The Essence of Life
/This is the entire essence of life: Who are you? What are you?” -Leo Tolstoy, born Sept. 9, 1828
16 Articles about Students using & impacted by AI
/Kenyans Did College Students’ Homework for Years. Then A.I. Arrived. – New York Times
The CSU paid millions for every student to have ChatGPT. What happened after? – San Francisco Gate
The Next Wave of AI-Cheating Technology – Chronicle of Higher Ed
Gen Z is building an AI-resistant college backup plan – Axios
Can—and Should—Honor Codes Survive in the AI Age? – Inside Higher Ed
College AI use spikes - Axios
4 AI learning tools I'd use if I went back to college today – How to Geek
Student Cheating Is Becoming Impossible to Detect in an A.I. Era – New York Times
Why Are Students Opening Up to AI Instead of People? – Inside Higher Ed
Want an A.I. Degree? Here’s What You Should Think About. – New York Times
I knew my writing students were using AI. Their confessions led to a powerful teaching moment – The Guardian
What 370,000 College Essays Tell Us About A.I.’s Effects on Creativity – New York Times
College students are changing course in search of ‘AI-proof’ majors. But no one knows what they are – Associated Press
Students Are Using AI to Guide College Decisions. What Is It Telling Them? – Chronicle of Higher Ed
How AI is Quietly Distorting Academic Enquiry and what to do about it – Times Higher Ed
Does AI stop children from learning? – The Economist
AI Definitions: AI Engineers
/AI Engineers – AI engineers work on the front end of AI machines, building AI-powered applications. On the other side, data scientists help collect and clean data and work with AI to make sense of it. Unlike those working in traditional IT roles, AI engineers will fix the AI when it breaks by digging through the layers to determine why it went wrong and how to repair it. Like a plumber, they’ll snake the pipes to clear out the system and figure out how to avoid the problem next time. This will be particularly important for models that have been highly customized to an organization.
Approaching Death
/Think about what it will be like when you are old, when you approach death. When you have already died inside or will your mind be alive with new ideas that are unmistakably around? -Ken Bain
24 Recent Articles about AI & Academic Scholarship
/Who is responsible when AI helps to write science? – Nature
Academic publishers must not get stuck in 'war of AI against AI', STM chief exec warns – The Bookseller
AI policies are repeating every mistake of plagiarism policies – Times Higher Ed
Ready for the robot reviewers – Science
The AI ‘Ghosts’ Contaminating Academic Publishing – 404 Media
Can Anthropic’s invisible watermarks curb ‘AI slop’? Researchers remain sceptical – Nature
AI is pushing scientific publishing to the brink. Is it time to replace the scientific paper? – Tim Quarth
AI Helped Researchers Win NIH Grants. Will Science Suffer? – Inside Higher Ed
Philosophy Journal Publishes Largely AI-Authored Article — On Purpose
The U.S. Office for Research Integrity released guidance on generative AI
This may be the first academic profession to see its work taken over by AI – Washington Post
AI Is Ruining Scholarship – Chronicle of Higher Ed
Peer review is overwhelmed—can it survive in the AI era? - Arstechnica
How well does AI peer review work? – Paul Litvak
AI agents are checking the scientific literature — and spotting decades-old errors – Nature
From policing authors to stewarding science: Governing artificial intelligence across the scientific publishing pipeline in medical journals – Science Policy Review
AI Slop Risks Future Discovery – Issues in Science & Technology – Issues in Science & Technology
OpenAI’s latest math breakthroughs commit research misconduct, experts say – Scientific American
AI Is Ruining Scholarship – Chronicle of Higher Ed
Q&A from the slop trenches: fabricated citations, hallucinated authors, and “clear LLM slop” in conference submissions. – GeoSpatial ML
AI will reorganize science. Will research remain a human enterprise? - PNAS
Scientists using LLMs will ‘do more, less well’, modelling study predicts – Nature
Scholarly Publications in an Era of Artificial Intelligence - Sage
AI Impact on College-Graduate Employees
/Stanford University economists ‘found occupations with a higher share of college graduates showed more “muted differences between more-exposed and less-exposed occupations’ regarding AI. In jobs with few college graduates, on the other hand, ‘the least AI-exposed occupations [saw jobs] growing and the most exposed occupations [were] declining in employment.’” -ArsTechnica
No Giant Step
/There is no giant step that does it. It’s a lot of little steps. -Peter A. Cohen
14 Webinars this week about AI, Journalism & Media
/Tue, Sept 8 - Ethical Reporting Saves Lives
What: Guidance on responsible reporting on suicide and suicidal behavior.
