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/