California State University is pressing ahead with ChatGPT even though many of the students and faculty it expects to use the tool say they are not persuaded that it is making education better. According to a report from Futurism, the university system recently extended its OpenAI agreement at $13 million a year despite a large campus survey showing that most students and faculty remain skeptical of AI's overall value in the classroom.
Thursday, June 18, 2026
Data Center Operators Are Trying to Fix Their Water Use Problems - Molly Taft, Wired
On Monday, SpaceX amended its initial public offering to state that water conditions—including water scarcity, regulations around water, and drought—could constrain data center development. It isn’t the only tech company trying to assess how water scarcity might impact its business. Water use is emerging as one of the most contentious data center issues. A recent Gallup poll found that seven out of 10 Americans are opposed to data center development, with water scarcity ranking as the top resource concern. Facing increasingly fierce resistance, some tech companies are scrambling to assure the public that they’re facing the issue head-on. By signing up, you agree to our user agreement (including class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and acknowledge our privacy policy.
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
University of Phoenix researchers publish study examining doctoral students' attitudes toward AI chatbots and ChatGPT use in higher education - University of Phoenix
Researchers from the University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies have published new peer-reviewed research examining graduate students' attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots and their reported use of ChatGPT in higher education environments. The article, "Relationship between Students' Attitudes towards Artificial Intelligence (AI) and their usage of AI Chatbots," appears in the International Journal of AI in Pedagogy, Innovation, and Learning Futures, 2026(1). The quantitative study explored how doctoral students perceive AI chatbots in relation to academic integrity, ethics and educational value. Researchers surveyed 54 doctoral students enrolled at a private, online university in the United States to better understand how attitudes toward AI tools may influence reported usage patterns. The findings suggest that favorable attitudes toward AI chatbot use, perceptions that chatbot-generated results are superior and disagreement with prohibiting chatbot use were positively correlated with reported ChatGPT usage frequency. Researchers also found significant differences across fields of study, while no statistically significant gender differences were observed.
AI Investment Will Hit 2% Of U.S. GDP This Year, Analyst Says—Nearing Defense Spending Levels - Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes
New analysis from TS Lombard shows the United States is on track to devote approximately 2% of gross domestic product to artificial intelligence and data center infrastructure in 2026, an investment well above that of any other major country that places it among the largest concentrated spending booms in modern U.S. history.
TS Lombard, an economic research and investment strategy firm, predicts the U.S. will be responsible for more than 80% of an $800 billion global spend in the sector this year and that AI buildout is on track to surpass the Gilded Age’s so-called “Railway Mania” to become the biggest infrastructure project in US history.
Other estimates from Bridgewater Associates, Goldman Sachs and Lombard Odier also place projected AI infrastructure spending between $650 billion and $800 billion this year—equivalent to roughly 2% to 2.5% of the U.S. economy.
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
GAIT Fellows explore the use of AI in the classroom - Heather Skyler, UGA News
The Generative AI & Teaching Faculty Fellows program brought together 15 faculty members during the 2025-2026 academic year to develop, test and assess innovative classroom applications of generative AI. Through workshops, collaborative sessions and individualized support from teaching and learning specialists, fellows created AI-supported teaching projects aimed at improving student learning and engagement. Each fellow received a $3,000 stipend to support professional development or teaching resources, and the program culminated in the Generative AI and Teaching Colloquium, where participants shared their projects and sparked broader conversations about the future of AI-enhanced education at UGA.
California Colleges Must Add What AI Cannot Provide: Universal Leadership Education - Marty Treinen, Palm Springs Tribune
In the age of artificial intelligence, what must higher education become? And just as important: who should higher education be for? The answer can no longer be limited to traditional students, full-time degree seekers, or those who can afford the rising cost of opportunity. If California is going to lead the future, its colleges and universities must help open the door to everyone willing to develop themselves, improve their lives, and serve their communities. That includes high school students preparing for adulthood, college students seeking direction, working adults changing careers, entrepreneurs building something real, retirees and seniors with experience to contribute, the unemployed and underemployed, people with disabilities, veterans, immigrants, minorities, underserved communities, and every person who has never been offered a real pathway to leadership. That is the promise of Universal Leadership Education.
Monday, June 15, 2026
UNC to Partner With Public Libraries for Statewide AI Study - GovTech
Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will partner with public libraries across the state to study local responses to AI and develop tailored approaches to improving AI literacy. North Carolina’s public libraries will help shape new approaches to artificial intelligence literacy statewide through a new university research initiative at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. Starting this summer and running through 2028, the two-year Local Libraries and Generative AI project will bring university researchers and local librarians together to study how different communities across the state are using generative AI, and how libraries can support residents in understanding and using the technology responsibly, according to a news release yesterday.
