemini 2.0)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4hGKsLaKfk

Introducing deep research - Open AI

Deep research is OpenAI's next agent that can do work for you independently—you give it a prompt, and ChatGPT will find, analyze, and synthesize hundreds of online sources to create a comprehensive report at the level of a research analyst. Powered by a version of the upcoming OpenAI o3 model that’s optimized for web browsing and data analysis, it leverages reasoning to search, interpret, and analyze massive amounts of text, images, and PDFs on the internet, pivoting as needed in reaction to information it encounters. The ability to synthesize knowledge is a prerequisite for creating new knowledge. For this reason, deep research marks a significant step toward our broader goal of developing AGI, which we have long envisioned as capable of producing novel scientific research.

https://openai.com/index/introducing-deep-research/

Trump Orders Disrupt Academic Research - Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed

As the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation review grants and programming for verboten topics—including DEI and “gender ideology”—many researchers aren’t sure if their projects will pass Trump’s nebulous, ideological tests. Many federally funded scientists have either had their grants terminated or can’t access approved funding while the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and other science agencies work to comply with President Trump’s recent executive orders. The orders, which researchers say are vague, ban funding for diversity, equity and inclusion; “gender ideology”; and green energy projects, among other issues.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/science-research-policy/2025/02/03/how-trumps-executive-orders-are-disrupting

Accreditors brace for Trump’s promised higher ed shakeup - Ben Unglesbee & Natalie Schwartz, Higher Ed Dive

On the 2024 campaign trail, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump accused the nation’s faculty of being “obsessed with indoctrinating America’s youth” and declared, “The time has come to reclaim our once great educational institutions from the radical Left.” His administration’s “secret weapon” in this conflict would be the accreditation system for colleges and universities.  “When I return to the White House, I will fire the radical Left accreditors that have allowed our colleges to become dominated by Marxist maniacs and lunatics,” he said in a July 2023 campaign video. “We will then accept applications for new accreditors who will impose real standards on colleges once again and once and for all.”

https://www.highereddive.com/news/accreditors-trump-immigration-dei-ed-department-chea-conference/738961/

DeepSeek’s Safety Guardrails Failed Every Test Researchers Threw at Its AI Chatbot - Matt Burgess, Wired

Ever since OpenAI released ChatGPT at the end of 2022, hackers and security researchers have tried to find holes in large language models (LLMs) to get around their guardrails and trick them into spewing out hate speech, bomb-making instructions, propaganda, and other harmful content. In response, OpenAI and other generative AI developers have refined their system defenses to make it more difficult to carry out these attacks. But as the Chinese AI platform DeepSeek rockets to prominence with its new, cheaper R1 reasoning model, its safety protections appear to be far behind those of its established competitors. Today, security researchers from Cisco and the University of Pennsylvania are publishing findings showing that, when tested with 50 malicious prompts designed to elicit toxic content, DeepSeek’s model did not detect or block a single one. In other words, the researchers say they were shocked to achieve a “100 percent attack success rate.”

https://www.wired.com/story/deepseeks-ai-jailbreak-prompt-injection-attacks/

University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies Releases White Paper on Retention and Success in Online Learning Communities - Business Wire

 University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies has released a new white paper, “Cultivating Supportive Learning Communities to Increase Retention and Success in Online Programs,” by Joy Hicks, Ed.D., a member of the University’s Center for Educational and Instructional Technology Research (CEITR). In the paper, Hicks offers a literature-based overview of methods for fostering supportive online learning communities that enhance student retention and success in online programs. “What we see is that a sense of belonging in online learning communities is a necessity to enhance the overall experience for students,” Hicks states. “This can be achieved by building a collaborative and stimulating learning environment through active learning and dynamic elements such as networking, study groups, discussion boards, group chats, and student-created blogs for ideas and thoughtful sharing. Making learning relevant, enjoyable, and engaging improves understanding and also builds resilience.”

https://www.standard-journal.com/ap/business/article_a69735bb-622a-5287-9ca2-14a7399b5745.html

Implementing Artificial Intelligence in Academic and Administrative Processes Through Responsible Strategic Leadership in the Higher Education Institutions - Suleman Ahmad Khairullah, Frontiers in Education

