Learning Curve

AI Giants Bet That Education Is About to Change

For colleges and schools, the relationship with major AI companies is complicated. Many are buying AI tools for their students, even as they strain to prevent harms to le

When AI Acts Like an Oracle, Where Does College Fit?

Modern AI systems follow a logic of prediction to deliver their answers. Sociologist Mona Sloane sees a cultural precedent for ascribing so much power to a predictive sys

How NYU Is Rethinking Its Approach to AI

Clay Shirky leads NYU’s AI efforts, and his background is as a media theorist commenting on how tech changes society. During the rise of social media 20 years ago, he was

Why the Gates Foundation Is Betting on AI in Education

The Gates Foundation recently pledged $1 billion over two years for AI efforts, with a large share going to education. Why the big AI push, even as Bill Gates warns of th

Inside the MIT Report on How AI Is Eroding Campus Culture

A new internal report at MIT warns that AI is making learning less social, as more students turn to chatbots rather than classmates when they’re stuck. The report, which

3 Key Tensions Facing Colleges in the AI Era

A look back at the key lessons from Season 1 of this podcast, plus a look at what’s new with AI on campus as a new academic year begins. A Turning Point in AI Writing, i

Are Liberal Arts Colleges Winning in the AI Era? (rebroadcast)

For this episode we're focusing on how liberal arts colleges are adapting to AI. On a recent day at Carleton College, two very different lunch conversations among faculty

How to Prepare Students For a World of AI Co-Workers (rebroadcast)

For this episode Jeff connected with Evan Ratliff, who created what he calls “the world’s first AI-led startup” to see what happens when AI agents run a company. Shell

Can You Actually Detect AI Cheating?

Will AI lead to an arms race of detectors and humanizers, or will it bring on bigger changes in teaching that might make college better? Related links: Signs of AI writ

Is AI Boosting Creativity, or Stifling It?

On this episode, Jeff talks with two prominent artists with different takes on AI. One experimental artist sees her students doing new kinds of work thanks to AI, and a c

What If a College Helped a Whole City Adopt AI?

A series of town halls aimed to explore how AI could be adopted across Baltimore in positive ways. Led by an unusual center at the University of Baltimore, the forum brou

How Is AI Changing College Admissions?

On this episode, Jeff talks to a veteran college enrollment official who is leading an AI experiment at his university, and an admissions consultant who has changed her m

Tough Lessons College ‘AI Czars’ Have Learned

This episode dives into the experiences of Chief AI officers at universities, including some misadventures and lessons learned. “I’m an ‘AI Czar.’ This is the Role,” by

The AI Optimist Researching ‘Cognitive Surrender’

A new paper warns of the dangers of people blindly adopting AI results in what researchers call "cognitive surrender." The lead author believes that with careful adoption

Are Liberal Arts Colleges Winning in the AI Era?

For this episode we're focusing on how liberal arts colleges are adapting to AI. On a recent day at Carleton College, two very different lunch conversations among faculty

How Colleges Can Safeguard Democracy in an AI Era

For this episode Jeff headed to Washington, DC to sit down with Mark Fisher, the director of a new center at Georgetown University exploring the intersection of AI and de

A Tale of Two AI Design Projects

What does it mean to teach art and design when free AI tools can generate sophisticated images in just a few seconds? For this episode we’re diving into that big questi

How to Prepare Students For a World of AI Co-Workers

For this episode Jeff connected with Evan Ratliff, who created what he calls “the world’s first AI-led startup” to see what happens when AI agents run a company. Shell G

The Case for Memorization in the AI Era

A growing number of experts are making the case for requiring students from middle school to college to do more rote memorization — of poems, dates, capitals, and more —

What Do Self-Driving Cars Teach Us About AI in Education?

Can thinking the public narrative around robot cars help educators think about the fast-rising trend of generative AI? For this episode, Jeff talked with two experts with