Late registration rates for #MLA26 go into effect tomorrow, so be sure to register today (12/3) and join us in Toronto or online!

Excited and nervous to chair an online panel at #MLA2026: When do we need to know what is AI and what is student writing? How can we know? Nothing too ambitious, right? With @hollyjhassel.bsky.social @leoflores.bsky.social, Liz Losh, and Sarah Z Johnson +

The unevenness of algorithmic "intelligence" never fails to make me chuckle. "Are you writing in English?" Indeed I am...

Such a valuable summary of AI in education newsletters, channels, and people to follow. @leaton01.bsky.social is someone I trust. I'm honored to be included.

Don't let agentic browsers such as OpenAI's Atlas ruin course management systems like Blackboard or Canvas. They can complete assignments without any student involvement. www.mla.org/Resources/Ad...

MLA statement on AI www.mla.org/Resources/Ad...

It was a delight to get to talk with @johnkane.bsky.social and @cyberthread.bsky.social on Tea for Teaching! teaforteaching.com Topics: *Student agency and AI literacy *Preventing AI misuse and why I'm using detection *Inviting engagement with AI feedback using PAIRR

In today's Tea for Teaching podcast, @annamillsoer.bsky.social joins us to suggest ways in which AI can be used to help students develop their writing skills while also promoting academic integrity. @cyberthread.bsky.social teaforteaching.podbean.com/e/authentic-...

New adventures in bureaucracy: I get to get a TB test + fingerprinting to do an online workshop!

"The machine, in its quest to sound authoritative, ended up sounding like a KCPE graduate who scored an 'A' in English Composition. It accidentally replicated the linguistic ghost of the British Empire." Great piece by @marcusolang.substack.com marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...

this piece by @marcusolang.substack.com is a must read “There’s a growing community (cult?) of self-proclaimed AI detectives, who have designed and detailed what they consider tells, and armed their followers with a checklist of robotic tells.”

Nobody should trust AI. That doesn't mean it isn't useful... not trusting it is part of AI literacy.

How to design AI systems for collaboration with humans rather than for automation... I like this model and want to learn more. A student found this article, and I may assign it next semester. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...

It needs to be put plainly. To the AI companies that want to partner with educational institutions: Before you approach us, please tell your agentic browsers not to perpetrate academic fraud by completing online homework on students' behalf.

Such a helpful piece on what is meant by “AI agent.” Includes context on the quest for AGI and lists characteristics associated with “agents”: “complex problem solving, tool use with potential independence from a chatbot dialog interface, autonomy, specialization, optional persona”

Funny to get a recruiting email emphasizing the freeway flier aspect of my English adjunct career history usually considered least impressive. "[Y]our profile immediately stood out, especially your impact around your extensive experience as an English Instructor across multiple colleges."

The letter demanded companies institute new safeguards to keep users safe from harmful psychological impacts.

AI literacy now needs to include risks and capabilities of agentic AI browsers. Even if you hate these, it's important to really get them. Workplace practices will evolve to include them. Here, Perplexity Comet researched my college's spring calendar and made a meeting poll at my request.

Excited to dive into @mettalrose.bsky.social's dissertation, ‘Learning To Talk to Generative AI Chatbots’: A Corpus Study of Generative AI Prompts, an Emerging Genre for AI Literacy repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150...

Great recap of what happened with AI in 2025, from slandering machines as “clankers” to the arc of the AI hype cycle and everything in-between. Read it 👇

Fascinating that Anthropic researchers are concluding that you have to try to describe character and motivation very precisely to get the behavior you want from LLMs. Philosphers, literary critics needed...https://x.com/sleepinyourhat/status/1997006360450683373?s=20

ChatGPT’s user growth is slowing and Google’s Gemini is gaining ground, according to data. OpenAI now faces an intense and expensive battle with some of the world’s largest and most profitable companies — without a profitable business of its own.

OpenAI is testing training LLMs to produce "confessions", or self-report how they carried out a task and own up to bad behavior, like appearing to lie or cheat (Will Douglas Heaven/MIT Technology Review) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

"When AI tools fail to deliver the transformative results promised in executive presentations, employees experience disappointment that compounds their fatigue. This... leaves employees confused...making adoption feel pointless or overwhelming." www.forbes.com/sites/caroli...

