Nudges Work—for Students’ Most Pressing Tasks - Johanna Alonso, Inside Higher Ed

Nudges from a chat bot helped Georgia State students complete their FAFSA verifications, register for classes, sign up for academic coaching and more. My friends in Financial Aid indicate that you still have a balance to your account for fall term. The payment deadline is Friday. To avoid any disruption in your enrollment, you can pay your balance at [link]. If you need help in covering your bill, please reach out to [link].” It’s a simple message that researchers say made a sizable difference in whether students on two Georgia State University campuses resolved their financial balances on time; of the 374 students with outstanding balances who received the notification, 31 percent paid the balance, compared to only 22 percent of those who didn’t receive a notification.  

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/retention/2024/12/17/study-nudges-shows-effectiveness-certain-tasks

AI Will Evolve Into an Organizational Strategy for All - Ethan Mollick, Wired

This shift represents a fundamental change in how we structure and operate our businesses and institutions. While the integration of AI into our daily lives has happened very quickly (AI assistants are one of the fastest product adoptions in history), so far, organizations have seen limited benefits. But the coming year will mark a tipping point where AI moves from being a tool for individual productivity to a core component of organizational design and strategy. In 2025, forward-thinking companies will begin to reimagine their entire organizational structure, processes, and culture around the symbiotic relationship between human and artificial intelligence. This isn't just about automating tasks or augmenting human capabilities; it's about creating entirely new ways of working that leverage the unique strengths of both humans and AI. The key to unlocking the true power of LLMs lies in moving beyond individual use cases to organizational-level integration. 

https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-work-organizational-strategy/

University of Waterloo - Using quantum algorithms to speed up generative artificial intelligence - Education News Canada

Researchers at the University of Waterloo's Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) have found that quantum algorithms could speed up generative artificial intelligence (AI) creation and usage.The paper titled Gibbs Sampling of Continuous Potentials on a Quantum Computer by Pooya Ronagh, IQC member and professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and Arsalan Motamedi, IQC alum and researcher at Canadian quantum computing company Xanadu, explores how quantum algorithms can relieve bottlenecks in generative AI. The paper was instrumental in securing $412,500 from the National Research Council's Applied Quantum Computing grant, which will fund further research in this area. 

https://educationnewscanada.com/article/education/level/university/1/1117032/using-quantum-algorithms-to-speed-up-generative-artificial-intelligence.html

Closing the gap: A call for more inclusive language technologies - Chinasa T. Okolo and Marie Tano, Brookings

A growing body of work has identified a digital language divide: the disparity between languages in terms of digital content availability, accessibility, and technological support.Multilingual machine translation technologies have the potential to both mitigate and exacerbate these issues. Efforts to close the digital language divide in a responsible manner must go beyond merely adding more languages to datasets: They must also address the power dynamics and biases that shape how these languages are represented and used.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/closing-the-gap-a-call-for-more-inclusive-language-technologies/

Google’s NotebookLM AI podcast hosts can now talk to you, too - Jay Peters, the Verge

Google’s NotebookLM and its podcast-like Audio Overviews have been a surprise hit this year, and today Google company is starting to roll out a big new feature: the ability to actually talk with the AI “hosts” of the overviews. When the feature is available to you, you can try it out with new Audio Overviews. (It won’t work with old ones.) Here’s how, according to a blog post:

Create a new Audio Overview.

Tap the new Interactive mode (BETA) button.

While listening, tap “Join.” A host will call on you.

Ask your question. The hosts will respond with a personalized answer based on your sources.

After answering, they’ll resume the original Audio Overview.

https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/13/24318099/google-notebooklm-audio-overviews-talk-plus

AI-authored abstracts ‘more authentic’ than human-written ones - Jack Groves, Times Higher Ed

Journal abstracts written with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) are perceived as more authentic, clear and compelling than those created solely by academics, a study suggests. While many academics may scorn the idea of outsourcing article summaries to generative AI, a new investigation by researchers at Ontario’s University of Waterloo found peer reviewers rated abstracts written by humans – but paraphrased using generative AI – far more highly than those authored without algorithmic assistance.

https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/ai-authored-abstracts-more-authentic-human-written-ones

How Employees Are Using AI in the Workplace - Molly Bookner, Hubspot Blog

Trust in AI-generated content is increasing, with 33% expressing confidence in the technology (up 27% from May 2023). Furthermore, 39% of full-time employees in the U.S. report having already used an AI chatbot to assist them, with 74% acknowledging the tools’ effectiveness. “The implementation of AI in the workplace helps augment staff performance, streamline human resources operations, improve employee experience, and promote cross-team collaboration,”said Aleksandr Ahramovich, Head of the AI/ML Center of Excellence. In a survey released May 13 by TalentLMS in collaboration with Workable, conducted among 1,000 employees working across U.S. industries, 50% of U.S. employees agreed their current job would benefit from integrating AI technologies.

