Unless I’m writing to a close friend or trusted colleague, I don’t think a single email in the past six months has gone out without first being run through AI with the prompt: "Improve this…" Write what you mean, and then use AI to make sure someone else understands what you're trying to say.

We are living through the birth of a new world order. To dismiss it is not just hubris; it is a dangerous blindness that will define the West’s decline. For more, see Oswald Spengler.

Reading is going to be the most important skill that most humans have already lost. Especially in an age where an AI can provide an authoritative summary of any book.

Faceless AI-generated YouTube Videos have now reached the quality of your average adjunct university lecturer. Some of the voices even have more personality. This should really concern the higher education sector.

Those who experience 'Future Shock' rarely face the world beyond their screens.

🧠 What if you could talk to an AI-generated version of your future self? 🤖 @mitmedialab.bsky.social's Pattie Maes joined me on the @futurespodcast.bsky.social to explore how #AI might help us become the best version of ourselves by reshaping how we think about our long-term decisions.

Another day, another hackneyed eulogy for college on its death at the hands of AI. Striking here is that these thoughts did not originate from a college freshman’s own mind. These are talking points this student has been fed for years. What freshman says this? www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

University profoundly shaped me and who I wanted to become. As someone who now teaches, I try to offer undergraduates more than information - I try to model that possibility. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

If it were truly 'PhD-level' AI, it would crash the moment you asked it to explain in plain English.

A truly 'PhD-level' AI would have enough imposter syndrome to be unsure about the answers it provides.

A truly 'PhD-level' AI would know more and more about less and less until it knows everything about nothing.

What I would like to remind everyone talking about Sam Altman talking about the “PhD level intelligence” of the new ChatGPT is that Sam Altman dropped out of college so he… has no experiential construct for what grad school even is.

A 'PhD-level' AI would write 30,000 words, cite itself, and still get prompted to 'clarify contribution.'

Let’s hope 'PhD level' AI doesn’t mean it also needs three supervisors, six revisions, and a nervous breakdown before it can explain anything. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Beyond parody 🤦🏻‍♂️

The University of Warwick has paid a lot of money, I'm guessing, for their internet banner ads on the Guardian and elsewhere. But they can't spell "curiosity". This isn't a US-UK variant. They just, genuinely, have a massive spelling error in their banner ads.

' ... to view universities as being like 'luxury brands' “ ... is to fundamentally misunderstand their purpose”. “They don’t exist to cultivate prestige – they exist to expand knowledge, support critical thinking and serve the public good.” ' www.timeshighereducation.com/news/warwick...

‘Authentic AI content’ is a contradiction in terms - but that won’t stop marketers from coining another shiny neologism.

“Any teacher who can be replaced by a machine should be.” - Arthur C. Clarke @profstevefuller.bsky.social's update (below) with a similar sentiment, "You don't want to have a bionic textbook whose content is reducible to their PowerPoints."

Can anyone explain Midlands-based universities' obsession with the word 'Beyond'? 😂

I'm looking for a service that lets me pay $10 a month to access 20 articles from any news platform for Free. Simple. Friction Free.

Barbie's Dreamhouse was a £200k investment in my education. thetab.com/2024/12/27/u...

Education is not a branding exercise. Well-intentioned? Maybe. But appearing in Vogue wearing $450 socks to discuss 'reinventing education' is what happens when senior leadership becomes a little too disconnected from the front lines of higher ed. I can confirm: it triggered a campus-wide cringe. 😬

New podcasts recently dropped on the excellent Futures, hosted by @lukerobertmason.net Two takes on near-futures speculation by @liam-young.bsky.social & @stephenoram.bsky.social Well worth a listen: futurespodcast.net/episodes/84-...

🧠 On @futurespodcast.bsky.social, I spoke to @mitmedialab.bsky.social's Pattie Maes, who shared her insights on using #tech to enhance human potential, developing #wearable systems to support #cognition and #learning, and designing ethical human-centred artificial intelligence. youtu.be/gJWeHDlDOLk

🤖 On this week's @futurespodcast.bsky.social, I speak to computer scientist @lawrennd.bsky.social who shared his insights on what #machineintelligence can teach us about being #human, and the risks of prioritising efficiency & scalability over #ethics. futurespodcast.net/episodes/83-...

🎙️ Hear Director of Impact Jane Lawton on The FUTURES Podcast, exploring the profound implications of decoding animal communication—not just for conservation, but for our relationship with the natural world. 🎧 Listen here: futurespodcast.net/episodes/bon...

🔮 Conceptual #artist Pierre-Christophe Gam shares his thoughts on the transformative power of #imagination to shape reality & the potential of the #African continent to become a #global leader. 🎤 Bonus episode of futurespodcast.bsky.social Live from the #DubaiFuture. 📺 Watch: youtu.be/zmQj-tSf52U

New essay on the ethics of self-deception in human-AI emotional relations from Emilia Kaczmarek and published in the "Journal of Applied Philosophy." onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

This is marvellous mind-food for anyone interested in futures. I recommended a great podcast (on protopian futures), & to dip into the whole series, to a colleague just this week. #futures

"Some researchers worry that if #AI systems become conscious and people neglect or treat them poorly, they might suffer." - This was one of the BIG issues examined in "The Machine Question" @mitpress.bsky.social It's only taken 12 years for people to catch up : ) www.nature.com/articles/d41...

I have a storage unit that mostly contains evidence of all past and possible versions of me.

Whether you agree with his methods or not, Luigi Mangione was undeniably effective at spotlighting the brutal injustices of the U.S. health insurance system.

We need more characters. Eccentrics who live boldly in the now, crafting their own reality - and thriving in it with confidence and ease.

Great to see you here @lukerobertmason.bsky.social and I have been an avid listener to your podcast (and to a few of the live shows) for many years!

🤯 On the FUTURES Podcast, I meet the incredible individuals who dare to imagine the world of tomorrow. The show explores the topics of artificial intelligence #AI, human enhancement, #space travel & virtual reality #VR. 🎧 Listen Now: futurespodcast.net