As the power of AI approaches AGI (Artificial General Intelligence – a hypothetical AI that matches or exceeds human cognitive abilities across all tasks), leaders of leading AI companies see a need for basic income to orovide needed demand as well as political stability. In a recent essay, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei wrote “If AI-driven labor displacement ends up being large in magnitude and permanently drives down the demand for labor, it will likely be necessary to go beyond mere incentive programs to long-term income support for a significant fraction of the labor force. Mechanisms such as universal basic income could be financed through taxes on relevant companies or raising the capital gains tax." In a May 2026 interview with The Atlantic, Open AI’s Sam Altman stated he no longer believes fixed UBI cash payments alone are enough to handle the economic shifts driven by AI. Instead, he advocates for “universal basic compute” or Public Wealth Funds, which would allow citizens to hold an actual ownership stake in AI-driven wealth and productivity.
Thursday, July 30, 2026
In an AI-driven world, the fastest learner will win: An interview with McKinsey’s Sven Smit; McKinsey
Now, along comes AI to radically change the way we create and consume ideas. Artificial intelligence is a powerful force for progress, Smit explains, capable of dramatically increasing productivity and enabling a future of greater abundance. But to keep up in this era of rapidly expanding AI tools and information, he says, “we must continue to excel in quality checks and in critical thinking and judgment. Those cannot be replaced.” In this interview with McKinsey Editorial Director Roberta Fusaro, Smit considers what “insights” will look like in the future, who the new experts will be, and how business leaders should think about knowledge in an AI-driven world. Ultimately, Smit sees the future as a dynamic collaboration between humans and AI—where judgment, creativity, and adaptability (along with hard work!) remain distinctly human skills even as machines take on more cognitive and physical tasks.
Wednesday, July 29, 2026
Why Shaw University is launching a new AI degree — in its divinity school - Raleigh News & Observer
Shaw University says the new doctoral degree in Artificial Intelligence and Moral Agency coming to its divinity school is the first program of its kind offered at any of the country’s HBCUs. The program will start next spring and include how to examine AI ethically, with courses on AI literacy, algorithmic bias, privacy and transparency, AI governance, human agency, cognitive bias and the impact of AI on marginalized communities.
AI in class: time to rethink assignments - Willie Chinyamurindi, Mail & Guardian
Ultimately, the future of higher education will not be determined by whether AI enters our classrooms. That has happened. Nor will it be determined by how effectively universities detect AI-generated text. The future will depend on whether institutions are willing to rethink assessment, literacy, ethics and institutional culture for an AI-enabled world. The challenge before higher education is therefore not technological. It is educational. The task is not simply to police AI but to steward its use in ways that strengthen learning, preserve human agency and prepare graduates for an increasingly AI-mediated world.
Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Nearly 90% of students, 77% of faculty use AI: survey - Gabrielle Temaat, the College Fix
Almost 90 percent of students use artificial intelligence in their learning, and 77 percent of faculty use AI to help them teach, according to a new report from the Digital Education Council. The Digital Education Council AI in Higher Education Global Survey 2026 draws “on more than 45,000 responses from students and faculty across 35 countries,” according to the report. “The picture it reveals should give leaders pause. AI has moved into the mainstream of student and faculty life faster than institutions have been able to respond to it. Adoption is now widespread, but coherent practice is not,” it states.
The real AI advantage - McKinsey
The next wave of value from AI will flow to those leaders who redesign business models, eliminate friction, and build organizations that learn faster than the competition. The first wave of AI adoption has been all about efficiency gains. But what happens when everyone else, using the same tools, is experiencing the same productivity improvements? Where will competitive advantage come from then? McKinsey research suggests that the companies that outperform with AI will be those that rethink customer experiences, redesign how work gets done, and build operating models that continuously adapt to change.
Monday, July 27, 2026
Mindfulness and artificial intelligence self-efficacy among university students: the mediating role of artificial intelligence literacy - Aamer Aldbyani, et al; Nature
University students now use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in several academic activities, including information retrieval, writing support, and problem-solving. While these technologies may enhance learning efficiency, effective student engagement with AI requires relevant psychological characteristics as well as technology-related competencies. Earlier studies indicate that learner characteristics, including mindfulness, may relate to patterns of engagement with digital technologies. Mindfulness, AI literacy, and AI self-efficacy have been studied separately, but their combined relationships remain insufficiently examined. Accordingly, this study examined the associations among these three variables in university students and assessed whether specific dimensions of AI literacy were involved in the statistical association between mindfulness and students’ self-rated readiness to use AI-supported tools for academic purposes. The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Undergraduate students at Shandong Xiehe University in China completed an online questionnaire. After screening the responses, 929 valid questionnaires were retained for analysis. Participants were between 18 and 22 years of age. Mindfulness, AI literacy, and AI self-efficacy were assessed using established self-report scales.