I'm not recommending agentic AI browsers, but I think educators need to understand what they are and how they can affect learning in digital spaces. In this free webinar for OneHE, I'll explore possible student and teacher uses and abuses of these systems. onehe.org/event/uses-a... #EduSky

"For OpenAI and other chatbot makers, dependence is the business model. The more people rely on AI for their personal and professional lives, the more these businesses stand to gain."

"Many people are becoming reliant on AI to navigate some of the most basic aspects of daily life." www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

Agentic AI is here: What does it mean for online education? This was a stimulating conversation with John Nash and Jason Johnston of the Online Learning Podcast. Note: agentic AI browsers do way more than the custom chatbots sometimes called agents. www.onlinelearningpodcast.com/e/ep-37-agen...

Horrifying deportation of a Dreamer www.nytimes.com/2025/11/30/u...

What is an agent? Are there any philosophers here who would be willing to share about current philosophical discussions on the subject in relation to AI? To me this seems like a tricky question cousin to questions of free will...

ChatGPT is huge in India. These startups are building their own LLMs for less common languages, hoping local relevance helps them compete http://restofworld.org/2025/chatgpt-india-alternative-ai-llms

“…ChatGPT’s dangerous answers don’t sound risky to a non-doctor. The chatbot always sounds confident and authoritative.”

Power and pitfalls of using AI for medical advice. This could be a really useful article to assign to help students internalize the idea that AI can be authoritative and wrong. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

BREAKING: WE WON!!! 💥 💥 💥 Federal Judge William G. Young ruled today in our lawsuit against the Trump administration that the policy of arresting, detaining, & deporting noncitizen students & faculty members for their pro-Palestinian advocacy violates the 1st Amendment. Full ruling here:

Very useful: a form to help you build an AI disclosure statement. Developed by Kari Weaver. aidframework.org

There's a lot of confusion on the meaning of "AI agent." Here's my understanding of current usage: Meaning 1: customized chatbots (these have been around, but the term "agent" is hot) Meaning 2: a browser that will take action for you, like moving the cursor, clicking, and filing out forms Right?

Is AI rendering us subcognitive? Hollis Robbins and Anastasia Berg debate the place of artificial intelligence in higher education. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #HigherEducation #Philosophy #PhilosophyOfAI thepointmag.substack...

A.I. could deprive students of “indispensable opportunities to develop their linguistic mastery, and with it their most elementary powers of thought,” Anastasia Berg writes. “This means they will lack the means to understand the world they live in or navigate it effectively.”

Professor Anastasia Berg, who teaches philosophy at the University of California, Irvine, writes about the importance of cultivating language skills, especially writing, without the aid of AI www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o... #EduSky

"Many people invoke a distinction between illicit uses of A.I. (such as the composition of entire drafts) and innocent auxiliary functions — outlining, for instance. But it is these seemingly benign functions that are the most pernicious for developing minds." www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...

“We need to have fewer things in the world that make us wonder whether everything is just made up bullshit.” Another banger from @anildash.com www.anildash.com//2025/10/22/...

Okay, for the folks who asked: here's the majority AI view, writing up the reasonable, thoughtful view on AI that the vast majority of people in tech hold, that gets overshadowed by the bluster and hype of the tycoons trying to shill their nonsense. anildash.com/2025/10/17/t... Please share!

This shallow essay argues that AI will become "conscious" when ppl succumb to the ELIZA effect: a known vulnerability since the 60s. Montero makes uninformed public views the gold standard in benchmarking tech. In 2023, Judy Estrin called "AI" authoritarian intelligence. This completes the recipe.

What's the best reason to let AI agents autonomously browse and submit work in learning management systems on a student's behalf? Wrong answers only

Is this an LMS company speaking about the need to block AI agents? Would it were so. “Perplexity is not allowed to go where it has been expressly told it cannot; that Perplexity’s trespass involves code rather than a lockpick makes it no less unlawful.” www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Janelle Shane's AIWeirdness.com blog is the best. Still delivering! Tiny neural net Halloween costume ideas include "Bride of grocerie" and "potato skeleton" www.aiweirdness.com/tiny-neural-...

Who needs basic regulation of AI? Almost everybody. Educators and parents would like ed tech to be able to opt out of letting agents complete homework on students' behalf. Amazon wants to be able to opt out of letting AI agents browse its site. www.theverge.com/news/813755/...

How AI agents work is not a matter of natural law. People shape these systems. People choose whether AI agents identify themselves or not. Bots should not be allowed to pass themselves off as human in online environments. We need regulation or voluntary cooperation from AI agent vendors. +