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Cross-Campus Approaches to Building a Generative AI Policy
Esther Brandon, Lance Eaton, Dana Gavin, Allison Papini, EDUCAUSE Review, 2023/12/14

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Another day, another article about AI policies for educational institutions. But at least this article is a bit more meta: it describes how to formulate your policy for your institution. But the question of whether a policy is needed is barely touched. Of course institutions need policies. "Given the nature of knowledge work throughout higher education, institutions need to determine where generative AI tools are appropriate and where they represent ethical or legal challenges." But hey, maybe I'm too sceptical. This is a good common-sense outline of AI policy development. If you feel the need for a policy, this would be a good template to structure your planning around.

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OpenAI inks deal with Axel Springer on licensing news for model training | TechCrunch
Kyle Wiggers, TechCrunch, 2023/12/14

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As TechCrunch reports, "OpenAI has inked a deal with the news publisher Axel Springer to pay for articles on which OpenAI will train future AI models." This is the model for funding (hopefully open access) media in the future. The AI company needs a source of knowably reliable data (this is where the open access would come in). The publisher (hopefully) produces that data in the form of news coverage (and later: informative writing of all kinds). Of course, the AI company may want to be more particular about its sources; I wouldn't exactly consider Business Insider to be particularly reliable.

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AI Is Transforming Corporate Learning Even Faster Than I Expected
Josh Bersin, 2023/12/14

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I was prepared to give this post the credibility I would normally associate with Josh Bersin, but after seeing references to Galileo™ throughout I had second thoughts. The ™ is a dead giveaway; only owners pollute their writing with the unnecessary mark. It turns out Galileo was created and marketed starting last month by Bersin as "the world's first AI-powered expert assistant for HR." I'm sure it isn't; here's another, and another, and ten more. But that's not the point. My question is, can I trust Bersin now when he says "of all the domains to be impacted by AI, perhaps the biggest transformation is taking place in corporate learning?" Once, maybe, but not any more. It's fine if Bersin wants to be a product vendor; more power to him. But you can't be a trustworthy consultant and product vendor in the same space. Everything becomes about marketing your product. As is the case with this article.

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Exploring the challenges and opportunities of a new online learning ranking
Neil Mosley, Neil Mosley Consulting, 2023/12/14

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"Times Higher Education (THE) recently announced the launch of a global online learning ranking to add to their growing suite," writes Neil Mosley. I admit that I nearly laughed out loud when I read this. I can't imagine anyone has access to enough relevant data to offer any sort of reliable ratings of online learning. And anyway, it only covers institutions that offer accredited degree-granting programs, so if there's any alternative that beats that (which I'm sure there is) we won't hear about it. Also, as Mosley notes, "One notable feature of this new ranking is its exclusion of business schools and degrees," though as he says, "it likely stems from their recent acquisition of Poet and Quants... Including business in the online learning ranking could create competition with a company they now own." I have said before that ranking systems are just attempts by publications to impose their own values onto a marketplace. I don't see how this is any different.

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Microsoft officially launches Loop, its Notion competitor
Jay Peters, The Verge, 2023/12/14

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We just got access to Loop in the office (with the warning that it will completely resent in a month) so I've been looking at it. My first reaction: it feels almost exactly the same as Google Docs, but with Microsoft's login functions layered on top of it (which means it probably won't work outside the enterprise). Verge says, "If you're familiar with Notion's interface at all, Loop looks and feels remarkably similar — right down to the ability to easily access a bunch of tools and formatting options by typing the forward slash key (which pulls up what Microsoft calls the 'insert menu')." That '/' command to insert different types of content is actually pretty widespread, though not in Google Docs (where you would use 'alt-shift i').

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Critical Theory
Robin Celikates, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2023/12/14

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This article replaces the previous one, explicitly linking Critical Theory (CT) to the Frankfurt School, and tracing its roots in Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, Max Weber, and Friedrich Nietzsche. If you want the abbreviated version, jump to section 1.3 and read these two paragraphs. "Traditional theories," asserts CT, "fail to analyze the broader social context in which they are embedded... Critical theory, by contrast, reflects on the context of its own origins and aims to be a transformative force within that context... (it) aims to bridge the gap between empirical research and the kind of philosophical thinking needed to grasp the overall historical situation and mediate between specialized empirical disciplines." Image: Lydia Willoughby.

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Understanding as Usability and Context‑Sensitivity to Interests
Andreas Søndergaard, PhilPapers, 2023/12/14

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We don't just test for recall, we test for understanding. But what does that mean? Here's one perspective: "must the agent's representation of some subject matter be accurate in order for her to understand that subject matter? 'No', I argue in this paper.... Rather than correctly representing, understanding, on this account, is a matter of being able to manipulate a representation of the world to satisfy contextually salient interests." If you can use what you learned productively, you 'understand' it, and it doesn't really matter whether you picture it exactly as it exists in the world. Image: Singh.

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Why Not To Buy My New Book On Generative AI
Julian Stodd, Julian Stodd's Learning Blog, 2023/12/14

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I've been reading this book by Julian Stodd, Sae Schatz, and Geoff Stead this morning - it's available for free online (194 page PDF). The content isn't new to me, but that isn't surprising - I've been immersed in the same material for a long time. But it's very well written and would make a great text introducing people to the idea of AI and learning. In particular, I can't help but enjoy turns of phrase that suggest a deep knowledge of the topic even if it is being discussed at an introductory level. Like: "Generative AI can produce any type of digital artefact that humans can make." Think about that for a second. Or, "It's difficult to accept that language – something so deeply connected to our consciousness and cultures – can be reduced to a mathematical routine." The authors capture both the fact of the matter and our visceral reaction to it in a single sentence. "Our lenses lie shattered. Our perception of truth is in decay." Once we begin to get that, we can in some way start working our way forward. "Ironically, we'll need to rely on the Engines – those same innovations that antagonise the concept of truth – to prepare and equip us for traversing this 'post-truth' landscape."

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Essentialism is insidious - but it can also be helpful
Psyche, 2023/12/14

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This is a good discussion of the concept of 'essentialism' and how it can influence a person's opinion about others or themselves. As the authors write, 'Essentialism refers to the perception that members of the same category share an innate, unchangeable essence." Sometimes this can result in inappropriate negative stereotypes. "For example, discrete racial categories, which are socially constructed, are often falsely understood to have a biological basis." So some people incorrectly think that certain characteristics are 'natural' for some races, which can allow them to rationalize some sort of racism. But, the authors argue, the concept of essentialism, when used by the members of a marginalized group to describe themselves, can be empowering. The study reported here suggests "those who embraced essentialist beliefs about neurodivergent people also reported higher levels of self-efficacy." For myself, I reject most forms of essentialism. Classification is something humans do as a cognitive shortcut; nature is infinitely more varied and variable.

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We publish six to eight or so short posts every weekday linking to the best, most interesting and most important pieces of content in the field. Read more about what we cover. We also list papers and articles by Stephen Downes and his presentations from around the world.

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