Numbers from the first quarter of 2025 from the New York Federal Reserve show that the unemployment rate for recent college graduates reached 5.8 percent, up from 4.8 percent in January. Companies have also pulled back on hiring. Last fall, employers expected to increase college-graduate hiring by 7.3 percent, according to a survey led by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Now they’re projecting just a 0.6 percent increase, with about 11 percent of companies planning to hire fewer new grads than before.
Friday, July 11, 2025
Google embraces AI in the classroom with new Gemini tools for educators, chatbots for students, and more - Sarah Perez, TechCrunch
Google on Monday announced a series of updates intended to bring its Gemini AI and other AI-powered tools deeper into the classroom. At the ISTE edtech conference, the tech giant introduced more than 30 AI tools for educators, a version of the Gemini app built for education, expanded access to its collaborative video creation app Google Vids, and other tools for managed Chromebooks. The updates represent a major AI push in the edtech space, where educators are already struggling to adapt to how AI tools, like AI chatbots and startups that promise to help you “cheat on everything,” are making their way into the learning environment.
Thursday, July 10, 2025
5 signals that make you instantly more trustworthy at work - Scott Hutcheson, Fast Company
It’s true that my fellow students are embracing AI – but this is what the critics aren’t seeing - Elsie McDowell, the Guardian
Wednesday, July 09, 2025
Keep in Mind That AI Is Multimodal Now - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed
No One Is in Charge at the US Copyright Office - Kate Knibbs, Wired
It’s a tumultuous time for copyright in the United States, with dozens of potentially economy-shaking AI copyright lawsuits winding through the courts. Described as “sleepy” in the past, the Copyright Office has taken on new prominence during the AI boom, issuing key rulings about AI and copyright. It also hasn’t had a leader in more than a month. In May, Copyright Register Shira Perlmutter was abruptly fired by email by the White House’s deputy director of personnel. Perlmutter is now suing the Trump administration, alleging that her firing was invalid; the government maintains that the executive branch has the authority to dismiss her. Despite the firing, Perlmutter still characterizes herself as the Copyright Register. “Despite Mr. Perkins’s claim that he is Acting Register of Copyrights, I remain Register of Copyrights and therefore am required by law to fulfill my above-described statutory obligations,” she said in a declaration in May. As the legality of the ouster is debated, the reality within the office is this: There’s effectively nobody in charge.
Tuesday, July 08, 2025
What is multimodal AI? - McKinsey
Multimodal AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can understand and process different types of information, such as text, images, audio, and video, all at the same time. Multimodal gen AI models produce outputs based on these various inputs. Multimodal models mirror the brain’s ability to combine sensory inputs for a nuanced, holistic understanding of the world, much like how humans use their variety of senses to perceive reality. These gen AI models’ ability to seamlessly perceive multiple inputs—and simultaneously generate output—allows them to interact with the world in innovative, transformative ways and represents a significant advancement in AI. By combining the strengths of different types of content (including text, images, audio, and video) from different sources, multimodal gen AI models can understand data in a more comprehensive way, which enables them to process more complex inquiries that result in fewer hallucinations (inaccurate or misleading outputs).
Scientists forge path to the first million-qubit processor for quantum computers after 'decade in the making' breakthrough - Owen Hughes, Live Science
Scientists have developed a new type of computer chip that removes a major obstacle to practical quantum computers, making it possible for the first time to place millions of qubits and their control systems on the same device.The new control chip operates at cryogenic temperatures close to absolute zero (about minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 273.15 degrees Celsius) and, crucially, can be placed close to qubits without disrupting their quantum state. "This result has been more than a decade in the making, building up the know-how to design electronic systems that dissipate tiny amounts of power and operate near absolute zero," lead researcher David Reilly, professor at the University of Sydney Nano Institute and School of Physics, said in a statement.
Monday, July 07, 2025
GPT-5: The AI That Will End The World As We Know It - Julia McCoy, YouTube
Meta Wins Blockbuster AI Copyright Case—but There’s a Catch - Kate Knibbs, Wired
Sunday, July 06, 2025
Mo Gawdat: AI Is Manipulating You More Than You Realize - Mo Gawdat, YouTube
The Year of Quantum: From concept to reality in 2025 - McKinsey
When it comes to quantum technology (QT), investment is surging and breakthroughs are multiplying. The United Nations has designated 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology, celebrating 100 years since the initial development of quantum mechanics. Our research confirms that QT is gaining widespread traction worldwide. McKinsey’s fourth annual Quantum Technology Monitor covers last year’s breakthroughs, investment trends, and emerging opportunities in this fast-evolving landscape. In 2024, the QT industry saw a shift from growing quantum bits (qubits) to stabilizing qubits—and that marks a turning point. It signals to mission-critical industries that QT could soon become a safe and reliable component of their technology infrastructure. To that end, this year’s report provides a special deep dive into the fast-growing market of quantum communication, which could unlock the security needed for widespread QT uptake.
Saturday, July 05, 2025
AI Could Actually Boost Your Workers’ Mental Health. Here’s How - Kit Eaton, Inc.
New research into AI’s impact on workers’ wellbeing offers a startling conclusion that refutes critics of the AI’s impact on the workplace, and counters recent reports suggesting the new technology is bad for people’s critical thinking abilities. Data from a large study suggest that though AI is relatively new, and the evidence is quite early, its use in the workplace hasn’t harmed people’s mental health or negatively affected their job satisfaction. Quite the opposite, in fact. The study found that letting your workers use AI may actually slightly benefit their health—particularly among less well-educated staff. The research, published this week, compared workers in occupations with high exposure to AI to those in less AI-exposed jobs, science news site Phys.org reports. There are a few wrinkles in the conclusions, and the authors explicitly warned that it’s very early to draw long-term conclusions about the impact of AI, but the results are definitely interesting food for thought for any company leader who’s been wary, thus far, of rolling out AI tools in the office or factory floor.
How People Use Claude for Support, Advice, and Companionship - Anthropic
Affective conversations are relatively rare, and AI-human companionship is rarer still. Only 2.9% of Claude.ai interactions are affective conversations (which aligns with findings from previous research by OpenAI). Companionship and roleplay combined comprise less than 0.5% of conversations. People seek Claude's help for practical, emotional, and existential concerns. Topics and concerns discussed with Claude range from career development and navigating relationships to managing persistent loneliness and exploring existence, consciousness, and meaning. Claude rarely pushes back in counseling or coaching chats—except to protect well-being. Less than 10% of coaching or counseling conversations involve Claude resisting user requests, and when it does, it's typically for safety reasons (for example, refusing to provide dangerous weight loss advice or support self-harm). People express increasing positivity over the course of conversations. In coaching, counseling, companionship, and interpersonal advice interactions, human sentiment typically becomes more positive over the course of conversations—suggesting Claude doesn't reinforce or amplify negative patterns.