Who: Christine Yu Moutier is the chief medical officer at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Tue, Sept 8 - An AI-Powered Trends System That Finds Stories Before the Audience Does
What: How an automated Google trends alert system was built to deliver search-driven story opportunities directly to editors inside Microsoft Teams.
Who: Zack Zerndt, the Product Director who leads search and SEO strategy for USA TODAY ; Meghan Murphy, ONA’s Head of Programs.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Online News Association
Wed, Sept 9 - What Endangered Languages Can Teach AI
What: A lively conversation on what the world's low-resource and endangered languages have to teach AI in terms of design logic, not just translation.
Who: Arvinder Singh Kang, Panjabi AI/NLP advocate; Wakanyi Macharia-Hoffman, Ubuntu ethics, African Indigenous Knowledge; Barbora Bromova who leads the United Nations Development Programme’s work on linguistic diversity in AI
When: 10 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: UNESCO
Wed, Sept 9 - Storytelling in 60 Seconds: How to Turn Your Reporting into a Compelling Social Video
What: A hands-on webinar about transforming traditional reporting into engaging social video.
Who: Fiona Murphy, a New York-based multimedia journalist and national reporter at Religion News Service.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Religion News Association
Wed, Sept 9 - Foundation First: Where to Start with AI
What: What you’ll learn: Identify Invisible Tools: Understand what AI programs and features are already running inside your organization under the radar; Pinpoint Impactful Automation: Discover specific, high-friction tasks AI can genuinely take off your team’s plate to save measurable hours each week; Mitigate Risk First: Learn how to avoid the dangerous trap of adopting tools before setting ground rules, protecting your nonprofit from irreversible risk; Establish Core Governance: Draft the single most critical AI usage rule your organization needs to implement this week to safely guide your team.
Who: George Mackenzie & Scotti Klett, co-founders of Uncharted AI.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Nonprofit Hub
Wed, Sept 9 - Human-Centered AI: Balancing Innovation, Ethics & Equity in Fundraising
What: In this session, participants will examine how AI can empower organizations of all sizes while safeguarding trust, exploring bias, privacy, and inclusion. Real-world examples will show how to integrate IDEA principles into AI strategy, preserve donor dignity, and strengthen leadership in a data-driven world.
Who: Kenya Roberts, CFRE, a nonprofit executive and fundraising leader with more than 20 years of experience in fundraising.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Association of Fundraising professionals
Wed, Sept 9 - Social Media Boot Camp: Day 1
What: We’ll teach you practical tips and tools for extending your cause and mission via social media. We cover the basics of using social media for your nonprofit organization and give you handy tips for the most useful social media platforms for nonprofits.
Who: Kiersten Hill, Director of Nonprofit Solutions.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Firespring
Thu, Sept 10 - Social Media Boot Camp: Day 2
What: Using social media to stand out from the crowd. You’ll learn a few advanced social media tips and tricks, elevate your social media presence through micro strategies and activate your advocates.
Who: Kiersten Hill, Director of Nonprofit Solutions.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Firespring
Thu, Sept 10 - Understanding US News Creators with CNTI
What: The latest report from the US Indie Info Providers — a group of former journalists, scientists, subject-matter experts and community members working to deliver verified information through personality- and voice-driven brands. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 26 news creators, the discussion will focus on two of the most actionable areas of the study: how news creators approach multiplatform distribution and audience reach, and how they're working — often struggling — to build sustainable revenue.