This review explores the substantial impact of integrating AI in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), from improving education delivery to enhancing student outcomes and streamlining administrative processes and strategic leadership.By catering to the diverse learning needs of students with the help of tools that directly affect academics, monitor student engagement and performance, and provide data-driven interventions, AI offers what the HEIs have long been waiting for to revolutionise the overall Higher Education landscape. This review also highlights that with AI's ability to streamline administrative tasks by enhancing admissions and enrolment processes, academic records management system, and financial aid and scholarships processes, AI not only facilitates improving the overall processes but also makes staff and faculty members focus less on mundane and monotonous tasks, hence concentrating more on the responsibilities and strategic initiatives that require focused attention.We identified that the key to unlocking the significant potential of AI is responsible strategic leadership.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1548104/abstract

Alternative Credentials Market for Higher Education to grow by USD 1.8 Billion from 2025-2029, driven by skills gap expansion, Report on AI-powered market evolution - Technavio

Report on how AI is driving market transformation - The global alternative credentials market for higher education size is estimated to grow by USD 1.8 billion from 2025-2029, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of  15.3%  during the forecast period. Widening skills gap is driving market growth, with a trend towards rise in non-traditional offerings. However, threat from traditional degree program providers  poses a challenge. Key market players include 2U Inc., Bisk Ventures, Carroll Community College Foundation Inc., City and Guilds Group, Coursera Inc., Credly Inc., JPMorgan Chase and Co., New York State Education Department, NIIT Ltd., NorthEastern University, Pearson Plc, Purdue University Global, Simplilearn, Strategic Education Inc., Temple University, Udacity Inc., Udemy Inc., University of Michigan, University Professional and Continuing Education Association, and XuetangX.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alternative-credentials-market-for-higher-education-to-grow-by-usd-1-8-billion-from-2025-2029--driven-by-skills-gap-expansion-report-on-ai-powered-market-evolution---technavio-302363300.html

Setting a Context for Agentic AI in Higher Ed - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

On Jan. 23, OpenAI released a research preview of an agent called Operator, level 3, that can use its own browser to perform tasks for users. The tool is still in preview. It will require further development and refinement. Yet, this early version of a computer-using agent shows the enormous potential of the tool to enhance and enable efficiency and effectiveness in daily use in higher education teaching, learning and administration. Still to come this year is likely to be the level-4 Innovator that will mark artificial general intelligence. The AGI definition varies, but centers on an AI tool that encompasses broadly the collective knowledge and intelligence of a human. There is speculation that AGI does already exist in developmental models at the frontier AI enterprises such as OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, Anthropic, Meta and others. It may be two more years before the awe-inspiring artificial super intelligent tools are released.

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/blogs/online-trending-now/2025/02/04/setting-context-agentic-ai-higher-ed

OpenAI launches ChatGPT for government agencies - Emma Roth, the Verge

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Gov, a version of its flagship chatbot that’s tailored to government agencies. The company says the tool will let US government agencies securely access OpenAI’s frontier models, like GPT-4o. As noted by OpenAI, government agencies can deploy ChatGPT Gov within their own Microsoft Azure cloud instance, making it easier to manage security and privacy requirements. OpenAI says the launch could help advance the use of OpenAI’s tools “for the handling of non-public sensitive data.”

https://www.theverge.com/news/598852/openai-chatgpt-gov-government-agencies

Digital Badges and Micro-Credentials in Higher Education - Nature Research Intelligence

Recent studies have highlighted the strategic importance of micro-credentials in higher education. For instance, university leaders are encouraged to consider whether micro-credentials align with their institutional goals and the needs of their students. The research emphasizes that while micro-credentials can offer strategic value, they are not a one-size-fits-all solution and should be integrated thoughtfully with existing programs and initiatives[

https://www.nature.com/research-intelligence/digital-badges-and-micro-credentials-in-higher-education

She lost her scholarship over an AI allegation — and it impacted her mental health - Rachel Hale, USA TODAY

University of North Georgia student Marley Stevens was sitting in her car when she got the email notification: Her professor had given her a zero on a paper and accused her of using artificial intelligence to cheat. Her offense? Using Grammarly, a spell check plug-in that utilizes AI, to proofread a paper. Despite the tool being listed as a recommended resource on UNG’s site, Stevens was put on academic probation after a misconduct and appeals process that lasted six months. Getting a zero on the paper impacted her GPA, and she lost her scholarship as a result. She was already taking Lexapro for diagnosed anxiety and struggling with a chronic heart condition before the ordeal. In the months during and after, her mental health plummeted.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2025/01/22/college-students-ai-allegations-mental-health/7772319400

