True agentic AI is years away - here's why and how we get there - Tiernan Ray, ZDnet

Today's AI agents don't meet the definition of true agents. Key missing elements are reinforcement learning and complex memory. It will take at least five years to get AI agents where they need to be. While they may bring benefits, these agents are not the agents we really want. They are simple automations and don't live up to the true definition of an agent. As a result, enterprise hopes for agents are likely to meet with bitter disappointment in the near term. Key technology is missing from agents, and it may take another generation of AI evolution to bring the expected benefits.  

https://www.zdnet.com/article/ai-agents-primitive-reinforcement-learning-complex-memory/

What Actually Makes You Valuable in an AI World - joshbersin

AI adoption is accelerating and it feels harder and harder to keep up. I know many senior leaders feel confused by the rapid pace and college grads are worried about their careers. What skills do we need to stay relevant in this new “All-AI” world? Well there’s an answer to all this change, and it gets back to the five fundamental principles of your own professional learning. In this episode, I unpack the five fundamental things to “learn” as the AI world accelerates at a quickening pace.

https://joshbersin.com/podcast/what-actually-makes-you-valuable-in-an-ai-world/

AI Risk Expert: By 2027, We LOSE Control—The Hidden Dangers of Building Superintelligence - Jack Neel and Roman Yampolskiy, YouTube

In this podcast, AI safety expert Dr. Roman Yampolskiy joins host Jack Neel to discuss his alarming thesis that humanity faces a 99.99% chance of extinction following the creation of Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). Yampolskiy argues that it is fundamentally impossible for a lower intelligence to indefinitely control or predict a system millions of times smarter than itself [00:08]. He critiques the current "arms race" between tech giants like OpenAI and Google, suggesting that they are prioritizing speed over safety and are essentially "growing" dangerous models rather than engineering them with explicit guardrails [04:22]. The conversation also explores deeper philosophical and existential risks, including the simulation hypothesis—the idea that our reality is a digital construct—and the potential for "suffering risks" where an uncontrolled AI could perpetually torture sentient beings [42:57]. Yampolskiy details how AI is already impacting human behavior by making us more dependent and potentially less intelligent [13:50]. Despite the bleak outlook, he emphasizes the importance of stopping the development of general super intelligence while continuing to benefit from narrow AI tools that solve specific human problems like disease and aging [02:11:05]. (Assistance in summarizing this podcast by Gemini 3)

https://youtu.be/hns1g4dm0Qo?si=epB8Volp6P4AEbAh

How CSUMB faculty and students view AI one semester into a system-wide ChatGPT roll-out - Dolores Haidee Marquez, KAZU

While some faculty warn about the risks artificial intelligence poses to critical thinking, others argue the greater risk is failing to engage with the technology at all. Education professor Erin Ramirez received a grant to develop ways to train future teachers to use AI in middle and high school classrooms.

As part of the CSU systemwide AI rollout, faculty were able to apply for research grants, a move that reflects the university’s decision to study and shape AI use, rather than avoid it. Education professor Erin Ramirez, who trains future teachers, says schools have a responsibility to confront the technology directly.  “The more you tell a student they can’t use it, the more they wanna use it,” Ramirez said.

https://www.kazu.org/kazu-news/2025-12-31/how-csumb-faculty-and-students-view-ai-one-semester-into-a-system-wide-chatgpt-roll-out

Artificial intelligence reshapes learning as KU works to adapt - Abigail Moore, University Dailly Kansan

“From my perspective, AI is here to stay, and it is very apparent from my classes,” Max Biundo, a senior studying computer science at the University of Kansas, said. “It's almost like a calculator for code now, a lot of my professors have updated their syllabus to allow the use of AI with proper documentation, similar to how people allowed use of calculators in math with proper work shown to prove you understand the material.” For many students like Biundo, AI has become a companion rather than a shortcut and while universities weigh their next move, students aren’t waiting to learn the ins and outs of AI.  

