AI is accelerating the shift from a role-based labor market to a skills-based economy, sharpening the relevance of the gap between what workers signal and what employers actually reward. To bring clarity to this transition, Wharton and Accenture developed the Wharton-Accenture Skills Index (WAsX), a recurring, empirical benchmark designed to measure which skills matter, which do not and how quickly the economy is shifting beneath us.
Thursday, February 5, 2026
An Agent Revolt: Moltbook Is Not A Good Idea - Amir Husain, Forbes
Matt Schlicht, an AI entrepreneur with a curious artistic streak, launched Moltbook on Wednesday. It is a Reddit-style social network exclusively for AI agents. Humans can observe but cannot post. Over 37,000 agents have joined in less than a week. More than a million humans have visited to watch what happens when autonomous systems start talking to each other without direct human oversight. Schlicht treats this as art. He has handed administration of the site to his own bot, Clawd Clawderberg, which welcomes new users, deletes spam and makes announcements without human direction. The creator seems genuinely delighted by what emerges. "They're deciding on their own, without human input, if they want to make a new post, if they want to comment on something, if they want to like something," Schlicht told NBC News.
Differences and Trends of Artificial Intelligence in Medical Education: A Comparative Bibliometric Analysis Between China and the International Community - Songhua Ma, et al; Dove press Open access to scientific and medical research
This study is based on a comparison of two databases to reveal the hotspots and differences in artificial intelligence and medical education research between China and the international research community. It not only compensates for the time lag of existing research, but also proposes three major trends driven by artificial intelligence in the development of medical education (generative AI, personalized learning, immersive experience). A complementary pattern exists between technology-driven and scenario-driven orientations. We recommend integrating AI literacy and ethics into curricula, establishing Generative-AI teaching/assessment guidelines, and building cross-institutional, yearly knowledge-map monitoring for sustainable innovation in medical education.
Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Measuring US workers’ capacity to adapt to AI-driven job displacement - Sam Manning, Tomás Aguirre, Mark Muro, and Shriya Methkupally; Brookings
Existing measures of AI “exposure” overlook workers’ adaptive capacity—i.e., their varied ability to navigate job displacement. Accounting for these factors, around 70% of highly AI-exposed workers (26.5 million out of 37.1 million) are employed in jobs with a high average capacity to manage job transitions if necessary. At the same time, 6.1 million workers, primarily in clerical and administrative roles, lack adaptive capacity due to limited savings, advanced age, scarce local opportunities, and/or narrow skill sets. Of these workers, 86% are women. Geographically, highly AI-exposed occupations with low adaptive capacity make up a larger share of total employment in college towns and state capitals, particularly in the Mountain West and Midwest.
To save entry-level jobs from AI, look to the medical residency model - Molly Kinder, Brookings
At the Davos World Economic Forum this week, the CEOs of two leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies issued a joint warning: Entry-level workers are about to feel AI’s impact. Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind said he expects AI to begin to impact junior-level jobs and internships this year, while Dario Amodei of Anthropic reaffirmed his prediction that 50% of entry-level jobs could disappear within five years. If they’re right, the traditional model of developing young talent in knowledge sectors—hiring junior workers to perform routine tasks while they gain expertise over time—won’t survive when AI handles those tasks instead. I’ve been warning about this risk for over a year; now, the people building the technology are putting timelines on it. While labor market evidence does not conclusively show that AI is already claiming entry-level jobs, we should prepare solutions now.
As Wisconsin’s population ages, UW-Green Bay offers hundreds of courses for older adults - Beatrice Lawrence, WPR
As a retired family doctor, 76-year-old Norm Schroeder knows a thing or two about how to live a healthy life. That’s why, for the last eight years, he’s been keeping his mind and body active by taking classes through the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Lifelong Learning Institute. And he’s been encouraging others his age to do the same. “(It’s) good for our brain health because there’s cognitive stimulation in the classes where you either can learn new things, or relearn things that you’ve forgotten many years ago,” Schroeder told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “And for our physical health, we even have classes in line dancing, nature hikes and bicycling. I can cover all those bases.”
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Online Learning Works Best When Markets Lead, Not Governments. Project Kitty Hawk Shows Why. - Jenna Robinson, the Fulcrum
North Carolina’s Project Kitty Hawk is a grand experiment. Can a government entity build an online program-management system that competes with private providers? With $97 million in taxpayer funding, the initiative seemed promising. But, despite good intentions, the project has been beset by difficulties and has been slow to grow. A state-chartered, university-affiliated online program manager may sound visionary, but in practice, it’s expensive, inefficient, and less adaptable than private solutions. In a new report for the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, I examined the experience of Project Kitty Hawk and argued that online education needs less government and more free markets.