Accelerating scientific breakthroughs with an AI co-scientist - Juraj Gottweis and Vivek Natarajan, Google

Motivated by unmet needs in the modern scientific discovery process and building on recent AI advances, including the ability to synthesize across complex subjects and to perform long-term planning and reasoning, we developed an AI co-scientist system. The AI co-scientist is a multi-agent AI system that is intended to function as a collaborative tool for scientists. Built on Gemini 2.0, AI co-scientist is designed to mirror the reasoning process underpinning the scientific method. Beyond standard literature review, summarization and “deep research” tools, the AI co-scientist system is intended to uncover new, original knowledge and to formulate demonstrably novel research hypotheses and proposals, building upon prior evidence and tailored to specific research objectives.

https://research.google/blog/accelerating-scientific-breakthroughs-with-an-ai-co-scientist/

Survey: Higher Ed Leaders Doubt Student Preparedness for AI - Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi, The Charlotte Observer

A survey of 337 university administrators found most were optimistic about artificial intelligence, but also concerned about cheating and student readiness for work environments where AI skills will be important. Considering this, the American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) and North Carolina’s Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center conducted a survey of 337 university presidents, chancellors, provosts, rectors, academic affairs vice presidents, and academic deans on the impact of GenAI tools on campuses. The majority of leaders believed students were using AI tools to complete their coursework, with 89 percent estimating that at least half of students use the tools. Despite this, when asked how prepared they felt their spring 2024 graduates were in terms of understanding and using AI, only 1 percent thought they were “very prepared,” while 40 percent thought they were “somewhat prepared,” 53 percent thought they were “not very prepared,” and 6 percent thought they were “not at all prepared.”

https://www.govtech.com/education/higher-ed/survey-higher-ed-leaders-doubt-student-preparedness-for-ai

2025 ASI RACE: OpenAI vs DeepSeek - PhD Super-Agents Change Everything - Julia McCoy, YouTube

The AI landscape is undergoing rapid and significant changes, with OpenAI and DeepSeek leading the charge. OpenAI is set to unveil PhD-level super agents, while DeepSeek's R1 model has matched OpenAI's capabilities and their R10 model demonstrates autonomous self-evolution. This accelerated progress, with AI agents capable of operating at high levels of complexity and self-learning, has prompted responses from major tech companies like Meta and Salesforce, who are restructuring their workforce in anticipation of AI's impact. The democratization of AI capabilities, with fewer barriers to entry and faster development cycles, is highlighted by DeepSeek's achievements despite having fewer resources than American companies. The race to Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) is accelerating, with a more gradual and product-focused development than initially predicted. (summary by Gemini 1.5)

https://youtu.be/-rmv4hK_4RA?si=6dtk6UwLXgS2osYq

Best & Worst Metro Areas for STEM Professionals (2025) - Adam McCann, WalletHub

To determine the best markets for STEM professionals, WalletHub compared 100 of the largest metro areas across 21 key metrics. Our data set ranges from per-capita job openings for STEM graduates to the median wage growth for STEM jobs. We evaluated those dimensions using 21 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the most favorable conditions for STEM professionals. Data for metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were available only at the state level. Finally, we determined each metro area’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order our sample.

https://wallethub.com/edu/b est-worst-metro-areas-for-stem-professionals/9200

‘A death penalty’: Ph.D. student says U of M expelled him over unfair AI allegation - Feven Gerezgiher, MPR News

The University of Minnesota expelled a third-year health economics Ph.D. student in November after faculty accused him of using artificial intelligence on an exam. He denies their claims and, this month, filed a lawsuit accusing the U of M of violating his due process. He has also filed a defamation suit against one of his professors.  In a federal lawsuit, Haishan Yang, 33, alleges a student conduct review panel unjustly found him guilty of academic dishonesty through a process riddled with “procedural flaws, reliance on altered evidence, and denial of adequate notice and opportunity to respond.”  The review was prompted by accusations that Yang used a large language model like ChatGPT on a written preliminary exam, which doctoral students must pass to start their dissertation.  

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/01/17/phd-student-says-university-of-minnesota-expelled-him-over-ai-allegation

For AI to make government work better, reduce risk and increase transparency - Valerie Wirtschafter, Brookings

A growing body of research highlights the benefits of using AI in the workplace. Examples from recent federal deployments of AI-enabled tools and other technological solutions show clear promise. For so-called “high impact service providers”—public-facing departments of federal agencies, such as the Internal Revenue Service or Customs and Border Protection—any AI-backed performance gains could improve Americans’ perceptions of the U.S. government’s overall competence.  However, a “move fast and break things” approach that leverages technology to improve government efficiency could also have significant consequences. 