How AI is quietly changing what we think the human mind is on the deep differences between human minds and artificial ones - Shai Tubalig, Big Think
For all its alienness, however, Seth is convinced that the octopus remains our genuine kin, in a way AI may never be. What puzzles him is how easily our fascination with machines can eclipse this kinship. As a neuroscientist and professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, Seth has spent a lot of time thinking about how humans have come to liken themselves to AI systems. “It’s a two-way mirror in a sense,” Seth tells Big Think. “We see ourselves through the lens of the things that we create.” In academia, Seth says, the brain has long been imagined as a kind of computer. Now that AI systems seem smart and can talk to us, this old metaphor may seem far more concrete, galvanizing the idea that perhaps “that’s nothing more than we are.” You can also see this idea in responses to claims that large language models are “stochastic parrots” — systems that can generate human-like language by calculating statistical probabilities but without truly grasping the meaning.
Sunday, June 14, 2026
Most K-12 teachers say AI's impact on education will eclipse the internet or computers - Lee V. Gaines, NPR
The effects of artificial intelligence on learning are still largely unclear. But a new NPR/Ipsos poll of K-12 teachers found that nearly 3-in-4 believe AI has bigger implications for education than past innovations like the internet or computers. The nationally representative poll surveyed 545 respondents and paints a complex picture of teachers' views on AI: Many are using it to save time and improve their teaching materials, but a majority of teachers are worried AI is making it harder for students to learn to think for themselves.
Dual dimensions of artificial intelligence use among medical academia: related knowledge, attitudes and ethical concerns, a national survey, 2025 - Doaa Ibrahim Omar, Nature
AI integration into medical education and practice has its benefits and risks. This national web-based cross-sectional survey on Egyptian medical staff and students aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and concerns regarding the use of AI. This study comprised 2765 medical students and 500 medical staff, with a mean age of 20.8 and 29.9 years, respectively, and higher percentages of females among both groups. Medical students demonstrated satisfactory knowledge of AI compared to medical staff (p < 0.001). Unfortunately, the majority of both groups (80.4% of staff and 81.6% of students) expressed negative attitudes toward AI use. Male participants had significantly higher attitude scores than females in both groups.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
California State Bet Big on AI. Now Campuses Are Fighting Back - Temaz Tra, Meme Burn
CSU signed a major deal with OpenAI to give ChatGPT Edu access to students, faculty, and staff. Critics say the rollout came during budget pressure, layoffs, and deep confusion over AI rules. The story matters for South African universities too, as campuses from Cape Town to Johannesburg face the same AI trade-off. The real fight isn’t just about ChatGPT. It’s about who controls education when tech platforms move into the classroom.
Congressional committee examines higher education's role in teaching students to use AI - Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL
Utah Rep. Burgess Owens asked several education experts about the impacts artificial technology will have on college students during a committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday. Owens, who chairs the House Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, spoke of the potential benefits of using AI in education but said academic institutions should ensure students learn the skills necessary to succeed in an increasingly AI-driven workforce, without sacrificing other learning. The challenges presented by the new technology are "significant," he said.
Friday, June 12, 2026
Opinion: Moving Beyond AI Policies in Higher Education - Quimby Kaizer and Saravanan Subbaraya, Gov Tech
Every spring, college and university leaders watch another graduating class walk across the stage. It is a moment worth celebrating. Students worked hard. Faculty did their best to educate them. Families made sacrifices. And yet, for many presidents, provosts and chief academic officers standing at the podium this month, a central question remains: Are we leveraging AI effectively to both empower students and evolve how our institutions operate? This is both the challenge and the opportunity facing higher education, as headlines increasingly reflect parents and students questioning whether college is financially worth it.
https://www.govtech.com/education/higher-ed/opinion-moving-beyond-ai-policies-in-higher-education
University of Maine System to launch shared AI tool to accelerate student, institutional success - Bangor Daily News
The University of Maine System is leading the nation in preparing students for the modern workforce and improving organizational effectiveness with the investment and responsible integration of a shared AI tool. Maine’s largest educational and research enterprise and one of the state’s biggest employers has awarded its first System-wide enterprise artificial intelligence platform contract to ChatGPT Edu from OpenAI. Under the two-year agreement that will begin July 1, every UMS faculty member, staff member and matriculated student will have access to ChatGPT Edu, which was developed specifically for use in higher education settings, though whether and how they use it will be entirely up to them.
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