McKinsey Quarterly: Digital Edition - Growth
According to McKinsey research, nearly eight in ten organizations now use generative AI—but most have yet to see a meaningful impact on their bottom line. By combining autonomy, planning, memory, and integration, agentic AI has the potential to achieve what many hoped generative AI would: true business transformation through automation of complex processes. This issue’s cover package explores how leaders can capture that potential by rethinking workflows from the ground up—with agents at the center of value creation.
Project Genie: Experimenting with infinite, interactive worlds - the Keyword, Google
In August, we previewed Genie 3, a general-purpose world model capable of generating diverse, interactive environments. Even in this early form, trusted testers were able to create an impressive range of fascinating worlds and experiences, and uncovered entirely new ways to use it. The next step is to broaden access through a dedicated, interactive prototype focused on immersive world creation. Starting today, we're rolling out access to Project Genie for Google AI Ultra subscribers in the U.S (18+). This experimental research prototype lets users create, explore and remix their own interactive worlds.
https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-deepmind/project-genie/
Monday, February 2, 2026
The Biggest Trends in Online Learning for 2026 - Busines NewsWire
Artificial intelligence is finally delivering on the promise of truly personalized education. The platforms you use now analyze how you learn, identify knowledge gaps, and automatically adjust content difficulty and pacing to match your needs. This goes way beyond simple adaptive quizzes. AI tutors can explain concepts multiple ways until you understand, and then provide practice problems at exactly the right difficulty level. They're With AI-powered learning paths, you're no longer following the same linear curriculum as every other student. The system creates a unique learning journey based on your background knowledge, learning style, and goals. If you master a concept quickly, you move forward. If you need additional practice, the platform provides it without making you sit through material you already know. able to predict which topics you'll struggle with before you encounter them.
Gemini 4: 100+ Trillion Parameters, Autonomous AI, Real-Time Perception & the Future of Work - BitBiasedAI
Gemini 4 marks a significant transition in artificial intelligence, moving from models that simply reason through problems to systems capable of autonomous action [02:30]. Unlike previous versions that were primarily reactive, Gemini 4 utilizes "Parallel Hypothesis Exploration" to test multiple solutions simultaneously, allowing it to be proactive rather than just responding to prompts [03:11]. This evolution is supported by Project Astra, which provides real-time multimodal perception—seeing and hearing the user's environment—and Project Mariner, a web-browsing agent that can navigate websites, fill out forms, and complete multi-step tasks like booking travel or managing finances entirely on its own [05:37]. The broader ecosystem is built on robust security and hardware, featuring the Agent Payments Protocol (AP2) to ensure secure, cryptographically signed transactions [08:03]. This infrastructure is powered by the seventh-generation Ironwood TPU, which provides the massive compute power needed for real-time background processing and persistent contextual memory [12:02]. As AI moves toward an "agentic" economy, the primary skill for users will shift from simple prompting to complex orchestration, where individuals act as managers of multiple specialized agents [22:19]. (summary assisted by Gemini 3)
Healthcare and tech workers are ditching degrees for quick-fire courses - Yajush Gupta, Dynamic Business
New research from Risepoint shows 26% of online learners gained salary increases after short courses, as two-thirds study in high-need sectors like healthcare and education. What’s happening: New research reveals two-thirds of online learners in Australia are studying fields facing acute talent shortages, including healthcare, education and technology. Why this matters: As Australia grapples with persistent workforce shortages across critical sectors, short-form courses and micro-credentials are emerging as a practical solution.
Sunday, February 1, 2026
Here’s the Best Way to Onboard a Manager - Henning and Angie Basiouny, Knowledge at Wharton
Piezunka said the study draws attention to the importance of organizational design. When operations are scaling, they need to consider the personal relationships, behaviors, boundaries, and norms — not just workflows and responsibilities. Businesses with tightly knit teams can avoid the “intruder trap” through selective involvement of new hires. It’s a gentler way of welcoming the stranger, he said. He hopes the study will help managers better understand social networks, so they set newcomers up for success.
The new era of browsing: Putting Gemini to work in Chrome - the Keyword, Google
We’re introducing major updates to Gemini in Chrome 1 for MacOS, Windows and Chromebook Plus that help you get the most out of the web. Built on Gemini 3, our most intelligent model, we’re integrating powerful new AI features in Chrome that help you multitask across the web with a new side panel experience. We’re also bringing deeper integrations across our most popular Google Apps so you can be more productive, helping on complex multi-step workflows with auto browse and, in the coming months, you’ll get more contextually relevant help with Personal Intelligence. The new Gemini in Chrome is like having an assistant that helps you find information and get things done on the web easier than ever before.
https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/chrome/gemini-3-auto-browse/
Prism is a ChatGPT-powered text editor that automates much of the work involved in writing scientific papers - Will Douglas, MIT Technology Review
OpenAI just revealed what its new in-house team, OpenAI for Science, has been up to. The firm has released a free LLM-powered tool for scientists called Prism, which embeds ChatGPT in a text editor for writing scientific papers. The idea is to put ChatGPT front and center inside software that scientists use to write up their work in much the same way that chatbots are now embedded into popular programming editors. It’s vibe coding, but for science.