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/for-ai-to-make-government-work-better-reduce-risk-and-increase-transparency/

Ph.D.-level AI super-agent breakthrough expected very soon - Mike Allen & Jim VandeHei, Axios

We've learned that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman — who in September dubbed this "The Intelligence Age," and is in Washington this weekend for the inauguration — has scheduled a closed-door briefing for U.S. government officials in Washington on Jan. 30. Between the lines: A super-agent breakthrough could push generative AI from a fun, cool, aspirational tool to a true replacement for human workers. Our sources in the U.S. government and leading AI companies tell us that in recent months, the leading companies have been exceeding projections in AI advancement. OpenAI this past week released an "Economic Blueprint" arguing that with the right rules and infrastructure investments, AI can "catalyze a reindustrialization across the country."

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/19/ai-superagent-openai-meta

Super Agent" and THE END Of Human Work - Wes Roth, YouTube

Roth discusses recent rumors and developments in the field of AI, including:

• Mark Zuckerberg's statements on replacing mid-level engineers with AI, and subsequent layoffs at Facebook.
• OpenAI's upcoming announcement of "PhD-level super agents," AI capable of complex human tasks, and its potential impact on various sectors.
• The US government's involvement in AI development, with a focus on national security and the AI arms race with China.
• The potential for AI to lead to catastrophe or improve human life, and the importance of a balanced approach to AI development.
• The role of AI in the workforce, and the potential for job displacement.
• The importance of staying ahead in the AI race, and the potential consequences of falling behind.

Roth also discusses the views of various experts and leaders on AI, including Jake Sullivan, Mark Andreessen, and Leopold Aschenbrenner. He concludes by emphasizing the rapid pace of AI development and the potential for significant changes in the near future.

https://youtu.be/SyQJoih7uQU?si=rOD8a4UVyjnxQsn5

How Will AI Fundamentally Transform Our Economy? - Anton Korinek, U of Virginia Darden School of Business

AI is about to fundamentally transform our economic system in ways that are comparable to the Industrial Revolution. Just as that earlier transition moved us from the Middle Ages to our modern industrial economy, AI will usher in an entirely new economic paradigm. The technology is rapidly advancing, with the potential to automate both cognitive and physical work across virtually all sectors. Still, there is significant uncertainty about the timeline and extent of these changes. Some experts predict transformative advances within the next year or two, while others expect more gradual changes, in a range of five to 10 years from now. What’s clear is that AI is already affecting productivity and starting to affect labor markets and financial systems.

https://news.darden.virginia.edu/2025/01/16/how-will-ai-fundamentally-transform-our-economy/

ChatGPT’s NEW Task Scheduling Feature is MIND BLOWING (automates any task) - "Rob the AI Guy," YouTube

This video is about the new task feature of ChatGPT. The speaker introduces the feature and how to use it. The speaker also provides six prompts that viewers can start implementing today. The speaker believes that this is the biggest update that OpenAI has ever released. This video shows you how to use OpenAI’s new ChatGPT feature tasks to schedule out tasks in the future. If you want to learn more about ChatGPT’s new feature or how AI agents are changing in 2025 this video is for you.

https://youtu.be/6d4AIwWETLU?si=bV9j_Nm5-m87ZzvV

SUNY Will Teach Students to ‘Ethically Use AI’ - Johanna Alonzo, Inside Higher Ed

 Since the launch of ChatGPT a little over two years ago, universities have struggled to figure out generative artificial intelligence’s place on their campuses. But the State University of New York—which, early on, invested heavily in AI research—has given the technology a place of prominence as a key subject every undergraduate student will be required to study to earn their degree. The university system announced earlier this month that it would adjust one of its “core competencies”—general education requirements that all undergraduate students are required to take—to include education about AI. The change comes alongside others to the system’s general education program, including the addition of a new civic education core competency.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/artificial-intelligence/2025/01/16/suny-adds-ai-education-its-information

Introduction to Operator & Agents - OpenAI, YouTube

OpenAI launched its first AI agent, Operator, which can use a web browser to accomplish tasks independently. Operator is still in its early research preview, but it can already do a lot of cool things, like booking restaurants and buying groceries. Operator is based on a new model called the computer using agent, or Kua, which is trained to use and control a computer in the same way that humans can. Kua is still under development, but it has already achieved some impressive results on benchmarks like OS World and Web Arena. Open AI is starting to roll out Operator to Pro users in the US, and it will be available to Plus users in the coming months. The API for Operator will be available in a few weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSE77wAdDLg