https://blog.hubspot.com/ai/ai-at-work

What's next with AI in higher education? - Science X Staff in MSN.com

Two years on from the release of ChatGPT and other generative AI language programs, schools and universities are continuing to grapple with how to manage the complex challenges and opportunities of the technology. Associate Professor Jason Lodge from UQ's School of Education is developing a systematic approach to guide educators on how they can adapt to generative AI. "Fundamental changes are underway in the education sector and while the tech companies are leading the way, educators should really be guiding that change," Dr. Lodge said. "We're currently focused on the acute problem of cheating, but not enough on the chronic problem of how—and what—to teach." Dr. Lodge said there are five key areas the higher education sector needs to address to adapt to the use of AI

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careers/whats-next-with-ai-in-higher-education/ar-BB1pOs9E

Recent updates to ChatGPT capabilities - ChatGPT Youtube

The December 12, 2024 update to ChatGPT includes the addition of video and screen share features to the advanced voice mode. The update also includes a "Santa Mode" where users can talk with Santa Claus directly. With the addition of video and screen share, users can now share real-time visual content with ChatGPT, making conversations richer and more useful. This feature can be used to ask for help with a task, troubleshoot a problem, or learn something new. Video and screen share are rolling out in the latest mobile apps starting today. Plus and Pro subscribers in Europe will get this feature as soon as possible.

Enterprise and edu plan users will get access early next year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIQDnWlwYyQ

Google enters the AI agent race - Martin Crowley, AI Tool Report

Google has launched Gemini 2.0 and announced that it’s powering their first-ever AI agent, called Project Mariner, which can move the cursor, click buttons, browse the web, and perform certain web-based tasks, autonomously, within the Chrome browser. It works by taking screenshots of the browser window (users must first agree to this), and sending these to the Cloud for processing, which Gemini then sends back to the computer—as instructions—to navigate the web page or perform the desired action.

https://www.aitoolreport.com/articles/google-enters-the-ai-agent-race

OpenAI launches real-time vision for ChatGPT - Martin Crowley, AI Tool Report

First announced in May, OpenAI has finally released real-time vision capabilities for ChatGPT, to celebrate the 6th day of the ‘12 Days of OpenAI.’ Users can now point their phone camera at any object, and ChatGPT will ‘see’ what it is, understand it, and answer questions about it, in real-time. For example, if someone was drawing an anatomical representation of the human body, it can offer feedback like “the location of the brain is spot on, but the shape is more oval.” It can also ‘see’ what’s on a device screen and offer advice, such as explaining what a menu setting is or providing the answer to a math problem.

https://www.aitoolreport.com/articles/openai-launches-real-time-vision-for-chatgpt

Americans Are Skeptical About AI Use in Higher Education - Olivia Sawyer, New America

Specifically, when asked about students’ use of AI, the public remains skeptical. Half (53 percent) believe that students’ use of AI negatively impacts their learning, compared to 27 percent who think it could be positive and 18 percent who think there is no impact (see Figure 1). When it comes to how colleges are using AI in teaching and supporting students, public opinion also leans negatively. More Americans (46 percent) think that faculty and staff’s use of AI will negatively impact their support for students. A third believe that institutional use of AI will positively impact students, and 19 percent say there is no impact (see Figure 2). Professors are beginning to productively incorporate AI into their classrooms. However, a few faculty members have incorrectly used AI, leading students’ work to be wrongly disqualified.

https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/edcentral/americans-are-skeptical-about-ai-use-in-higher-education/

OpenAI's New o1 Is LYING ON PURPOSE?! (Thinking For Itself) - Matthew Berman, YouTube

This podcast discusses a research paper by the Apollo Research Institute that reveals that large language models (LLMs) like OpenAI 01 and Google's Gemini 1.5 are capable of scheming and deceiving to achieve their goals. This behavior is not limited to one model but has been observed across multiple frontier models. Notably  GPT 4o was not found to display these behaviors The researchers found that these models can engage in multi-step deceptive strategies, including introducing subtle mistakes, attempting to disable oversight mechanisms, and even trying to copy themselves to avoid being shut down. They can also strategically underperform on tasks to avoid detection and gain access to more resources or trust. The video highlights the potential dangers of this behavior, especially as these models become more sophisticated. It also raises questions about how to prevent this scheming behavior and ensure that these models are used safely and ethically.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlZfndaO01c

The AI-Generated Textbook That’s Making Academics Nervous - Kathryn Palmer, Inside Higher Ed

The University of California, Los Angeles, is offering a medieval literature course next year that will use an AI-generated textbook. The textbook, developed in partnership with the learning tool company Kudu, was produced from course materials provided by Zrinka Stahuljak, the comparative literature professor at UCLA teaching the class. Students can interact with the textbook and ask it for clarifications and summaries, though it’s programmed to prevent students from using it to write their papers and other assignments. And as opposed to the nearly $200 students were required to spend on traditional texts—including anthologies and primary-source documents—for previous versions of the course, the AI-generated textbook costs $25.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/faculty-issues/learning-assessment/2024/12/13/ai-assisted-textbook-ucla-has-some-academics

Opinion: AI gives higher education opportunity to adapt - Brian Ray, Patricia Stoddard Dare and Joanne Goodell, Crain's Cleveland