https://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/artificial-intelligence-reshapes-learning-as-ku-works-to-adapt/article_f42e4c19-635b-4631-9f03-2e0f8d0c6ccd.html

AI use explodes on Minnesota college, university campuses - Erin Adler, Star Tribune

Artificial intelligence is dramatically changing higher education as professors adapt to its use, despite fears and hand-wringing that college students are using it as a cheating free-for-all. As higher education wrestles with unprecedented challenges— including shrinking budgets due to federal cuts and fundamental doubts about its value — AI’s growth is prompting instructors to have frank classroom discussions about key skills students must master before they graduate and the ethical use of tech tools. While professors and students at Minnesota colleges and universities have varying perspectives on AI’s usefulness, many faculty are rethinking their assignments and tests. Skeptical professors are going old-school with physical test booklets and oral exams, while early adopters are boosting students’ AI use through creative projects that were impossible four years ago.

https://www.startribune.com/college-professors-retool-tests-and-homework-as-artificial-intelligence-use-explodes-on-campus/601438117

If Anthropic Succeeds, a Nation of Benevolent AI Geniuses Could Be Born - Steven Levy, Wired

“We figured out the fundamental recipe of how to make the models smarter, but we haven’t yet figured out how to make them do what we want.” The deadline might be closer than even the Anthros think. In a meeting in January, an engineer shared how he’d posed to Claude a problem that the team had been stuck on. The answer was uninspiring. Then the engineer told Claude to pretend that it was an AGI and was designing itself—how would that upgraded entity answer the question? The reply was astonishingly better. “AGI!” shouted several people in the room. It’s here! They were joking, of course. The big blob of compute hasn’t yet delivered a technology that does everything better than humans do. Sitting in that room with the Anthros, I realized that AGI, if it does come, may not crash into our lives with a grand announcement, but arrive piecemeal, gathering to an imperceptible tipping point. Amodei welcomes it. “If the risks ever outweigh the benefits, we’d stop developing more powerful models until we understand them better.” In short, that’s Anthropic’s promise. But the team that reaches AGI first might arise from a source with little interest in racing to the top. It might even come from China. And that would be a constitutional challenge.

https://www.wired.com/story/anthropic-benevolent-artificial-intelligence/

Higher education at a point of no return: How 2025 rewired the university system - Shauba Chauhan, Economic Times

The year 2025 will be remembered as the moment higher education stopped preparing for change and began living inside it. For decades, universities were assessed on expansion, that is, more campuses, higher enrolments, global rankings and physical infrastructure. That era is now decisively over.In 2025, outcomes overtook optics. Institutions were judged not by intent, but by impact - graduate readiness, research relevance, interdisciplinary thinking, and the ability to operate within a volatile global environment shaped by artificial intelligence, geopolitical flux and rapid labour market shifts.Globally, this pressure is undeniable. The World Economic Forum estimates that 44% of core job skills will change by 2030, while the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) projects that today’s learners will reskill repeatedly across their careers.  

https://education.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/higher-education/higher-education-at-a-point-of-no-return-how-2025-rewired-the-university-system/126139816

The Rise of the Agentic AI University in 2026 - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

Agentic AI is no longer merely an interactive tool we talk to; it is a colleague that acts for us. The use of generative AI continues to expand in new ways. Meanwhile, the development of AI agents is driving the expansion and efficiency of AI. In the agentic AI models, we have tools that are capable of reasoned assessment of what is needed to accomplish a goal, aligning a series of stacked tasks and completing those tasks without direct supervision in an efficient way, much like a human assistant would perform a series of tasks to achieve desired outcomes. For example, this often includes data collection, analysis of the data, identifying and implementing ways in which to accomplish the goals, documenting the findings, and finding better ways to accomplish the outcomes.