Education Experts Warn Against Potential Dismantling of U.S. Department of Education - Angela Dennis, Diverse Education

The threat to shut down ED isn’t new, said Dr. James Earl Davis, a professor and endowed chair of education at Temple University. “Since the inception of the US Department of Education in 1979 every Republican presidential candidate, either in the platform or in actions, has proposed the elimination of the department,” said Davis, who moderated the discussion. As a federal agency, ED has had a long-standing role in advancing racial equity in education, added Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, the former dean of the College of Education at American University and the recently named CEO and president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.

https://www.diverseeducation.com/leadership-policy/article/15712197/education-experts-warn-against-potential-dismantling-of-us-department-of-education

AI agents coming soon to a workplace near you - Emily Peck, Axios

AI technology is advancing rapidly and if you're not already using it at work, brace yourself. Why it matters: That was Sam Altman's message, buried in a blog post. "We believe that, in 2025, we may see the first AI agents 'join the workforce' and materially change the output of companies," writes the OpenAI founder. State of play: The possibility of using AI agents to do work instead of expensive humans has some companies super excited. It's making many workers super anxious. Distinct from an AI chatbot, an AI agent can work autonomously. You tell it what to do, and the agent goes off and does it in the real world. In other words, it could theoretically fully replace a human.

https://www.axios.com/2025/01/10/ai-agents-sam-altman-workers

Partners Bring Secure Online Education to the Incarcerated - Government Technology

A career technical education curriculum and certification program, iCEV, and a public benefits corporation, Nucleos, have come together to bring secure online education to incarcerated people, according to a news release this week. Nucleos provides tablets and a secure online portal with content and communication controls. The portal allows facilities to monitor learner activity and ensure compliance with their regulations. With the tablets, incarcerated individuals can access iCEV’s curriculum and industry certification training, and tests. iCEV content covers areas including trade, life and soft skills; financial literacy; mental health; and career development.

https://www.govtech.com/education/partners-bring-secure-online-education-to-the-incarcerated

2024 was tough for higher education. 2025 will be tougher - Hans de Wit and Philip G Altbach, University World News

Surprisingly, many in the higher education community are still feeling pretty good about future trends. While 2024 was problematic for higher education and research worldwide, 2025 is not looking better at all. There is an American saying that may apply here: “Whistling past the graveyard”, that is, ignoring reality. At the same time, the right-wing reality higher education is facing is itself full of contradictions between what is said and what is done, making predictions rather complicated. In its 2024 plan, the right-wing Dutch government mentioned the importance of innovation 85 times, but then cut the budget for higher education and research by €1 billion (US1.03 billion) a year (later reducing this amount to half a billion after pressure from the opposition – and taking that money away from healthcare).

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2025010808011331&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=GLNL0814

AI’s next leap requires intimate access to your digital life - Gerrit De Vynct, Washington Post

Tech companies are racing to upgrade chatbots like ChatGPT not only to offer answers, but also to take control of a computer to take action on a person’s behalf. Experts in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity warn the technology will require people to expose much more of their digital lives to corporations, potentially bringing new privacy and security problems. In recent weeks, executives from leading AI companies including Google, Microsoft, Anthropic and OpenAI have all predicted that a new generation of digital helpers termed “AI agents” will completely change how people interact with computers.

https://wapo.st/3CcdkNN

These jobs will disappear fastest by 2030 as AI rises, according to the World Economic Forum - Jennifer Mattson, Fast Company

Bank tellers, cashiers, postal workers, and the jobs of administrative assistants are among those forecast to decline by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report, which was released ahead of the group’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, later this month. In all, the World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates “new job creation and job displacement” will amount to 22% of today’s total jobs, and specifically, 170 million jobs will be created, equivalent to 14% of current employment. This growth is expected to be offset by the loss of 92 million jobs, resulting in a net growth of 78 million jobs by 2030.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91256947/jobs-most-at-risk-fastest-growing-declining-by-2030-ai-wef-world-economic-forum

Gender balance in computer science and engineering is improving at elite universities but getting worse elsewhere - Joseph Cimpian, the Conversation

