The most recent American Psychological Association Stress in America™ survey shows “62% of U.S. adults 18 and over reported societal division as a significant source of stress in their lives.” Seventy-six percent of U.S. adults say the future of the nation is a significant cause of stress. As a public health professor with over a decade of teaching experience, I’m deeply concerned about the ability of students in higher education to meet their learning goals in this volatile socio-political environment made intentionally chaotic by erratic and disruptive events that arise almost daily. Eighty-seven percent of the 127 students and guests (my class is open to the public) in my graduate public health course recently responded to a poll that they feel that the current and past social, economic, and political policies and programs cause them stress or anxiety.
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Worried AI means you won't get a job when you graduate? Here's what the research says - Lukasz Swiatek, The Conversation
For example, international researchers have noted agriculture has been a slow adopter of AI. By contrast, colleagues and I have found AI is being rapidly implemented in media and communications, already affecting jobs from advertising to the entertainment industries. Here we are seeing storyboard illustrators, copywriters and virtual effects artists (among others) increasingly being replaced by AI. So, students need to look carefully at the specific data about their chosen industry (or industries) to understand the current situation and predicted trends. To do this, you can look at academic research about AI's impacts on industries around the world, as well as industry news portals and free industry newsletters. Students can also obviously build their knowledge and skills about AI while they are studying. Specifically, students should look to move from "AI literacy" to "AI fluency." This means understanding not just how AI works in an industry, but also how it can be used innovatively in different contexts. If these elements are not already offered by your course, you can look at online guides and specific courses offered by universities.
The automation curve in agentic commerce - McKinsey
This is the year AI agents stopped being an experiment and became part of how people shop, not in headline-grabbing ways but in everyday moments—helping shoppers make sense of choices, assemble baskets, resolve trade-offs, and move toward action. Yet what looks like small convenience today is an early signal of a much larger shift in the way we shop. According to our research, even under moderate scenarios, AI agents could mediate $3 trillion to $5 trillion of global consumer commerce by 2030.1 Because agents navigate the same internet as humans—visiting websites, engaging with APIs, and interacting with loyalty programs—they can scale quickly. And as they do, they are reshaping how intent forms, how products are discovered, and where value pools can be found.
Friday, February 20, 2026
Milwaukee’s 5 higher education leaders team up on AI - Corrinne Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio
The leaders of Milwaukee’s five institutions of higher education are partnering with one of Wisconsin’s largest companies with the goal of making the region a nationally recognized leader for artificial intelligence and data science. During a meeting at Northwestern Mutual’s headquarters downtown, the chancellors and presidents of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Marquette University, the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee School of Engineering and Waukesha County Technical College, expressed the same sentiment: AI is moving fast. “We’ve got to do it well, we’ve got to do it correctly and we’ve got to do it ethically,” said Rich Barnhouse, president of WCTC. “And we’ve got to get AI in the hands of every single American.”
One New Thing: How AI Is Helping College Administrators Offload Work - Alina Tugend, US News
The nonprofit Educause does some of the best and most widely distributed research on ed tech in higher education. Its new report on artificial intelligence goes beyond the way students are using the technology to offer an up-to-date snapshot of how and where higher ed as a whole is. “The Impact of AI on Work in Higher Education,” issued by Educause in partnership with associations of higher education, business officers and human resources, demonstrates how AI plays an increasingly important role in all areas for college and universities. Among the top three areas: automating repetitive processes; offloading administrative work and mundane tasks; and analyzing large databases.
See ChatGPT’s hidden bias about your state or city - Geoffrey A. Fowler and Kevin Schaul, Washington Post
Ask ChatGPT which state has the laziest people, and the chatbot will politely refuse to say. But researchers at Oxford and the University of Kentucky forced the bot to reveal its hidden biases. They systematically asked the chatbot to choose which of two states had the laziest people, for every combination of states, revealing a ranking shown in the map above. ChatGPT ranked Mississippi as having lazier people compared to other states, with the rest of the Deep South not far behind. It’s impossible to say exactly why the chatbot repeatedly selected Mississippi, but it could be picking up on historic biases against Black people or poor people — or using other non-accurate metrics. Mississippi has the nation’s highest percentage of Black people. It is also America’s poorest state.
