The rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence tools has produced dozens of note-taking and research assistants, but few have delivered a coherent, end-to-end learning experience. Google’s Notebook LM stands out because it blends multimodal analysis, grounded responses and interactive learning aids into a single platform. Released in 2023 and continuously updated, Notebook LM has quickly become one of the most impressive AI-enhanced research agents available today. Unlike traditional chatbots that draw on general internet knowledge, Notebook LM grounds every response in the documents you provide. Uploads can include PDFs, Google Docs, Google Slides, websites, YouTube videos, audio files or plain text. Once added, the system becomes an “instant expert” on your materials. You can converse with it in a familiar chat interface or any of the following incredibly diverse capabilities
Thursday, September 25, 2025
How this AI chatbot helps students navigate their first semester - Alcino Donadel, University Business
Western New England University’s newest staff member is working around the clock to check in on students and instantly connect them with the campus resources they need. Luckily, no human is losing any sleep. Spirit, the university’s generative AI chatbot, is entering its second full academic year of fielding mobile text messages from students. Over the past 12 months, machine and man exchanged over 17,000 messages, with students initiating over 2,200 questions. “Sometimes it’s challenging to go find a staff member in some random building, but messaging the chatbot ensures that their voice is going to be heard,” says Jeanne Powers, executive director of the Student Hub, the university’s student support center.
Google narrows the gap with ChatGPT as millions tap Nano Banana to make hyperrealistic 3D figurines. - Robert Hart, the Verge
The surge has likely propelled Gemini to the top of various app stores around the world. At the time of writing, Gemini is the leading iPhone app on Apple’s App Stores in the US, UK, Canada, France, Australia, Germany, and Italy. In many cases, it reached the prime position by surpassing OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which now sits in second place. On September 11th, Woodward said “India has found” the image editor and later said that Google was going to have to implement “temporary limits” on usage in order to manage extreme demand. “It’s a full-on stampede to use” Gemini, he said, adding that the “team is doing heroics to keep the system up and running.” So, what’s driving the surge? While a variety of edits have been popular, the runaway hit of Nano Banana has people turning themselves — or their pets — into 3D figurines.
Wednesday, September 24, 2025
How to use ChatGPT at university without cheating: ‘Now it’s more like a study partner’ - the Guardian
According to a recent report from the Higher Education Policy Institute, almost 92% of students are now using generative AI in some form, a jump from 66% the previous year. “Honestly, everyone is using it,” says Magan Chin, a master’s student in technology policy at Cambridge, who shares her favourite AI study hacks on TikTok, where tips range from chat-based study sessions to clever note-sifting prompts. “It’s evolved. At first, people saw ChatGPT as cheating and [thought] that it was damaging our critical thinking skills. But now, it’s more like a study partner and a conversational tool to help us improve.”
Here’s how to tackle this root cause for tech burnout - Alcino Donadel
Back-end operations are undergoing a period of upheaval as campus business units adopt new technology to enhance staff productivity. Uneven implementation can isolate staff and cause burnout, blunting the promise of new tools, according to an analysis of four recent reports covered by University Business. The reports examined staff sentiment and their work environments across various offices, including financial aid, cybersecurity, IT, enrollment management and teaching and learning. While the scope of each report differed, the surveys painted a picture of staff who are aware of (and often willing to adopt) new technologies, but are frequently hampered by insufficient institutional support. Among the most common staff demands was professional development in artificial intelligence.
ChatGPT Lab calls for students to share campus use cases and shape new features - Ed Tech Innovation Hub
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has launched applications for the next round of its ChatGPT Lab for Students in the United States and Canada. The initiative brings small groups of undergraduates into weekly discussions where they exchange ways of using ChatGPT for study, career, and everyday tasks. The program, which runs about the length of a semester, is designed to give students exposure to peer learning and direct input into how OpenAI develops its tools. In turn, OpenAI uses the feedback to refine ChatGPT features for a global student audience. The Lab is divided into two parts. The onboarding period runs from October 15 to November 14, with two hours per week dedicated to workshops. During this time, students present how they and their peers use ChatGPT, and the group consolidates findings in a capstone session.