The share of computer science and engineering degrees going to women has increased at the most selective American universities over the past 20 years and is approaching gender parity, while the proportion has declined at less selective schools. Those are the main findings of a study my colleague and I recently published in the journal Science. Jo R. King and I analyzed over 34 million bachelor’s degrees awarded by nearly 1,600 American universities from 2002 to 2022 – data covering almost all bachelors-degree-granting institutions in the U.S. We wanted to identify which factors best predict parity among men and women in physics, engineering and computer science majors.

https://theconversation.com/gender-balance-in-computer-science-and-engineering-is-improving-at-elite-universities-but-getting-worse-elsewhere-244365

Online Degrees Out of Reach - Liam Knox, Inside Higher Ed

Fewer than half of students at the largest nonprofit online institutions earn a degree after eight years. Is it an unfortunate reality or a cry for accountability? Demand for remote degree programs has surged in the past decade, and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic normalized the online classroom. But for students in many exclusively online programs, eight-year completion rates often fall below 50 percent, according to data on outcome measures from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. At Southern New Hampshire University, one of the largest and oldest online institutions in the country, only 36 percent of students who enrolled in 2015 graduated in eight years. At Grand Canyon University, four times as many students attend online as in person—100,000 compared to 25,000 at the Phoenix campus this fall. But only 46 percent of the nearly 26,000 online and in-person students who enrolled in 2015 had earned a degree by 2023, according to IPEDS data.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/teaching-learning/2025/01/08/large-online-colleges-students-struggle-earn

Indispensable Instructional Designers at Professional Schools - Patricia Baia, Faculty Focus

IDs can bring transformative benefits to professional schools (programs offering terminal degrees for a specific profession) and support faculty in their endeavors to innovate and engage students. Professional schools, such as pharmacy, medical, dental, law, etc., should consider incorporating instructional designers into their academic teams to boost the quality of education and to help reshape what faculty are doing. Professional schools cater to a diverse student body with varying learning preferences, needs, and accrediting bodies to answer to (Coble, 2015). These adult learners thrive in multimodal contexts which can look like traditional lecture-based settings, hands-on experiential learning, or online coursework. Most importantly, adults need consistency, organization, transparency, and a community (Sockalingam, 2012 & Binder, 2023). Instructional designers are experts who use their flexibility, knowledge, and skills in theory and practice to help faculty adapt to new ways of educating students (Pollard & Kumar, 2022).

https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/course-design-ideas/indispensable-instructional-designers-at-professional-schools/

How to be a better leader in 2025 - Arne Gast, McKinsey

If you want to step into 2025 as the leader you aspire to be, start by taking an honest look at your current approach. Are you prioritizing strategically? Are you maximizing your time and energy? Are you cultivating a resilient team? As McKinsey's Arne Gast writes, "Leaders who continually upgrade their personal operating model report being more productive, working more consciously, and driving change more effectively." Check out these insights to learn how to proactively adapt and refine your personal approach to work and life to make 2025 your most successful year yet.

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/themes/how-to-be-a-better-leader-in-2025

The AI skills you’ll need for 2025: IBM SkillsBuild education forecast - IBM

This trend is common across industries. A new report from IBM reveals that 87% of executives expect jobs to be augmented rather than replaced by generative AI. As for the human element, the challenge today is that about half (47%) of executives say their people lack the knowledge and skills to effectively implement and scale AI across the enterprise. The answer is that we need to invest in education and upskilling to fully reap the benefits of AI. People are crucial to this effort. With that in mind, here are IBM’s three predictions for education in 2025, and the skills we need to build now to prepare.

https://www.ibm.com/think/insights/ai-skills-you-need-for-2025

Why more colleges are embracing AI offerings - Lilah Burke, Higher Ed Dive

Ever since the public release of ChatGPT in November 2022, artificial intelligence has dominated conversations related to higher education and the future of work in the U.S. Now, some colleges are investing significantly in AI-related programs, from specific degrees to integrating AI literacy into other disciplines.  They are doing so for several reasons. Those include responding to predictions that the American workforce will rely on AI much more in the future. For students who would like to work with the development and science of AI, that can mean jobs — some of which are fairly high-paying. For students in other disciplines, that could mean they need to demonstrate AI-related knowledge or competency to land jobs. 

https://www.highereddive.com/news/colleges-artificial-intelligence-programs-investments/736196/

What might happen if the Education Department were closed? - Jill Barshay, et al; Hechinger Report