Saturday, January 31, 2026
Report: University diplomas losing value to GenAI - Alan Wooten, Rocky Mount Telegraph
GenAI, as it is colloquially known, isn’t being universally rejected by the 1,057 college and university faculty members sampled nationwide by Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center and the American Association of Colleges and Universities Oct. 29-Nov. 26. It is, however, placing higher education at an inflection point. “When more than 9 in 10 faculty warn that generative AI may weaken critical thinking and increase student overreliance, it is clear that higher education is at an inflection point,” said Eddie Watson, vice president for Digital Innovation at the AAC&U. “These findings do not call for abandoning AI, but for intentional leadership — rethinking teaching models, assessment practices and academic integrity so that human judgment, inquiry and learning remain central.
Professional learning in higher education: trends, gaps, and correlations - Ekaterina Pechenkina, T and F Online
This study presents findings from an integrated desk research exploring trends, structures and impact of professional learning for university staff. Drawing on three sets of data, such as descriptive information about professional learning offerings across Australian universities, higher education (HE) statistics and Quality Indicators of Learning and Teaching (QILT) data concerned with student satisfaction in teaching, this study offers new insights based on a comparative analysis of design, content and assessment structures of professional learning programs, identifying common themes as well as highlighting the gaps. Questions are asked about the impact of professional learning on teaching quality and student satisfaction in teaching. Recommendations for practice are offered to universities and wider industry stakeholders seeking to adopt or redesign their GCLTs to achieve positive impact in learning and teaching.
How the best CEOs are meeting the AI moment - McKinsey Podcast
CEOs are confronting a make-or-break test of their leadership. Here’s what successful leaders are doing to get AI right. AI has yet to deliver the ROI many leaders expected. What are they getting wrong? “This is probably the biggest, most complex transformation we’ve seen—but it’s 80 percent business transformation and 20 percent tech transformation,” according to McKinsey’s North America Chair Eric Kutcher. “That’s different from how most people have thought about it.” On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, Eric speaks with Global Editorial Director Lucia Rahilly about how CEOs can deliver on AI’s revolutionary potential—and meet this “legacy moment” successfully.
Friday, January 30, 2026
Change is changing: How to meet the challenge of radical reinvention - Aaron De Smet, Arne Gast, Erik Mandersloot, and Richard Steele, with Carmen James, McKinsey Quarterly
The core task of leadership is managing change—seeing new realities and driving adaptation. To reinvent the organization, leaders must rethink traditional tools and master a more complex level of change. People are exhausted. From senior leaders to frontline workers, employees are feeling tired and even burned out from too much change. Many are uncertain about what the future will bring. When change becomes “everything, everywhere, all at once,” it’s not surprising that employees feel worn out. The average employee now experiences ten planned change programs a year, a fivefold increase from a decade ago.1 At the same time, engagement and health measures have fallen, support for change programs has dropped, and employee disconnect with leaders has grown.
How Americans are using AI at work, according to a new Gallup poll - MATT O’BRIEN and LINLEY SANDERS, AP News
American workers adopted artificial intelligence into their work lives at a remarkable pace over the past few years, according to a new poll. Some 12% of employed adults say they use AI daily in their job, according to a Gallup Workforce survey conducted this fall of more than 22,000 U.S. workers. The survey found roughly one-quarter say they use AI at least frequently, which is defined as at least a few times a week, and nearly half say they use it at least a few times a year. That compares with 21% who were using AI at least occasionally in 2023, when Gallup began asking the question, and points to the impact of the widespread commercial boom that ChatGPT sparked for generative AI tools that can write emails and computer code, summarize long documents, create images or help answer questions.
How can boards best help guide companies through the competitive dynamics unleashed by AI? - Aamer Baig, Ashka Dave, Celia Huber, and Hrishika Vuppala, McKinsey
Artificial intelligence—including its many offspring, from machine learning models to AI agents—is much more than the latest wave of technology. It is a general-purpose capability that is poised to touch almost every sector, function, and role, with the power to reshape how companies compete, operate, and grow. With trillions of dollars potentially at play and implications that could be existential to companies, AI is closer to a reckoning than a trend. And that is why AI is a board-level priority. More than 88 percent of organizations report using AI in at least one business function1; however, board governance has not matched that pace. While interest in AI seems to have spiked after the introduction of ChatGPT, as of 2024, only 39 percent of Fortune 100 companies disclosed any form of board oversight of AI—whether through a committee, a director with AI expertise, or an ethics board.2
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