4 Critical Security Considerations for AI in Higher Education - Jessica E. Bright, EdTech
Generative artificial intelligence is revolutionizing how colleges and universities operate, streamlining workflows, supporting research and enhancing learning. But as adoption grows, so do the risks. Higher education institutions manage sensitive student data, proprietary research and intellectual property. Without the right guardrails in place, AI systems can expose this information or violate compliance standards, putting institutions at risk for reputational damage. For CISOs and CIOs, securing AI environments must be a strategic priority. Here are four key security considerations when implementing AI.
Sunday, July 26, 2026
What university leaders must learn in the age of AI - James Yoonil Auh, University World News
Universities emerged in societies where access to books, scholarship and expertise was scarce. Their central role was to preserve, transmit and expand knowledge while educating successive generations of scholars. Although the digital age has made information increasingly accessible, universities remain central to helping students interpret complex bodies of knowledge. Artificial intelligence is now accelerating a far more profound shift. For the first time, students can draw on a rapidly expanding ecosystem of free and commercial AI systems that generate explanations, synthesise information, answer questions, provide feedback, and adapt responses in real time. Access to intellectual assistance is no longer confined to classrooms, libraries or faculty expertise; it is increasingly available on demand to anyone with an internet connection. As information and participation in intellectual work become more abundant, exercising sound judgment in their use remains a distinctly human responsibility.
How Generative AI is Shaping the Future of Digital Learning Platforms in the EdTech Industry - Globe and Mail
By 2030, the market is anticipated to surge to $3.22 billion with a CAGR of 43.6%. Innovations in adaptive learning via AI, growth in virtual and augmented reality educational applications, and the adoption of AI-powered learning assistants are key contributors. AI is enhancing global edtech with predictive analytics, automated grading, and intelligent content creation, offering personalized and efficient educational pathways. The rapid adoption of digital learning platforms supports this market growth. These platforms offer flexible and accessible learning solutions driven by expanding internet connectivity. They benefit from AI's ability to deliver personalized experiences, create adaptive content, and streamline processes, leading to improved engagement and outcomes. According to Eurostat, 30% of EU internet users engaged with online education in 2023, showcasing the increasing reliance on digital learning tools.
Saturday, July 25, 2026
What Happens When the Regulator Becomes a Shareholder? - Matt Wolfe, Future Tools
OpenAI just floated an idea that sounds great in theory but has me a little uneasy in practice. According to a Financial Times report, OpenAI has proposed giving the US government a 5% ownership stake in the company worth roughly $42.6 billion based on OpenAI's most recent $852 billion valuation. Sam Altman's pitch is that if AI creates massive economic upside, the public should share in it, modeled loosely on the Alaska Permanent Fund (where the state's oil revenue gets invested and pays annual dividends to every resident). Altman also wants other major AI labs—Anthropic, Google, Meta, xAI—to each contribute a similar 5% stake to the same public wealth fund. A few context points that matter here: This isn't happening in a vacuum. The government has been ramping up pressure on AI companies for months.
Is competing for faster compute higher ed’s new arms race? - Alcino Donadel, University Business
Ensuring academic programs keep pace with advancing AI has sparked a costly tech challenge: the need for significantly more campus computing power. For decades, colleges and universities supported most research needs with separate departmental servers and periodic upgrades. Today, AI and advanced analytics are changing that equation. Training large language models, processing massive datasets and conducting modern scientific research require high-performance computing that more than quadruples the energy most institutions currently provide—and which they were never designed to support.
Friday, July 24, 2026
New Research Reveals AI Use Has Reached a Tipping Point in Higher Education - Newswire.ca
D2L, a global leader in learning innovation, and Tyton Partners have collaborated to release the annual Time for Class 2026 report, The AI Tipping Point: From Monitoring Students to Engaging Them, which examines how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping teaching, learning, assessment and workforce readiness across higher education. The report, drawing on insights from more than 3,000 higher education administrators, instructors and students in the United States who were surveyed, finds that AI has crossed a major adoption threshold. Of those who participated, more than half of administrators (71%), instructors (52%) and students (61%) report using AI at least weekly. As AI becomes a regular part of academic life, the report finds institutions are moving beyond the question of whether AI will affect teaching and learning, and toward a more urgent challenge: how to integrate AI in ways that improve engagement, strengthen assessment and prepare students for future careers.
How and when does artificial intelligence use enhance student creativity? The mediating role of knowledge-based dynamic capabilities - Huainan Wang, et al; Frontiers in Psychology
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more deeply integrated into higher education, understanding its effects on student creativity has become increasingly important. However, the mechanisms through which AI use is associated with student creativity, as well as the boundary conditions of this relationship, remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on the knowledge-based dynamic capabilities (KBDC) framework, this study develops and tests a model that links AI use to student creativity while incorporating the moderating roles of AI self-efficacy and AI trust. Using survey data from 764 university students in China, we employ hierarchical regression analysis to examine the proposed model. The results show that AI use is positively associated with student creativity and that this relationship is mediated by students' knowledge acquisition, absorptive, and combination capabilities.
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