The mere specter of shuttering an agency that commands more than $200 billion has led parents, students, teachers, policy experts and politicians to wonder about (and in some cases plan for) the possible effects on their children and communities. Collectively, state and local governments spend far more on education than the federal government does. With federal dollars connected to many rules about how that money can be spent, however, the Education Department does play a significant role in how schools and colleges operate. Deleting the agency would not undo federal law providing money for students in rural places, with disabilities or who come from low-income families, but doling out that money and overseeing it could get messy. Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota recently introduced a bill to unwind the Education Department and spread its work across other federal agencies. The Hechinger Report tried to answer some of the questions raised by the possible dismantling of the department, consulting experts and advocates on student loans, special education, financial aid, school lunch and beyond. 

https://hechingerreport.org/what-might-happen-if-the-education-department-were-closed/

The end of in-person learning? Setting higher ed’s online goals for 2025 - Joe Ferraro, University Business

Higher education is undergoing a profound transformation, with online learning shifting from a temporary solution during the pandemic to a core component of many institutions’ long-term strategies. Students today read less than 15% of their assigned materials—a concerning trend that demands a new approach to how learning content is delivered and consumed. This shift raises a key question: Are traditional classrooms becoming obsolete, or can a blended model offer the best of both worlds while meeting students’ diverse needs? As institutions set ambitious online enrollment goals for 2025 and beyond, they must navigate a strategic path that preserves academic quality while driving scalable, financially sustainable programs.

https://universitybusiness.com/the-end-of-in-person-learning-setting-higher-eds-online-goals-for-2025/

Workforce Pell Grants will create high-paying jobs for more Americans - Linda McMahon, the Hill

America’s skilled workforce is unparalleled worldwide in technology, health care, trades and manufacturing. Our productivity per hour is consistently among the highest on Earth. That’s why the best path to a booming economy is to swell the ranks of our skilled workforce through education and training for more Americans. Congress should recognize the effort and commitment of American workers by funding the skills training and technical education most laborers rely on.

https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/4871602-skilled-workforce-investment/

A ‘hidden liability’: Colleges face up to $950B in capital needs, Moody’s says - Ben Unglesbee, Higher Ed Dive

As deferred maintenance at higher education institutions mounts, the growing backlog of needed capital investment presents a “hidden liability” for the sector, according to a Moody’s Ratings report this month. Collectively, the capital needs for facilities amount to between $750 billion and $950 billion over the next decade for colleges the agency rates, according to Moody’s. With fewer financial options, many colleges will resort to taking on new debt to finance investments, analysts said. Moody’s analysts expect infrastructure spending to pick up as colleges take on projects put off during the pandemic. But “few have the necessary resources and credit strength to sustain the higher amounts needed to tackle the full extent of their infrastructure needs,” they said.

https://www.highereddive.com/news/colleges-950B-capital-needs-facilities-deferred-maintenance-moodys/725282/

Dubay: Artificial Intelligence will boost productivity in 2025 - Rio Grande Guardian, Luis Montoya

Gains from artificial intelligence (AI) could cause productivity to soar above expectations next year. This is the prediction of Curtis Dubay, chief economist in the economic policy division of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “The surge in productivity in the last few years pre-dates the introduction of AI. While we have had years to integrate automation technology and are finally seeing the economic gains from that evolution, the economic efficiency brought on by AI hasn’t really kicked off yet,” Dubay said. “In 2025, we can expect businesses across the economy to better integrate AI into their processes. They are going to have no other choice because they will remain short of workers.”“AI will make their current workers more productive than they already are. This will boost growth even further and allow businesses to continue paying high wages, all while expanding their profit margins (as long as wage gain remains at current levels). That’s a win-win-win.”

https://riograndeguardian.com/dubay-artificial-intelligence-will-boost-productivity-in-2025/

Skipping College: The New Playbook for Successful Careers Without College - Thomas Frey, Future of Education

It has become increasingly evident that many young people are questioning the long-held belief that a traditional four-year college education is the best—or only—path to success. Rising tuition costs, mounting student debt, and uncertain job prospects after graduation have driven a growing skepticism toward the value of a college degree. At the same time, the rapid evolution of technology and shifting demands in the labor market have highlighted the need for skills-based learning and alternative career pathways. This change reflects a broader cultural and economic shift, with more individuals seeking practical, affordable, and efficient ways to enter the workforce. The future of career preparation is evolving, with a focus on building meaningful networks, acquiring hands-on skills, and leveraging personalized education options like trade schools, certifications, online courses, and mentorships. These alternatives not only align better with individual goals but also provide direct, tangible routes to professional success in an ever-changing world.The shifting attitudes toward higher education are being driven by a convergence of economic, professional, and cultural factors. Economically, the skyrocketing cost of college tuition and the resulting student loan crisis have left many young people questioning whether a degree is worth the financial burden. 