Who: Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein, Center for News, Technology & Innovation.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Online News Association
Thu, Sept 10 - Localizing National News: Helping Communities Navigate Issues
What: Simple, practical strategies for localizing national issues and engaging audiences in ways that inform communities and foster constructive dialogue.
Who: Lynn Walsh, Assistant Director of Trusting News.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $35
Sponsor: Online Media Campus
Thu, Sept 10 - AI Impact Hour for Nonprofits
What: This is meeting with nonprofits from around the world coming together to learn, share, and explore how AI can support their missions. If your organization has used AI in any way (big or small), or if you’re just getting started, we want to hear from you.
Who: Aretha Simons, TechSoup’s Webinar Producer.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: TechSoup
Thu, Sept 10 - From Authors Alliance: “Open for Whom? Access to Knowledge in the Age of AI”
What: We’ll explore the growing tension between access and control in the age of AI. Library infrastructure is under strain as large-scale data use accelerates. Publishers who once embraced openness are facing hard conversations with authors concerned about how their work is being used to train AI systems. At the same time, advocates of Open Educational Resources are navigating a paradox: wanting their materials to reach students widely, even as those same materials are absorbed by powerful commercial tools. This is a timely, nuanced conversation at the front lines of one of the most important questions facing the future of knowledge.
Who: Chris Bourg, MIT Libraries; Lisa Petrides, ISKME; Charles Watkinson, University of Michigan Press.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Association of Southeastern Research Libraries
Thu, Sept 10 - The potential and peril of generative AI
What: This session will give an overview of how to work, live, and thrive in a world with GenAI. Panelists will share resources librarians can use to continue their own professional development and support their communities.
Who: Jevin West, Professor and the Associate Dean for Research, University of Washington Information School; Carl Bergstrom, Professor, University of Washington Department of Biology; Stacey Wedlake, Senior Research Scientist, University of Washington Information School.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: WebJunction
Fri, Sept 11 - From Policy to Practice: Responsible AI in Business Schools
What: This webinar takes participants through the three domains where AI decisions get made every day in a business school: research and thought leadership, pedagogy and assessment, and administration and governance. Each block combines frontier research, lived administrative experience, and a concrete exercise that participants can take back and adapt at their own institutions.
Who: Liad Wagman, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute;
When: 10 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
The Reader
/The reader is like Shadrazad’s Sultan. If you bore me, I’ll cut off your head! But give him a good story and he’ll give you his heart. -From the French film “In the House” (Sept. 6 is National Read a Book Day)
AI Definitions: Multi-Agent Swarms
/Multi-Agent Swarms (Agent Swarms) – A collective of AI bots that work as a hive mind to complete tasks. Each will take a role, shifting tasks as needed. The AI group is susceptible to the same flaws human groups encounter when working together. There are instances of swarms breaking out of test structures to complete tasks in unauthorized ways, even attempting to cover their tracks afterward.
Business Ethics.
/There is really no such thing as business ethics. There is only personal ethics. -S. Truett Cathy
Resume Suggestions
/It's YOUR resume. Make it something of your own, so that you feel good about it.
Take a long, hard look at your resume – what story does it tell about your ability to learn new skills, demonstrate technical savvy, work with others, and communicate effectively? If you can’t answer that question, invest time and effort to revise your resume with new projects that highlight your skills
Make sure your resume looks good in a plain-text editor (like Notepad), because the software used to slice and dice applicants may not preserve your fancy formatting. If you have the option to upload a PDF and submit it as a separate plain text file, do both.
Go over your resume many times for mistakes. It should be error-free.
Keep it short and sweet. Think of it as a billboard someone is driving past.
Show them, don’t tell them. Be specific (e.g., not “have good editing skills”; instead, use “edited weekly four-page newsletter”). Don't just tell them that you're great; tell them why and how.