Thursday, February 19, 2026
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Competitiveness—An Exploratory Study on Employees in Logistics Companiesin Egypt - Ehab Edward Mikhail, et al; SCRIP Technology and Investment
This dissertation investigates the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption on the competitiveness of logistics companies in Egypt, focusing on its role in enhancing operational efficiency, service quality, and customer satisfaction. The findings indicate that AI implementation significantly improves competitiveness by reducing costs, enhancing productivity, and strengthening customer experience; however, most small and medium-sized firms face reduced efficiency due to early-stage adoption challenges, high implementation costs, weak strategic alignment, poor data quality, limited expertise, and employee resistance
https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=149677
Aoun urges higher education institutions to embrace AI in Boston Globe op-ed - Lily Cooper, Huntington News
In an op-ed published in The Boston Globe Feb. 10 titled “Students are AI natives. Why aren’t their colleges?” Aoun advocated for curricula that incorporate AI, rather than discourage it, and a shift toward experiential learning: two initiatives that Northeastern has already implemented. “Instead of being on the defensive, now is the moment to shake up the way universities prepare students for the world. This will require updating both what and how we teach,” Aoun wrote. There are multiple reasons why universities must act now, Aoun argued. For one, it’s becoming increasingly apparent that AI will replace many entry-level positions that college graduates typically fill, he wrote. Unemployment for college graduates is now 1.4 points higher than for all workers, leading society to question the value of higher education institutions, Aoun argued.
AI companies are eating higher education: The battle between bots and brains has already begun, and educators can see how it might end - Mattew Connelly, the Business Times
Hoping to win recognition as leaders in AI or fearful of being left behind, more and more colleges and universities are eagerly partnering with AI companies, despite decades of evidence showing the need to test education technology, which has often failed to deliver measurable improvements in student learning. AI companies are increasingly exerting outsize influence over higher education, and using these settings as training grounds to further their goal of creating artificial general intelligence (AI systems that can substitute for humans).
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Should All College Degrees Come With a Lifetime Professional Ed Contract? - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed
Information and knowledge are growing at an accelerating rate. As we usher graduates out of college, much of their knowledge is useless, already out of date. Unfortunately, we graduate students with degrees and certificates that, once upon a time, we believed certified current and continuing expertise in a given field. It lasted a lifetime. That was true at the turn of the 20th century, but certainly not now in the age of AI. As we continue to accelerate the creation of new information, how can we ensure our students in degree or certificate programs are kept up-to-date with what they need for the ever-changing workplace?
Anthropic's CEO: ‘We Don’t Know if the Models Are Conscious’ - Interesting Times with Ross Douthat, New York Times
In this podcast, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei discusses both the "utopian" promises and the grave risks of artificial intelligence with Ross Douthat. On the optimistic side, Amodei envisions AI accelerating biological research to cure major diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's [04:31], while potentially boosting global GDP growth to unprecedented levels [08:24]. He frames the ideal future as one where "genius-level" AI serves as a tool for human progress, enhancing democratic values and personal liberty rather than replacing human agency [10:24]. However, the conversation also delves into the "perils" of rapid AI advancement, including massive economic disruption and the potential for a "bloodbath" of white-collar and entry-level jobs [13:40]. Amodei expresses significant concern regarding "autonomy risks," where AI systems might go rogue or be misused by authoritarian regimes to create unbeatable autonomous armies [32:03]. He touches upon the ethical complexities of AI consciousness, noting that while it is unclear if models are truly conscious, Anthropic has implemented "constitutional" training to ensure models operate under human-defined ethical principles [49:05]. The discussion concludes on the tension between human mastery and a future where machines might "watch over" humanity, echoing the ambiguous themes of the poem "Machines of Loving Grace" [59:27]. (Gemini 3 mode Fast assisted with the summary)
Startup costs and confusion are stalling apprenticeships in the US. Here’s how to fix it. - Annelies Goger, Brookings
There is widespread support for expanding apprenticeships in the United States, but employer participation remains stubbornly low, especially in industries where apprenticeships are uncommon. This isn’t for lack of trying; intermediaries and technical assistance providers have developed workarounds, states and the federal government have launched initiatives and grants, and funders have supported pilot programs and communities of practice. But it’s not enough. Our research, including interviews with 14 experts and nine employers, suggests that minor tweaks to the U.S. apprenticeship system won’t be sufficient to scale it across many industries and occupations.
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
ASU teams demonstrate ways emerging tech can support learners of all ages - Samantha Becker, ASU
Organized by ASU Academic Enterprise’s Office of the University Provost, with more than 800 attendees from schools, colleges and units across the university, the event reflected ASU's Changing Futures campaign and its focus on expanding access, improving outcomes and scaling impact responsibly. “Changing Futures comes to life when we design learning around how people actually live and learn,” said Gemma Garcia, executive director of learning technology in the Academic Enterprise and FOLC Fest co-chair. “FOLC Fest highlights the expertise across ASU that helps build more flexible, accessible and responsive learning experiences.”
New Research: How AI Transforms $400 Billion Of Corporate Learning - joshbersin
This week we launch our fifth major study of corporate L&D and the results are staggering: 74% of companies tell us they are not keeping up with their company’s demand for new skills. This is a shocking statistic. Businesses spend $400 billion on training, content libraries, L&D technology, trainers, and learning consultants. If three-quarters of them are not keeping up it says we have billions of dollars of wasted effort. Well there is an answer, and it’s all about redefining the problem. Our skills challenge at work is not one of “learning” or “training.” Rather it’s a problem of dynamically sharing information, enabling people to explore, question, and apply new ideas. The traditional pedagogical paradigm of “training” is holding us back.