https://futuristspeaker.com/future-of-education/skipping-college-the-new-playbook-for-successful-careers-without-college/

Realizing AI Agent Transformation - Venture Beat

There’s no industry that won’t be disrupted by AI, and more specifically generative AI and agentic AI, in the coming months and years. Companies are understandably eager to realize the enormous promise of agentic AI, but they recognize the importance of mitigating risks to their brand and intellectual property. The present moment offers a critical opportunity to develop the necessary infrastructures, strategies, and solutions to empower the coming wave of citizen developers.

https://venturebeat.com/realizing-ai-transformation/

Beyond assistants: AI agents are transforming the paradigm - Venture Beat Staff

You can think of AI agents as tireless, specialized employees in an organization that are very specifically tailored to a task, and collaborate to solve business problems for you, Pandey adds. Adoption is currently picking up steam, and showing great results, Tim Tully, partner at Menlo Ventures, told VentureBeat. “I’m seeing a remarkable stream of customer success companies replacing and augmenting customer success teams with agents and helping them scale out,” Tully said. “It’s happening in marketing automation. It’s happening in code generation. I think you’re going to see agents spread across into other forms of software engineering as well. They’re incredibly pervasive as it stands today, but I think in the future agents are going to be used even more broadly across the enterprise.”

https://venturebeat.com/ai/beyond-assistants-ai-agents-are-transforming-the-paradigm/

Microsoft CEO’s Shocking Prediction: “Agents Will Replace ALL Software" - Matt Berman, YouTube

The video discusses Satya Nadella's (Microsoft CEO) prediction that software applications as we know them are going away in favor of agents. This is a huge statement that has vast implications for the future of software development. Specifically, Nadella argues that agents will eventually replace all business applications (including Excel). He believes that the future of software development will be based on agents interacting directly with databases. This means that there will be no need for the traditional application stack, which includes the user interface, business logic, and database. Instead, agents will be able to access and manipulate data directly, without the need for a human to write code. This has significant implications for both businesses and developers. Businesses will need to adapt to this new paradigm by investing in AI and training their employees to use agents. Developers will need to learn new skills and tools in order to create and manage agents. The video also discusses the potential benefits of this shift. Agents can automate many tasks that are currently done by humans, which can free up employees to focus on more strategic work. Additionally, agents can help businesses to make better decisions by providing them with access to more data and insights. (summary assisted by Gemini 1.5)

https://youtu.be/uGOLYz2pgr8?si=P3gYJFco6Q4MNu-E

Embracing the Future: New England College Takes the Lead in AI Education with New Online Master’s Program in Artificial Intelligence - New England College

In response to the growing global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) expertise, New England College (NEC) has launched a forward-thinking fully online Master of Science in AI degree program. This carefully designed program aims to equip professionals with the advanced skills needed to drive innovation. The new online program provides students with the technical expertise and real-world experience required to lead in AI development and applications. With AI revolutionizing industries from healthcare to finance and technology and a job growth of 32 percent over the past two years, the demand for skilled professionals in this field is at an all-time high. NEC’s AI master’s program offers students the opportunity to gain knowledge in AI, machine learning, data science and neural networks while allowing them to study on their own schedule from anywhere.

https://www.nec.edu/news/embracing-the-future-new-england-college-takes-the-lead-in-ai-education-with-new-online-masters-program-in-artificial-intelligence

Google releases model to rival OpenAI - Martin Crowley, AI Tool Report

Google launched Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, its “most thoughtful model yet” that’s capable of reasoning its way through complex tasks, in areas like programming, math, and physics. A bit like OpenAI’s o1 can.  Powered by Google’s recently released LLM, Gemini Flash 2.0, Google’s reasoning model is supposedly quicker at responding than others (reasoning models take their time to ‘’think’’ and work their way through problems) and, although it appears to be similar in design to o1, it has one benefit that addresses a major concern with AI functioning as a ‘’black box, shrouded in mystery: It shows you what it’s “thinking”. It displays its workings out and explains why it’s come to the conclusion it has, offering users a more transparent experience and a clearer insight into how it works. 

https://www.aitoolreport.com/articles/google-releases-model-to-rival-openai