The more that people use AI, the more likely they are to overestimate their own abilities - Drew Turney Live Science

 Researchers found that AI flattens the bell curve of a common principle in human psychology, known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, giving us all the illusion of competence. When asked to evaluate how good we are at something, we tend to get that estimation completely wrong. It's a universal human tendency, with the effect seen most strongly in those with lower levels of ability. Called the Dunning-Kruger effect, after the psychologists who first studied it, this phenomenon means people who aren't very good at a given task are overconfident, while people with high ability tend to underestimate their skills. It's often revealed by cognitive tests — which contain problems to assess attention, decision-making, judgment and language. 

But now, scientists at Finland's Aalto University (together with collaborators in Germany and Canada) have found that using artificial intelligence (AI) all but removes the Dunning-Kruger effect — in fact, it almost reverses it.

https://www.livescience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/the-more-that-people-use-ai-the-more-likely-they-are-to-overestimate-their-own-abilities

5 McKinsey insights on how agentic AI is reshaping industries - McKinsey

Nearly eight in ten companies report using gen AI—yet, paradoxically, just as many report no significant bottom-line impact. Now, with the rapid rise of agentic AI, organizations must continue to upskill their workforces, adapt their tech infrastructure, and deploy agent-specific governance mechanisms. “AI agents offer a way to break out of the gen AI paradox,” write McKinsey Senior Partners Alexander Sukharevsky, Klemens Hjartar, Lari Hämäläinen, Stéphane Bout, and coauthors. “That’s because agents have the potential to automate complex business processes—combining autonomy, planning, memory, and integration—to shift gen AI from a reactive tool to a proactive, goal-driven virtual collaborator.”

https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/themes/5-mckinsey-insights-on-how-agentic-ai-is-reshaping-industries

Beyond the Hype: Transforming Academic Excellence and Leadership Culture in the Age of AI - Joe Sallustio, Campus Technology

While most higher education leaders focus on AI's operational benefits — and rightfully so — the deeper transformation lies in how artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping what it means to learn, teach, and lead in the 21st century. The question isn't just whether institutions can keep pace operationally; the real challenge is whether we can maintain academic rigor and cultivate critical thinking in an AI-enhanced world while fostering the leadership culture necessary for sustainable transformation. In the Educause 2024 AI Landscape study, approximately 64% of students indicated regular use of generative AI tools as part of their coursework. This isn't a future trend — it's today's reality. Advanced AI tutoring systems can now offer formative feedback that encourages deeper critical analysis beyond mere surface editing, helping both students and faculty engage more meaningfully in learning.

https://campustechnology.com/articles/2025/11/20/beyond-the-hype-transforming-academic-excellence-and-leadership-culture-in-the-age-of-ai.aspx

Immersive AI and VR Experiences Bridge the Skills Gap in Higher Education - Greg Henderson, EdTech

Higher education IT decision-makers often talk about hardware specs, endpoint security and the networking backbone that keeps digital classrooms running smoothly. But the University of North Carolina Greensboro’s immersive learning environment, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR), was more than a proof of concept. It focused on building students’ skills to prepare them for professional success. Last year, the Joseph M. Bryan School for Business and Economics at UNC Greensboro was the first university in the state of North Carolina to receive $1 million in grant funding and wraparound support from Google’s Cybersecurity Clinics Fund. Part of Google.org, the tech giant’s philanthropic arm, the funding is part of a larger $25 million collaboration with the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics. 

https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2025/11/immersive-ai-and-vr-experiences-bridge-skills-gap-higher-education

No, the Pre-AI Era Was Not That Great - Zach Justus and Nik Janos, Inside Higher Ed

There are dozens of examples we could pull together here, and we could dive much deeper into the historical archive to find professors complaining about study/reading/writing habits, but the point is clear enough. What we are interested in is, what are the impacts of being overly nostalgic about pre-AI/pandemic education? First, it allows us to blame everything wrong with education on generative AI rather than acknowledge deep and justifiable concerns we have had for a while. The current technology serves as a convenient scapegoat for problems we may have been aware of but decided to live with. Course Hero, Chegg and other providers had industrialized academic dishonesty before ChatGPT was launched. We decided not to deal with that and, rather than face up to our past oversights, we have simply forgotten.

