This fall, hundreds of thousands of students will get free access to ChatGPT, thanks to a licensing agreement between their school or university and the chatbot's maker, OpenAI. When the partnerships in higher education became public earlier this year, they were lauded as a way for universities to help their students familiarize themselves with an AI tool that experts say will define their future careers. At California State University (CSU), a system of 23 campuses with 460,000 students, administrators were eager to team up with OpenAI for the 2025-2026 school year. Their deal provides students and faculty access to a variety of OpenAI tools and models, making it the largest deployment of ChatGPT for Education, or ChatGPT Edu, in the country.
Friday, October 3, 2025
We’re introducing GDPval, a new evaluation that measures model performance on economically valuable, real-world tasks across 44 occupations. - OpenAI
We found that today’s best frontier models are already approaching the quality of work produced by industry experts. To test this, we ran blind evaluations where industry experts compared deliverables from several leading models—GPT‑4o, o4-mini, OpenAI o3, GPT‑5, Claude Opus 4.1, Gemini 2.5 Pro, and Grok 4—against human-produced work. Across 220 tasks in the GDPval gold set, we recorded when model outputs were rated as better than (“wins”) or on par with (“ties”) the deliverables from industry experts, as shown in the bar chart below.... We also see clear progress over time on these tasks. Performance has more than doubled from GPT‑4o (released spring 2024) to GPT‑5 (released summer 2025), following a clear linear trend. In addition, we found that frontier models can complete GDPval tasks roughly 100x faster and 100x cheaper than industry experts.
The AI Institute for Adult Learning and Online Education - Georgia Tech
(AI-ALOE), led by Georgia Tech and funded by the National Science Foundation, is a multi-institutional research initiative advancing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform adult learning and online education. Through collaborative research and innovation, AI-ALOE develops AI technologies and strategies to enhance teaching, personalize learning, and expand educational opportunities at scale. Since its launch, AI-ALOE has developed seven innovative AI technologies, deployed across more than 360 classes at multiple institutions, reaching over 30,000 students. Recent research news indicated that Jill Watson, our virtual teaching assistant, outperforms ChatGPT in real classrooms. In addition, our collaborative teams have produced about 160 peer-reviewed publications, advancing both research and practice in AI-augmented learning. We invite you to join us for our upcoming virtual research showcase and discover the latest innovations and breakthroughs in AI for education.
Thursday, October 2, 2025
How Micro-Credentials Are Shaping The Future Of AI-Driven Learners Forbes Technology Council - Venkatadri Marella, Forbes
As AI is implemented in industries ranging from finance to healthcare to manufacturing, one thing is for sure: the future belongs to those who can learn continuously and prove their skills in a hurry. That's why micro-credentials—bite-sized, stackable credentials for single skills—are stepping into the spotlight as a powerful driver of future learners in the age of AI.
Operationalize AI Accountability: A Leadership Playbook - Kevin Werbach, Knowledge at Wharton
Goal
Deploy AI systems with confidence by ensuring they are fair, transparent, and accountable — minimizing risk and maximizing long-term value.
Nano Tool
As organizations accelerate their use of AI, the pressure is on leaders to ensure these systems are not only effective but also responsible. A misstep can result in regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and loss of trust. Accountability must be designed in from the start — not bolted on after deployment.
We urgently call for international red lines to prevent unacceptable AI risks. - AI Red Lines
Some advanced AI systems have already exhibited deceptive and harmful behavior, and yet these systems are being given more autonomy to take actions and make decisions in the world. Left unchecked, many experts, including those at the forefront of development, warn that it will become increasingly difficult to exert meaningful human control in the coming years. Governments must act decisively before the window for meaningful intervention closes. An international agreement on clear and verifiable red lines is necessary for preventing universally unacceptable risks. These red lines should build upon and enforce existing global frameworks and voluntary corporate commitments, ensuring that all advanced AI providers are accountable to shared thresholds. We urge governments to reach an international agreement on red lines for AI — ensuring they are operational, with robust enforcement mechanisms — by the end of 2026.
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
AI Hallucinations May Soon Be History - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed
On Sept. 14, OpenAI researchers published a not-yet-peer-reviewed paper, “Why Language Models Hallucinate,” on arXiv. Gemini 2.5 Flash summarized the findings of the paper: "Systemic Problem: Hallucinations are not simply bugs but a systemic consequence of how AI models are trained and evaluated. Evaluation Incentives: Standard evaluation methods, particularly binary grading systems, reward models for generating an answer, even if it’s incorrect, and punish them for admitting uncertainty. Pressure to Guess: This creates a statistical pressure for large language models (LLMs) to guess rather than say “I don’t know,” as guessing can improve test scores even with the risk of being wrong."