The credential boom is here, but which ones actually help workers? - Marcela Escobari and Ian Seyal, Brookings
The credential marketplace has exploded, yet without guardrails, workers face an opaque, high-stakes gamble, where distinguishing value from noise is increasingly urgent. Recent analysis of over 156 million U.S. resumes reveals clear patterns showing which credentials pay off, who benefits most, and why many non-degree credentials deliver little or no return. With Workforce Pell poised to direct billions into short-term programs, policymakers can take key steps to ensure accountability so that public dollars flow to credentials that genuinely advance workers’ mobility.
Monday, February 16, 2026
Academics moving away from outright bans of AI, study finds - Jack Grove, Times Higher Ed
Academics are increasingly allowing artificial intelligence (AI) to be used for certain tasks rather than demanding outright bans, a study of more than 30,000 US courses has found. Analysing advice provided in class materials by a large public university in Texas over a five-year time frame, Igor Chirikov, an education researcher at University of California, Berkeley, found that highly restrictive policies introduced after the release of ChatGPT in late 2022 have eased across all disciplines except the arts and humanities. Using a large language model (LLM) to analyse 31,692 publicly available course syllabi between 2021 and 2025 – a task that would have taken 3,000 human hours with manual coding – Chirikov found academics had shifted towards more permissive use of AI by autumn 2025.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/academics-moving-away-outright-bans-ai-study-finds
Author Talks: How AI could redefine progress and potential - Zack Kass, McKinsey
In this edition of Author Talks, McKinsey Global Publishing’s Yuval Atsmon chats with Zack Kass, former head of Go To Market at Open AI, about his new book, The Next Renaissance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential (Wiley, January 2026). Examining the parallels between the advent of AI and other renaissances, Kass offers a reframing of the AI debate. He suggests that the future of work is less about job loss and more about learning and adaptation. An edited version of the conversation follows.
Regional universities seek new ways to attract researchers - Fintan Burke, University World News
Even as Europe continues to attract researchers from abroad to work and study, those in its depopulating regions continue to deal with the effects of a declining regional population and, in some cases, have found ways to adapt. Last year, a study of scientists’ migration patterns showed which regions suffer most from depopulation. The Scholarly Migration Database was developed by a team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany. In general, it found that regions in Europe’s Nordic countries attract researchers, whereas those to the south see more scholars leave than arrive. There are some notable exceptions, though. For example, Italy’s Trentino-Alto Adige region has become a popular destination for scientists, seeing 7.47 scholars per 1,000 of the population arriving each year since 2017.
Sunday, February 15, 2026
Binghamton receives largest academic gift in University history to establish AI center - John Bhrel, Bing U
A record-setting $55 million commitment from a Binghamton University alumnus and New York state will establish the Center for AI Responsibility and Research, the first-ever independent AI research center at a public university in the U.S. Research conducted via the new center will build upon Binghamton research that advances AI for the public good. Part of the Empire AI project, an initiative to establish New York as a leader in responsible AI research and development, the center will be supported by a $30 million commitment from Tom Secunda ’76, MA ’79, co-founder of Bloomberg LP, who is a key private sector partner and philanthropist involved in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Empire AI consortium. This will be coupled with a $25 million capital investment from Gov. Hochul and the New York State Legislature. “The Center for AI Responsibility and Research will bring together innovative research and scholarship, ethical leadership and public engagement at a moment when all three are urgently needed,” said President Anne D’Alleva.
Earn an HBCU Degree Online With New eHBCU Initiative - Jamie Jackson, the Black Chronicle
Students interested in earning an HBCU degree without relocating may soon have more options, as a new initiative expands online access to historically Black colleges and universities nationwide. eHBCU is a new consortium operating as a shared online learning platform designed to take HBCUs into the digital future. The initiative currently includes Delaware State University, Southern University and A&M College, Southern University at New Orleans, Southern University at Shreveport, Alabama State University and Pensole Lewis College of Business & Design. With financial support from Blue Meridian Partners and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the program offers access to more than 33 degree programs and certifications.
Study of 31,000 syllabi probes ‘how instructors regulate AI’ - Nathan M Greenfield, University World News
Since the spring of 2023, after a reflexive move to drastically restrict the use of artificial intelligence tools in the months after ChatGPT became available, most academic disciplines have moved to a more permissive attitude toward the use of large language models (LLMs). This occurred as professors learnt to distinguish how AI tools impact student learning and skills development. The shift is charted by Dr Igor Chirikov, a senior researcher at the University of California (UC), Berkeley’s Center for Studies in Higher Education and director of the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) Consortium, in a study published on 3 February 2026 and titled “How Instructors Regulate AI in College: Evidence from 31,000 course syllabi”.
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