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/11/20/no-pre-ai-era-was-not-great-opinion

U launches ChatGPT Edu, a university-centered generative AI tool for campus use - Office of Artificial Intelligence, University of Utah

The University of Utah has launched OpenAI’s ChatGPT Edu, a version of the revolutionary generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool specifically designed for higher education and securely deployed for university use. Students, faculty and staff can request access to the tool via University IT’s Service Catalog and they’ll receive an email with login instructions. “We’ve been steadily building a foundation for responsible AI across campus, and ChatGPT Edu represents a major leap forward,” Chief AI Officer Manish Parashar said. “The U is at the forefront of reimagining how we teach, learn and research in the age of generative AI, and ChatGPT Edu will help us maintain an edge. We’re excited for our community to use this tool in a way that’s secure, optimized for academic work and aligned with our values.” As the university vets and deploys AI-powered tools for university work, protecting data is a top priority. With ChatGPT Edu, no university data is used to train the tool, and university-wide security measures make it safer to use than personal accounts.

https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/u-launches-chatgpt-edu-a-university-centered-generative-ai-tool-for-campus-use/

Europe is scaling back its landmark privacy and AI laws - Robert Hart and Dominic Preston, the Verge

After years of staring down the world’s biggest tech companies and setting the bar for tough regulation worldwide, Europe has blinked. Under intense pressure from industry and the US government, Brussels is stripping protections from its flagship General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — including simplifying its infamous cookie permission pop-ups — and relaxing or delaying landmark AI rules in an effort to cut red tape and revive sluggish economic growth. The changes, proposed by the European Commission, the bloc’s executive branch, changes core elements of the GDPR, making it easier for companies to share anonymized and pseudonymized personal datasets. They would allow AI companies to legally use personal data to train AI models, so long as that training complies with other GDPR requirements.

https://www.theverge.com/news/823750/european-union-ai-act-gdpr-changes

AI in the Ivory Tower: A Necessary Evolution or a Threat to Academic Integrity? - TokenRing AI, WRAL

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into higher education has ignited a fervent debate across campuses worldwide. Far from being a fleeting trend, AI presents a fundamental paradigm shift, challenging traditional pedagogical approaches, redefining academic integrity, and promising to reshape the very essence of a college degree. As universities grapple with the profound implications of this technology, the central question remains: do institutions need to embrace more AI, or less, to safeguard the future of education and the integrity of their credentials? This discourse is not merely theoretical; it's actively unfolding as institutions navigate the transformative potential of AI to personalize learning, streamline administration, and enhance research, while simultaneously confronting critical concerns about academic dishonesty, algorithmic bias, and the potential erosion of essential human skills. The immediate significance is clear: AI is poised to either revolutionize higher education for the better or fundamentally undermine its foundational principles, making the decisions made today crucial for generations to come.

https://markets.financialcontent.com/wral/article/tokenring-2025-11-18-ai-in-the-ivory-tower-a-necessary-evolution-or-a-threat-to-academic-integrity

 New UK course builds AI skills across every major - Allie Barnes, University of Kentucky News

University of Kentucky students are invited to learn how to thrive in an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven world through a new online course.  UK is offering a 100-level, one-credit-hour course — Transdisciplinary Educational Approaches to Advance Kentucky (TEK 100): Collaborative Intelligence — Understanding and Using Modern AI.  This rolling, asynchronous course will be offered twice during the Spring 2026 semester, to create multiple opportunities for students to fit this in their schedule. This course will run from Jan. 12 through March 2, and from March 9 through May 8.  

https://uknow.uky.edu/campus-news/new-uk-course-builds-ai-skills-across-every-major

Student cheating dominates talk of generative AI in higher ed, but universities and tech companies face ethical issues too - Jeffrey C. Dixon, Times-Union