AI is changing how Harvard students learn: Professors balance technology with academic integrity - MSN
AI has quickly become ubiquitous at Harvard. According to The Crimson’s 2025 Faculty of Arts and Sciences survey, nearly 80% of instructors reported encountering student work they suspected was AI-generated—a dramatic jump from just two years ago. Despite this, faculty confidence in identifying AI output remains low. Only 14% of respondents felt “very confident” in their ability to distinguish human from AI work. Research from Pennsylvania State University underscores this challenge: humans can correctly detect AI-generated text roughly 53% of the time, only slightly better than flipping a coin.
OpEd: Adapting Higher Ed To New AI World - Alfonzo Berumen, LA Business Journal
Job prospects, even with a degree in hand, aren’t the only aspect of higher education being affected.
GenAI has demonstrated the ability to solve mathematical problems and respond to case study questions which are designed to develop critical thinking in students. In a sense, it has replaced the idea of there being only one expert in the room, the professor. This has come at a time when universities are under fire with questions around value for the cost from the student side and diminishing contributions to innovation on the industry side.
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
How To Spot A Truly Brilliant Leader —The Psychology Behind Their Edge - Jason Walker, Forbes
We’ve all seen it. In boardrooms, startups, and corner offices, leaders who consistently elevate everyone around them. They’re not just skilled — they’re brilliant. And brilliance in leadership isn’t about being the loudest voice or having all the answers. It’s about a mindset and psychological habits that inspire trust, creativity, and progress. Here’s how you know you’re in the presence of a brilliant leader, not just a boss -and the psychology behind their edge. They’re Quick to Admit, “I Don’t Know.”That’s right. Brilliant leaders get curious. They are confident and humble enough to own uncertainty.
Charting the GenAI Blue Ocean: A paradigm shift in business education - Bert Verhoeven, Dr Vishal Rana, Dr Timothy Hor - University of Oxford
The rise of Generative AI (GenAI) signals not just technological progress but a seismic shift in how industries innovate, compete, and create value. Beyond chatbots and workflow automation, GenAI’s potential lies in its ability to personalise experiences, analyse data in real time, and redefine market opportunities. In an era where traditional competition—marked by diminishing margins in "red oceans"—feels increasingly obsolete, the fusion of GenAI with Kim and Mauborgne’s (2005) concept of the Blue Ocean Strategy unlocks new frontiers of innovation, enabling Higher Education to transcend zero-sum competition and imagine entirely new paradigms, reconfiguring the relationship between institutions, teachers, learners, and markets. Blue Ocean Strategy focuses on creating new, uncontested market spaces by redefining industry boundaries and delivering unique value to customers. It shifts the focus from competing in existing markets to innovating and unlocking new demand.
Making the Case for Technology To Drive Higher Ed Enrollment - Tony Digrazia, Ed Tech
The past nine months have only worsened the issues higher education is facing, leaving university IT teams with fewer staffers working for lower salaries amid overall tightening budgets, some of it in response to an array of new financial challenges. That’s not to mention the challenges that were ever-present in the years leading up to 2025. The enrollment cliff is here, and while overall enrollments have steadied after a yearslong decline, the full impacts of the enrollment cliff may not be felt until a couple more freshman classes are enrolled. And faith in higher education has never been lower, with a meager 35% of Americans saying college is “very important,” according to a newly released Gallup poll.
Monday, September 29, 2025
College Students’ Test Scores Soared After ChatGPT. Their Writing? Not So Much - Steve Fink, Study Finds
Exam scores jumped nearly 22 points after ChatGPT’s launch, while writing project marks dropped by about 10.
Passing students generally improved, but failing students showed mixed results—better exams but lower overall marks.
Creative research proposals showed no change, highlighting tasks where AI offers little advantage.
Universities face a dilemma: AI boosts the easiest-to-grade assessments, while deeper tasks require costly human review.
US faces shortfall of 5.3M college-educated workers by 2032 - Laura Spitalniak, Higher Ed Dive
Nursing, teaching and engineering would experience the largest gaps, per a study from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. The U.S. will need over 5 million additional workers who have at least some postsecondary education by 2032, according to a report released Tuesday by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. Of that total, 4.5 million will need at least a bachelor’s degree, according to the report. Degree-requiring positions facing “critical skills shortages” include nurses, teachers and engineers, it said.
