Learning Curve

Can thinking the public narrative around robot cars help educators think about the fast-rising trend of generative AI? For this episode, Jeff talked with two experts with books on how to think about teaching and AI — and put them in debate about key differences in their approaches.Books, articles and podcasts mentioned:“Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning,” by José Antonio Bowen and C. Edward Watson.“More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI,” by John Warner. “What Is Culture in the Age of A.I.?” by Joshua Rothman in The New Yorker.My interview with writer John McPhee from 2018 on the EdSurge Podcast.“Chemistry Nobel goes to developers of AlphaFold AI that predicts protein structures,” in Nature.

During the ICE surge in Minneapolis, AI is playing a role in this tense and unfolding story, specifically how it is contributing to misinformation. What can educators do to prepare students, and any of us, for this new information landscape where AI is increasingly a factor. Jeff visited the University of Minnesota’s journalism school and talked with a professor who is exploring the role of AI in news, as well as three student journalists covering protests and ICE activity.Links mentioned:Photos, videos and other coverage from The Minnesota Daily, the student newspaper at the University of Minnesota.Trump social media post showing AI generated image of him attacking protesters, and an article about it. "White House shares an altered photo of arrested Minnesota protester Nekima Levy Armstrong," in NBC News.  

Last week the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing about potential legislation banning kids under 13 from using social media. Australia has a new law keeping kids under 16 off the technology. What about new AI tools? Should regulations enforce age limits — and is that even possible given how embedded the tech is becoming?Senate Commerce Committee Hearing, "Plugged Out: Examining the Impact of Technology on America’s Youth."

In the past few months new AI tools known as “Agentic AI” have emerged. These new browsers let users deploy AI assistants that can surf the web on their behalf. While they were designed to do things like book airline tickets or schedule meetings, students can use the tools to have the bot log into learning management systems to take quizzes for them. Anna Mills, a longtime English instructor, has called on AI companies to add a simple guardrail to keep these tools from assisting in academic fraud, just as they refuse to help with hacking or other unethical acts. The situation raises questions about how AI companies are responding to calls by educators to add safeguards to protect learning.LinkedIn post by Anna Mills calling for AI companies to add guardrails to protect learning. “Statement on Educational Technologies and AI Agents” by the Modern Language Association.Video demo by Anna Mills showing an Agentic AI browser taking quizzes in the name of a student.“Tech companies don’t care that students use their AI agents to cheat,” in The Verge.Perplexity ad on social media."The Adoption and Usage of AI Agents: Early Evidence from Perplexity," in ArXiv.

Matt Boudinot’s AI explainer videos and his Auto Service Soft Skills Garage.A super-short version of this episode that ran on APM’s Marketplace."The Best of Car Talk: Some Noises Are Better Than Others,” on NPR.

"1 in 5 high schoolers has had a romantic AI relationship, or knows someone who has," NPR. “How many hours does it take to make a friend?,” research by this week’s guest Jeff Hall.“Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens,” in The New York Times.Talk out the Thomas Jefferson chatbot discussed on this episode.“Programmed for Love,” an article I wrote for The Chronicle of Higher Education about Sherry Turkle’s work back in 2011.

“Editorial: AI-proof the Core Curriculum The Core Curriculum is an essential part of a Catholic education that must be saved from AI,” in The Observer, the student newspaper at Notre Dame.LinkedIn post by David Griffith about the student newspaper editorial.AI Is Coming for the Consultants. Inside McKinsey, ‘This Is Existential.’ in The Wall Street Journal"Should Instructors Ask Students to Show Document Histories to Guard Against AI Cheating?” in EdSurge.

More on Bryan Alexander’s forthcoming book, “Peak Higher Education.”“The Diamond Age,” by Neal Stephenson. “Dual Enrollment Leads to More College Acceptances, Greater Financial Awards,” in Inside Higher Education.“Should College Become Part of High School?” on the EdSurge Podcast.Bryan Alexander’s Future Trends Forum.

In the Know, the podcast of the University of Minnesota's student newspaper, The Minnesota Daily."Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College," in New York magazine. 

Demo of Sara Cochran’s AI avatar, University of Virginia websiteSora and Vibes: AI Video Now Officially Going After Social Media, Platformer

“The Professors Are Using ChatGPT, and Some Students Aren’t Happy About It,” by Kashmir Hill in The New York Times.Northeastern University’s AI use policy.“Automated Essay Writing: An AIED Opinion,” by Mike Sharples in the International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education.

DukeGPT“Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College” in New York Magazine.

The Disengaged Teen, by Rebecca Winthrop and Jenny Anderson “Minnesota high school student weighs the benefits and pitfalls of AI,” Minnesota Now“I’m a High Schooler. AI Is Demolishing My Education,” The AtlanticBrookings Global Task Force on AI in Education website‘We Have to Really Rethink the Purpose of Education,’ The Ezra Klein Show.

Watch Matter and Space's video discussed in this episode,  "Butterflies"Read Maha Bali's blog.

The viral research paper that started it all: “Attention Is All You Need.”Mutlu Cukurova's paper discussed in this episode, “The Interplay of Learning Analytics and Artificial Intelligence in Education: A Vision for Hybrid Intelligence.”Brian Christensen's “The Most Human Human.”Apple Intelligence ad discussed in this episode: Writing Tools.

Teachers and students can't help wondering ... what are we doing here? What's the role of education when AI seems able to do tasks that once seemed uniquely human. The goal of Learning Curve is to inform a conversation about what it means to learn, whether AI could improve education, and which learning needs protecting amid the AI gold rush. Look for the first episode August 20.