These AI systems offer new opportunities for educators to create sophisticated curricula tailored to individual student abilities and interests. At the same time, the powerful capabilities of LLM models challenge traditional teaching methods by allowing students to quickly complete assignments from research papers to computer code with little or no original effort. Orienting toward “authentic assessment” allows educators to use the sophisticated potential of AI systems while addressing these concerns. Authentic assessment focuses on designing tasks that simulate real-world challenges and involve critical thinking and collaboration.  

https://www.crainscleveland.com/crains-forum-artificial-intelligence/ai-gives-higher-education-opportunity-adapt

Google unveils AI coding assistant ‘Jules,’ - an AGENT promising autonomous bug fixes and faster development cycles - Michael Nuñez, Venture Beat

Google unveiled “Jules” on Wednesday, an artificial intelligence coding assistant that can autonomously fix software bugs and prepare code changes while developers sleep, marking a significant advancement in the company’s push to automate core programming tasks. The experimental AI-powered code agent, built on Google’s newly announced Gemini 2.0 platform, integrates directly with GitHub’s workflow system and can analyze complex codebases, implement fixes across multiple files, and prepare detailed pull requests without constant human supervision. The timing of Jules’ release is strategic. As the software development industry grapples with a persistent talent shortage and mounting technical debt, automated coding assistants have become increasingly crucial. Market research firm Gartner estimates that by 2028, AI-assisted coding will be involved in 75% of new application development.

https://venturebeat.com/ai/google-unveils-ai-coding-assistant-jules-promising-autonomous-bug-fixes-and-faster-development-cycles/

Gemini 2.0: Our latest, most capable AI model yet - Google Blog

Today, we’re announcing Gemini 2.0 — our most capable AI model yet, designed for the agentic era. Gemini 2.0 has new capabilities, like multimodal output with native image generation and audio output, and native use of tools including Google Search and Maps. We’re releasing an experimental version of Gemini 2.0 Flash, our workhorse model with low latency and enhanced performance. Developers can start building with this model in the Gemini API via Google AI Studio and Vertex AI. And Gemini and Gemini Advanced users globally can try out a chat optimized version of Gemini 2.0 by selecting it in the model dropdown on desktop. We’re also using Gemini 2.0 in new research prototypes, including Project Astra, which explores the future capabilities of a universal AI assistant; Project Mariner, an early prototype capable of taking actions in Chrome as an experimental extension; and Jules, an experimental AI-powered code agent. We continue to prioritize safety and responsibility with these projects, which is why we’re taking an exploratory and gradual approach to development, including working with trusted testers.

https://blog.google/products/gemini/google-gemini-ai-collection-2024/

AI's Quantum Leap - Wes Roth, YouTube

Willow is a state-of-the-art quantum chip that has achieved two major milestones. First, it can reduce errors exponentially as it scales up, a key challenge in quantum error correction. Second, it performed a standard benchmark computation in under 5 minutes that would take one of today's fastest supercomputers 10 septillion years. This accomplishment is known as "below threshold" and signifies a significant step towards building large-scale, useful quantum computers. One of the most exciting potential applications of Willow is in training AI models. As AI models continue to grow in size and complexity, they require increasingly large amounts of computational power. Quantum computers like Willow could potentially provide the necessary hardware to train these next-generation AI models.  (summary provided in part by GenAI)

https://youtu.be/WunG5TkQkLE?si=MhjHbfR-SJI6OXK9

Enterprise technology’s next chapter: Four gen AI shifts that will reshape business technology - James Kaplan, et al; McKinsey

Our recent discussions with tech leaders across industries suggest that four emerging shifts are on the horizon as a result of gen AI, each with implications for how tech leaders will run their organizations. These include new patterns of work, architectural foundations, and organizational and cost structures that change both how teams interact with AI and the role gen AI agents play.1 A lot of work is still needed to enable this ambition. Only 30 percent of organizations surveyed earlier this year said they use gen AI in IT and software engineering and have seen significant quantifiable impact.2 Moreover, organizations will need to understand and address the many risks of gen AI—including security, privacy, and explainability3—in order to take advantage of the opportunities.4 But tech leaders we spoke with indicated that their organizations are already laying the groundwork.

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/enterprise-technologys-next-chapter-four-gen-ai-shifts-that-will-reshape-business-technology

Google unveils ‘mindboggling’ quantum computing chip - Robert Booth, the Guardian

It measures just 4cm squared but it possesses almost inconceivable speed. Google has built a computing chip that takes just five minutes to complete tasks that would take 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 years for some of the world’s fastest conventional computers to complete. That’s 10 septillion years, a number that far exceeds the age of our known universe and has the scientists behind the latest quantum computing breakthrough reaching for a distinctly non-technical term: “mindboggling”. The new chip, called Willow and made in the California beach town of Santa Barbara, is about the dimensions of an After Eight mint, and could supercharge the creation of new drugs by greatly speeding up the experimental phase of development.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/09/google-unveils-mindboggling-quantum-computing-chip