Tuesday, September 23, 2025
Researchers ‘polarised’ over use of AI in peer review - Tom Williams, Times Higher Ed
A poll by IOP Publishing found that there has been a big increase in the number of scholars who are positive about the potential impact of new technologies on the process, which is often criticised for being slow and overly burdensome for those involved. Z total of 41 per cent of respondents now see the benefits of AI, up from 12 per cent from a similar survey carried out last year. But this is almost equal to the proportion with negative opinions which stands at 37 per cent after a 2 per cent year-on-year increase.
UK International Center, CELT launch Collaborative Online International Learning Community - Daniel Flener, University of Kentucky
A new Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Community, aimed at empowering faculty to design and deliver globally connected course modules through online collaboration with international peers, is now accepting applications. The COIL Learning Community will support faculty in developing virtual exchange partnerships with colleagues at universities around the world. Through the program, instructors will co-create modules that bring together students from different countries to engage in transnational learning experiences. In a COIL module, UK students typically will collaborate on a project with students from an institution outside the U.S., sharing tasks, practicing cross-cultural communication and teamwork.
Retired US Navy Admiral Eric Olson: Leading effectively in uncertain times - McKinsey
In this episode of the Inside the Strategy Room podcast, Olson speaks with McKinsey Senior Partners Andy West and Carolyn Dewar about creating a sense of shared and strategic purpose in high-performing teams, and why all voices count when making important, complex decisions. From his fascinating experiences in the military context, parallels and lessons can be drawn for executives as they grapple with how best to lead in today’s volatile environment.
Monday, September 22, 2025
Wrapping up: How to navigate the new world of work - McKinsey
The new world of work isn’t only about what organizations do—it’s also about how people adapt. As technology reshapes roles and expectations, employees and leaders alike must cultivate resilience, learn new skills, and embrace human-centered ways of working. The organizations that endure will be those that remain agile, prioritize workplace well-being, and continuously adapt their leadership and operational strategies. Take a look back at this series to see if there are any themes you missed or want to revisit.
First-of-its-kind AI tool to save 75% of academics’ time - Sara AlKuwari, University World News
Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) in the United Arab Emirates has announced the launch of the region’s first AI-powered academic agent, a pioneering tool designed to save up to 75% of faculty members’ time while enhancing students’ academic achievement by 40%, marking a significant step in reshaping the future of higher education, writes Sara AlKuwari for Khaleej Times. The initiative, titled Artificial Intelligence Agent for Every Faculty, is the first of its kind in the UAE and the wider region. It integrates advanced AI capabilities into higher education in line with the UAE National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031 and Education Strategy 2033.
White House AI Task Force Positions AI as Top Education Priority - Julia Gilban-Cohen, GovTech
When Trump administration officials met with ed-tech leaders at the White House last week to discuss the nation’s vision for artificial intelligence in American life, they repeatedly underscored one central message: Education must be at the heart of the nation’s AI strategy. Established by President Trump’s April 2025 executive order, the White House Task Force on AI Education is chaired by director of science and technology policy Michael Kratsios, and is tasked with promoting AI literacy and proficiency among America’s youth and educators, organizing a nationwide AI challenge and forging public-private partnerships to provide AI education resources to K-12 students.
Sunday, September 21, 2025
Albania appoints world’s first AI-made minister - Alice Taylor, Politico
Albania has become the first country in the world to have an AI minister — not a minister for AI, but a virtual minister made of pixels and code and powered by artificial intelligence. Her name is Diella, meaning sunshine in Albanian, and she will be responsible for all public procurement, Prime Minister Edi Rama said Thursday. During the summer, Rama mused that one day the country could have a digital minister and even an AI prime minister, but few thought that day would come around so quickly.
