Education

INSTANT AI UPDATE 41 - WIKIPEDIA VS GROKIPEDIA - AI-POWERED KNOWLEDGE The emergence of Grokipedia, an AI-powered encyclopedia developed by Elon Musk's xAI, has sparked a new era in the way digital knowledge is curated, updated, and consumed. Grokipedia's late-2025 launch marks a significant shift from the established, human-edited Wikipedia model, raising critical questions about the future of information reliability, transparency, speed, and bias. This post synthesizes the l

This latest guide teaches how to quickly master the AI-enhanced features of Microsoft 365 Plus Copilot. The guide's nine chapters, along with an introductory prologue, detail each powerful Microsoft 365 and Windows 11 topic and explore the 90+ new or AI-enhanced features within Copilot

INSTANT AI UPDATE 30 - WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF ANTHROPIC’S $1.5 BILLION COPYRIGHT SETTLEMENT? Anthropic has agreed to pay at LEAST $1.5B to a coalition of authors and publishers. This settlement, reached after months of negotiation and legal pressure, is the largest of its kind in U.S. copyright history and marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate over the use of copyrighted material in AI training. As AI systems, particularly large language models (LLMs), have becom

The "Anthropic Education Report: How Educators Use Claude" published last week, examines the transformative impact of AI tools like Claude on university teaching.

This week Jonathan Kao and his UCLA-based team published exciting new findings in Nature Machine Intelligences that were also summarized in a companion article in Nature. 

AI is rapidly transforming facets of higher education. Over 70% of university professors have embraced AI for research, leveraging its power for data analysis, literature reviews, and hypothesis generation, but less than 35% have integrated AI into teaching and learning.

Deepfakes are synthetic media in which a person in an existing image or video is replaced with someone else's likeness using AI algorithms, particularly deep learning techniques such as generative adversarial networks (GANs). Generative AI has ushered in a new era of media manipulation, with deepfake technology at the forefront.

AI Sycophancy refers to the tendency of generative AI models to adapt their responses to align with the user’s views, even when those views are factually incorrect or ethically problematic. The term, borrowed from human behavior, describes a pattern where AI chatbots prioritize user approval over truthfulness or objectivity.

A key element of learning is “learning” how to study; learners of all ages struggle with developing good study habits. Knowt, founded in 2018, is a U.S.-based EdTech startup that leverages AI to revolutionize note-taking, study, and assessment. The platform’s core offering is its ability to automatically generate quizzes and study materials from user-uploaded notes, PDFs, and textbooks, using advanced natural language processing (NLP) algorithms.

We are once again at the crossroads of another significant opportunity. The integration of AI in education is revolutionizing how students learn, teachers instruct, and institutions operate. Khanmigo for Education (KfE) is the latest brainchild of Salman Khan (Khan Academy). This post introduces Khanmigo.

The Open Agentic Web refers to an evolution of the Internet in which autonomous, AI-powered agents act as intermediaries between users and digital services, operating across platforms, applications, and devices. These agents are not siloed within proprietary ecosystems but are interoperable, open-source, and capable of negotiating, executing, and personalizing tasks on behalf of individuals and organizations.

Being a cautious AI optimist, in INSTANT AI UPDATE 9, I wrote about AI hallucinations and the risks associated with AI providing “false but probable-sounding information.” This week’s headline about AI in med schools led me to research the growth of AI in medical education and identify the risks associated with this shift. 

This post offers a detailed overview of Microsoft’s Copilot AI strategy, including 5 pros and 5 cons. Microsoft Copilot is an AI-powered assistant integrated into Windows and the 365 suite. Leveraging advanced AI technologies, including LLMs and Microsoft Graph, Copilot is designed to enhance productivity, automate repetitive tasks, and streamline workflows across applications, including Windows, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Designer.

I have long relied on basic accessibility tools that allow me to function normally in my academic and professional pursuits. I’ve been privileged to work with scores of differently-abled colleagues, including those with vision, hearing, emotional, physical, and intellectual challenges. As a consumer of accessibility capabilities and a longtime proponent of a genuinely equal-opportunity workplace, I believe that AI offers breakthrough capabilities for those of all abilities. 

This process is not about pointing out flaws but about learning how to guide the AI more effectively. When assessing any AI chatbot responses, consider the following 5-step criteria we developed called the TRACE method. Think of this as a checklist to quickly evaluate each response.

Crafting effective AI prompts (questions, requests, commands, instructions, etc.) is both an art and a science. In this post, we’ll break down a simple, repeatable framework for writing great prompts, making it easier for you to communicate with your AI chatbot of choice and get the best possible results. To help you remember the key elements, we’ll use the mnemonic CLEAR.