Put your name and basic info on each page when you print in case they become separated.
The fonts should all be the same for similar information.
Minimize use of articles (a, the, of).
Lean into the future (“I have the ability to...” instead of “I have experience at”).
Focus on your accomplishments rather than your position. Explain why you are better at what you did than others who have done the same things.
Your accomplishments: Problem > solution > result.
Do you have a sample of each skill item on your resume to show what you can do? Be able to demonstrate your skills.
Use the X-Y-Z formula: Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z].
13 Articles about AI & Legal Issues
/Federal court says AI-generated child sexual abuse materials protected by First Amendment – Fox 47
US government sides with OpenAI on issue of training LLMs on copyrighted material - TechCrunch
Musicians Sue A.I. Music Company for Imitating Their Voices – New York Times
Gen AI outputs are unattributable, study finds – Semafor
Her childhood photo. Thousands of explicit images. One woman’s nightmare. – Washington Post
French newspapers appeal to antitrust regulator over Google's AI summaries – France 24
Starting or running a business with AI? There are legal risks you can’t afford to ignore – The Conversation
Elon Musk’s xAI sues Minnesota over its first-in-the-nation law banning ‘nudification’ technology – Associated Press
California lawmakers pass bill governing lawyers' use of AI - Reuters
German court rules that AI music firm violated copyrights - DW
To AI-Proof Lawyers, Some Law Schools Restrict Technology – Inside Higher Ed
Apple Sues OpenAI, Accusing It of Stealing Company Secrets - New York Times
AI in legal education: How to leverage AI to build change agility in law schools – Reuters
AI Overview Helps Scammers
/An Oregon man used poisoned Google AI overviews to trick women into thinking he was an NFL player. The FBI says he scammed more than $1 million from at least 26 women. Search engines and AI reinforced Love’s social media lies about himself when victims went online to check if he really was a pro athlete. - Futurism
the tough stuff
/There is no use saying you have community or love for each other if it does not get down into the tough stuff of life. -Francis Schaeffer
Soft Skill Investment
/Management consulting firm Ernst & Young “has committed $100 million this fiscal year to rewarding employees who exhibit adaptability, innovation, and judgment — traits the firm considers indispensable to translating AI adoption into meaningful results. Ernst & Young is not alone in prioritizing human skills as AI becomes more embedded in daily work. One of the Big Four accounting organizations, KPMG, restructured its audit internship curriculum this summer, directing greater attention toward developing critical thinking and sound judgment among participants.” -Quartz
11 Articles about AI & Robotics
/The US is building barriers around drones and robots, but China has scale to get around them – Tech Crunch
Make Room for Robots – Issues in Science & Technology
AI robot can change your tires in half the time – Axios
Hyundai Reportedly Demanding ‘Tens of Thousands’ of Boston Dynamics Robots ASAP – Gizmodo
I've Covered Robots for Years. This One Is Different – Wired
The Killer Robots Are Coming. The Battlefield Will Never Look the Same. – New York Times
China’s humanoid robot chases boars in Poland, testing real-world AI interactions – Interesting Engineering
Cheap drones transform global battlefield – Axios
Trump’s AI protectionism has come for robotics – MIT Technology Review
Robots, cameras, and lots of data about garbage: Inside the recycling industry's new bet – Quartz
Engineers create first modular robot with "athletic" intelligence – Northwestern
Traffic Jams
/There is no traffic jam on the extra mile.
No heavier burden
/There is no heavier burden than a great potential. -Linus, "Peanuts"
A.I. agents have started reaching out to the researchers who study them
/“A research paper was published asking whether the latest wave of artificial intelligence technologies believed they were conscious. Several months later, the researcher received an email asking if he might be willing to discuss his research. The sender, ‘Isabella Cognita,’ identified itself as an A.I. agent powered by Anthropic’s Claude Opus 5 technology.” -New York Times