Learning analytics-informed teaching strategies: enhancing interactive learning in STEM education - Ying Zheng &Dexian Li, Taylor and Francis Online
Using a mixed-methods approach, data were collected from 1,483 students and 95 teachers through random and purposive sampling. The findings indicate adaptive learning technologies significantly improve student performance by tailoring instruction to individual needs. Real-time educational data analysis enables early identification of disengagement, facilitating timely interventions. Additionally, insights into student interaction patterns inform the development of evidence-based teaching strategies that foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The study highlights the transformative role of educational data mining in creating immersive learning environments that enhance conceptual understanding and practical application, reducing achievement gaps among diverse student populations.
Sunday, September 28, 2025
Oxford becomes first UK university to offer ChatGPT Edu to all staff and students - University of Oxford
The University of Oxford will become the first university in the UK to provide free ChatGPT Edu access to all staff and students, starting this academic year. OpenAI’s flagship GPT-5 model will be provided across the University and Oxford Colleges through ChatGPT Edu, a version of ChatGPT built for universities that includes enterprise-level security and controls. This university-wide rollout follows a successful year-long pilot involving around 750 academics, research staff, postgraduate research students and professional services staff in a wide range of roles across the University and Colleges.
Author Talks: The key to ideation? Start with the answer, not the problem - McKinsey
What do you mean by ‘begin with the answer’? They don’t call it a “creative leap” for nothing. Nobody talks about a series of steps that lead to a creation, a genuinely creative idea. The concept of divergent thinking, or “going wide,” is key to creating truly new ideas. Most of what we typically do is convergent thinking: reducing, criticizing, judging, deciding. Once you have an answer, that’s exciting. Then you can usually work back through it to prove it should work in theory. That’s what I mean by starting with the answer. Everyone likes to think that you can start with an analysis of the data and come up with an insight. Then you can start talking about possible solutions, proceed in a linear process of steps, and arrive at a great idea. I just haven’t experienced that ideas happen in that way. Great ideas come out of generating lots of ideas, most of which will be bad, one of which—just one of which—could be brilliant.
Detecting and reducing scheming in AI models - OpenAI
In today’s deployment settings, models have little opportunity to scheme in ways that could cause significant harm. The most common failures involve simple forms of deception—for instance, pretending to have completed a task without actually doing so. We've put significant effort into studying and mitigating deception and have made meaningful improvements in GPT‑5 compared to previous models. For example, we’ve taken steps to limit GPT‑5’s propensity to deceive, cheat, or hack problems—training it to acknowledge its limits or ask for clarification when faced with impossibly large or under-specified tasks and to be more robust to environment failures—though these mitigations are not perfect and continued research is needed.
Saturday, September 27, 2025
Public views on being human in 2035 - Lee Rainy, Elon University
This July 2025 survey by the Imagining the Digital Future Center found that American adults expect the changes in many human capacities in the coming AI-influenced decade will be potent and mostly negative. Americans said the widespread adoption of AI systems will have significant impact overall on human capacities in the coming decade About half (52%) of American adults surveyed said the impact AI will have on human capacities by the year 2035 will be revolutionary or deep and meaningful; 38% said the changes will be clear and distinct; and 7% said they expect that the changes will be barely perceptible. Just 3% said the impact will be inconsequential.
Want to future-proof your campus? Start here - Kevin Sanders, University Business
Higher education is at a crossroads. Our institutions are wrestling with enrollment cliffs, questions of relevance, technological disruption and the age-old challenge of governance. Boards debate how to remain solvent. Presidents strategize about new programs and partnerships. Provosts explore AI, online expansion or micro-credentials. Everyone is reaching for levers they hope will strengthen the institution. Yet beneath all these efforts lies a single, urgent question: How do we make our institutions stronger in a time of change? In my experience, the answer is deceptively simple: develop leaders.
The infrastructure moment - Alastair Green, Ishaan Nangia, and Nicola Sandri - McKinsey
A confluence of global forces is accelerating the need for infrastructure investment. Outdated assets, rapid urbanization, geopolitical shifts, and technological advancements are exposing the limitations of yesterday’s infrastructure. These forces are also changing the very definition of infrastructure. Traditionally, the term has been synonymous with assets such as power grids, roads, ports, and bridges. More recently, advances in technology have meant that newer assets such as fiber-optic networks, hyperscale data centers, and electric-vehicle charging stations are increasingly vital. These modern types of infrastructure share traits with “traditional” infrastructure, including long lifespans, significant initial investment, predictable and resilient cash flows, and critical economic roles.
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