As a sociologist who teaches about AI and studies the impact of this technology on work, I am well acquainted with research on the rise of AI and its social consequences. And when one looks at ethical questions from multiple perspectives – those of students, higher education institutions and technology companies – it is clear that the burden of responsible AI use should not fall entirely on students’ shoulders. I argue that responsibility, more generally, begins with the companies behind this technology and needs to be shouldered by higher education institutions themselves.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/student-cheating-dominates-talk-of-generative-ai-21191955.php

Faculty are ready for workforce alignment. Institutional leaders must be, too - Justin Louder, University Business

Faculty are focused on preparing students for what comes next. However, new data shows there is a gap to address. Anthology’s 2025 U.S. Faculty Survey reports that only one in five faculty feels very confident their course content aligns with current workforce expectations, and nearly 30% say students question whether their learning connects to real-world goals. The timing of these findings matters. Across industries, employer expectations are shifting, and faculty are feeling that pressure firsthand. Their shared goal remains the same: they want to prepare students for meaningful careers and lives. But the pace of change demands new ways to connect learning to work. Graduates are entering a labor market where skills need constant refreshing, and where the ability to adapt is as important as the degree itself

https://universitybusiness.com/faculty-are-ready-for-workforce-alignment-institutional-leaders-must-be-too/

How new immersive tech is shaping workforce skills - Alcino Donadel, University Business

Career simulation training is gaining a new layer of realism powered by advances in artificial intelligence and virtual reality, which provide students with a more responsive environment to test their technical and soft skills. Since flight simulators first became a staple in aviation training decades ago, simulation technology has expanded into other highly technical fields, such as cybersecurity, law enforcement and healthcare. Simulations expose students to high-stakes situations that require sophisticated care but that occur very rarely. In healthcare, these situations are called “HALO” (high-acuity, low-occurrence) events. New technology provides a low-stakes environment where students practice technical skills, communication and problem-solving

https://universitybusiness.com/how-new-immersive-tech-is-shaping-workforce-skills/

The New Cliff Facing Higher Ed and How AI Might Help Solve It - Ray Schroeder, Inside Higher Ed

There is a new “cliff” in American higher education, and it is not the demographic cliff. Rather, it is the dramatic cliff in math knowledge, skills and abilities. Let me be clear that other discipline deficiencies are found in this new generation of college students, however they are dwarfed by those in math. These have most recently been quantified in a report from the University of California San Diego. The official “Senate-Administration Workgroup on Admissions Final Report” (released November 6, 2025) contains disturbing findings. This widely discussed report revealed that nearly one in eight incoming freshmen couldn’t meet middle school math standards!

https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/online-trending-now/2025/11/26/new-cliff-facing-higher-ed-how-ai-might-help-solve

As New Federal Research Funding Resumes, China May Already Be Outspending U.S. - Ryan Quinn, Inside Higher Ed

China may have already overtaken the U.S. in research and development spending, ending a half century of American hegemony in financing scientific innovation, according to an American Association for the Advancement of Science researcher. “We’re entering into uncharted territory,” said Alessandra Zimmermann, the association’s R&D budget and policy program project director, during last week’s Association of Public and Land-grant Universities annual conference. In a follow-up interview with Inside Higher Ed this week, Zimmermann said, “No one knows what it looks like when the U.S. is not the dominant spender because there is no analogue.” 

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/science-research-policy/2025/11/18/china-may-already-be-outpacing-us-research

Teaching creativity in the age of AI - Fignon Tee Meng Wah, the Star

Educators worldwide are reexamining how creativity can be taught in an age when artificial intelligence (AI) tools are able to generate essays, images and designs in seconds. With the rise of platforms such as ChatGPT, Midjourney and DALL·E, creating content has never been easier. What once required hours of research, sketching or writing can now be completed almost instantly. For students, this development opens new possibilities. For educators, it presents the challenge of ensuring that learning and creativity remain authentic when high-quality output can be produced at the click of a button.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2025/11/16/teaching-creativity-in-the-age-of-ai