Should AIs have rights? Today, a real campaign co-founded with a chatbot says “yes” — and that’s not even the wildest part of this week’s episode. We stress-test AI personhood arguments (without sci-fi hand-waving), unpack why “compute” is the new oil, and show how a simple co-intelligence workflow can lighten your week. Plus: a blisteringly fast image editor formerly nicknamed “nano banana” (now Gemini Flash 2.5), the pricey two-hour school model making headlines, and how a quiet legal deal points toward a licensing future for training data. The takeaway: AI is accelerating automation, but human judgment, community, and domain expertise are still your moat. By the end, you’ll have one Monday-morning move to reduce AI chaos and increase impact — this week.

1) “Nano banana” → Gemini Flash 2.5 image editing
What’s changing: A lightning-fast image model with strong character consistency and context control that behaves like an image editor, not just a generator — and it’s showing up as a plugin across tools. 
Why it matters: You can prototype creative, ads, and learning visuals in minutes, not hours, including perspective shifts (e.g., map top-down → street view) and realistic compositing (reflections, wet surfaces).

2) The Anthropic settlement & a licensing turnWhat’s changing: A headline copyright class action settled pre-trial; judges hinted fair use for legally purchased books but flagged alleged pirate sources as the issue. In Australia, unions + Tech Council conversations point toward paying creators for training data. 
Why it matters: Expect more licensing deals, clearer provenance, and model choices that respect your institution’s risk appetite.

3) AI overwhelm is real — and uneven
What’s changing: 51% say learning AI feels like a second job; posts about overwhelm up 82%; employment for 22–25 y.o. fell 16% in AI-exposed roles 2022–2025. Yet colleagues beat algorithms for trusted advice. 
Why it matters: You need co-intelligence (keep the judgment, outsource the grunt work) and public reasoning rituals with your team.

Segment Breakdown

• AI Rights Without the Sci-Fi — What “personality without personhood” means for policy and classrooms. 3-sentence how-to: define boundaries, add discontinuity reminders, avoid anthropomorphic framing in student tools. 00:05:00  
• The Image Editor That Feels Like Magic — Build a tiny “ad generator” in minutes; dial character consistency; perspective tricks for learning media. 00:01:20  
• Alpha School’s 2-Hour Day — Why price tags and selection effects matter; what higher-ed can trial (life-skills blocks + AI tutoring pilots). 00:13:36  
• The Licensing Domino — What the Anthropic deal signals; how to prep procurement and policy notes now. 00:15:34  
• The AI-Overwhelm Paradox — Use co-intelligence: keep judgment, outsource busywork; make reasoning visible to your team. 00:17:17  
• Jargon Buster: “Compute” — Electricity for thinking, and why “who controls compute” is strategic. 00:19:26  
• Skills vs Capability — Stop chasing interfaces; double down on domain knowledge, evaluation, critical reasoning, collaboration. 00:23:05  

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🎙️ Adjunct Intelligence is the weekly briefing for higher-ed professionals who want AI as a cheat code—not a headache.

Every episode:
• Real tests of AI tools in education and professional workflows
• Fast, Monday-morning actions you can actually try
• Clear signal through the noise (no hype, no jargon)

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