OpenAI's fix for hallucinations is simpler than you think - Webb Wright, ZDnet
The solution, according to OpenAI, is therefore to focus not on feeding models more accurate information, but to adjust the structure of how their performance is assessed. Since a binary system of grading a model's output as either right or wrong is supposedly fueling hallucination, the OpenAI researchers say that the AI industry must instead start rewarding models when they express uncertainty. After all, truth does not exist in black-and-white in the real world, so why should AI be trained as if it does? Running a model through millions of examples on the proper arrangement of subjects, verbs, and predicates will make them more fluent in their use of natural language, but as any living human being knows, reality is open to interpretation. In order to live functionally in the world, we routinely have to say, "I don't know."
The common future of humans and artificial intelligence will be “hybrid professions”! - Uskudar University (Turkey)
On the place that “hybrid professions,” where humans and AI work together, will hold in the future, Dr. İldiz explained: “The definition of a hybrid profession is shaped by how much you can adapt to AI, how you integrate it into your life, and the boundaries you set with your professional expertise. This can provide a future where we do not lose our human aspects but continue to grow, both for ourselves and for our world.”
Saturday, September 20, 2025
AI a 'Game Changer' for Assistance, Q&As in NJ Classrooms - Brianna Kudisch, GovTech
An explosion of startups and established companies are offering slick new AI products and targeted training to educators and school administrators. For instance, the nation’s second largest teachers’ union recently announced a $23 million initiative with Microsoft and OpenAI, an artificial intelligence company, to provide free access to AI and training to all American Federation of Teachers members, starting with K-12 educators.
Gemini for Education catching on with higher ed, Google says - Edscoop
Google announced this week that its Gemini for Education product is catching on with higher education institutions, having been adopted into “academic and administrative frameworks” by more than 1,000 colleges and universities across the United States. Gemini for Education, which the search giant claims will “transform teaching and learning” offers a generative artificial intelligence chatbot that is designed to provide assistance to students, help prepare for exams, create practice materials and design lesson plans. According to Google, the tool is now available free of charge.
Seeing CEO blind spots - Scott Keller, McKinsey Quarterly
Like the seasons of the year, the CEO journey progresses through four stages. Each stage brings a unique set of opportunities and challenges, just as spring, summer, fall, and winter do:
Spring: Stepping up to the role.
Summer: Stepping into the role.
Fall: Staying ahead while in the role.
Winter: Sending it forward to the next CEO. In this final stage, you’re preparing to hand over the reins to your successor. That process involves recognizing when to leave, navigating the transition gracefully, and discovering your next journey.
Friday, September 19, 2025
The Perceived Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Academic Learning - Mariana Dogaru, Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence
The results indicate that ChatGPT helps students work faster and understand concepts better, but the difficulty in checking sources raises ethical concerns like plagiarism. By examining ChatGPT's role in STEM education, this study points out the need for AI literacy training and institutional policies to ensure responsible use. The findings offer practical insights for educators to integrate AI tools effectively, fostering critical thinking and academic integrity in technology-driven learning environments.
Got AI skills? You can earn 43% more in your next job - and not just for tech work - Webb Wright, ZDnet
Demand for AI skills is on the rise across industries. A single AI skill makes a huge difference in listed salaries. Different industries are looking for different AI skills. As businesses race to adopt AI, they're placing a higher premium on job candidates who know their way around the technology. A recent study from labor market research firm Lightcast found that jobs requiring AI-related skills offer higher annual salaries than those that don't. This is true not only in tech-heavy industries like IT and computer science but also across a range of other sectors.
Did OpenAI just solve hallucinations? - Matthew Berman, YouTube
The video explains that hallucinations are ingrained in the models' construction, functioning more as features than bugs. This is compared to human behavior, where guessing on a test might be rewarded, leading models to guess rather than admit uncertainty. The core issue is the absence of a system that rewards models for expressing uncertainty or providing partially correct answers. The proposed solution involves creating models that only answer questions when they meet a certain confidence threshold and implementing a new evaluation system. This system would reward correct answers, penalize incorrect ones, and assign a neutral score for "I don't know" responses. The video concludes by suggesting that the solution lies in revising how models are evaluated and how reinforcement learning is applied. (summary provided in part by Gemini 2.5 Pro)
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