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/online-trending-now/2026/01/07/rise-agentic-ai-university-2026

Agents, robots, and us: Skill partnerships in the age of AI - Lareina Yee, McKinsey

AI is expanding the productivity frontier. Realizing its benefits requires new skills and rethinking how people work together with intelligent machines. Work in the future will be a partnership between people, agents, and robots—all powered by AI. Today’s technologies could theoretically automate more than half of current US work hours. This reflects how profoundly work may change, but it is not a forecast of job losses. Adoption will take time. As it unfolds, some roles will shrink, others grow or shift, while new ones emerge—with work increasingly centered on collaboration between humans and intelligent machines.

Most human skills will endure, though they will be applied differently. More than 70 percent of the skills sought by employers today are used in both automatable and non-automatable work. This overlap means most skills remain relevant, but how and where they are used will evolve. Our new Skill Change Index shows which skills will be most and least exposed to automation in the next five years. Digital and information-processing skills could be most affected; those related to assisting and caring are likely to change the least.

https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/agents-robots-and-us-skill-partnerships-in-the-age-of-ai

OpenAI Sells Over 700,000 ChatGPT Licenses to 35 U.S. Universities - Bogdana Zujic, Technobezz

OpenAI has secured more than 700,000 ChatGPT licenses across 35 public U.S. universities, according to purchase orders reviewed by Bloomberg. The deals position ChatGPT as the dominant AI assistant on campuses where Microsoft's Copilot and Google's Gemini have seen more measured adoption rates. Students and faculty used ChatGPT over 14 million times in September 2025 alone, data from 20 campuses shows. Each user averaged 176 interactions that month for writing, research, and data analysis tasks. Globally, OpenAI has sold "well over a million" college licenses, according to a company spokesperson.Bulk pricing drives the adoption gap. Universities pay a few dollars per user monthly for ChatGPT access, a sharp discount from the $20 individual educational rate. Microsoft originally quoted schools $30 monthly for Copilot before cutting academic pricing to $18 this year.

https://www.technobezz.com/news/openai-sells-over-700000-chatgpt-licenses-to-35-us-universit-2025-12-20-kd9r

Agents, robots, and us: Skill partnerships in the age of AI - Lareina Yee, McKinsey Global Institute

Work in the future will be a partnership between people, agents, and robots—all powered by artificial intelligence. While much of the current public debate revolves around whether AI will lead to sweeping job losses, our focus is on how it will change the very building blocks of work—the skills that underpin productivity and growth. Our research suggests that although people may be shifted out of some work activities, many of their skills will remain essential. They will also be central in guiding and collaborating with AI, a change that is already redefining many roles across the economy.

https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/agents-robots-and-us-skill-partnerships-in-the-age-of-ai

How lifetime pathways will build the university of the future - Alcino Donadel, University Business

Two years into his tenure at Fairleigh Dickinson University, President Michael Avaltroni is building a statewide network that spans a learner’s journey from K12 to higher ed to the workplace. Avaltroni is building a coalition of New Jersey higher education institutions and organizations to better integrate human and machine learning in healthcare. Fairleigh Dickinson University also recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Rowan University to expand the state’s supply of healthcare professionals. Avaltroni intends to cement the four-year university’s relevance as the economy and student demographics shift.

https://universitybusiness.com/how-lifetime-pathways-will-build-the-university-of-the-future/

How home exams and peers affect college grades in unprecedented times - Tinna Laufey Ásgeirsdóttir, et al: European Economic Review

Leveraging administrative data from the University of Iceland, which cover more than 60% of the undergraduate population in the country, we examine how home exams and peer networks shape grades around the COVID-19 crisis. Using difference-in-difference models with a rich set of fixed effects, we find that home exams taken during university closures raised grades by about 0.5 points relative to invigilated in-person exams outside the pandemic period. Using rich administrative data from the University of Iceland, covering most of the undergraduate population in the country, this paper shows that unproctored home exams during COVID-19 increased student grades by about half a point, a roughly 7% premium, on top of the usual positive return to take-home exams already present off-pandemic. Despite widespread disruption, student performance did not deteriorate during the pandemic. 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0014292125002909