OLDaily

Welcome to Online Learning Daily, your best source for news and commentary about learning technology, new media, and related topics.

Low-latency neuromorphic air hockey player
Juan P Romero, Dimitrios Korakovounis, Jens E Pedersen, Jorg Conradt, Neuromorphic Computing and Engineering, 2025/07/04

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What's interesting about this project is its use of spiking neural networks (SNN) that respond rapidly to dynamic environments. See the illustration. "We developed a system that uses SNNs to control a robotic manipulator in an air-hockey game. In this setup, the automated opponent uses SNNs to process data from an event-based camera, enabling it to track the puck's movements and respond to the actions of a human player." Obviously something like this would be an excellent trainer for human air hockey players.

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The Power of Offline Internet
Nichole Saad, Vasanthi Hargyono, Offline Internet Consortium, 2025/07/04

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This is a report (60 page PDF) from the Offline Internet Consortium, an organization that advocates for the provision of digital services in areas where internet connectivity is not available. "The persistent global digital divide, driven by an array of social, economic, and political factors, underscores the critical need for innovative approaches to ensure broad and meaningful internet connectivity." Sounds great, but offline internet also creates a locus of control over the content that doesn't exist in the wider internet; the report mentions 'individual control' but really, whoever has the keys to the local server controls the local 'internet'.

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Autocomplete in Overdrive
Carl T. Bergstrom, Jevin D. West, 2025/07/04

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This is the first of 13 lessons in a series called 'Modern Day Oracles or Bullshit Machines'. I like the way it is presented; here's a lot of scrolling, but it's also interactive, embedding interactions alongside the argument. The thesis of the first lesson is that "LLMs are predictive text generators. It is remarkable how many complex tasks can be performed in this way. But don't let the impressive capabilities of LLMs lure you into thinking that they understand human experience or are capable of logical reasoning." So, not oracles.

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Denmark to tackle deepfakes by giving people copyright to their own features
Miranda Bryant, The Guardian, 2025/07/04

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The law will clamp down on "the creation and dissemination of AI-generated deepfakes by changing copyright law to ensure that everybody has the right to their own body, facial features and voice... It defines a deepfake as a very realistic digital representation of a person, including their appearance and voice." The U.S. has passed a similar law. I'm wondering what the effects will be on other extractive industries, like news and media. The evening news depends on being able to display unauthorized images of politicians, criminals, people involved in accidents, and innocent bystanders. Or will fair use apply, rendering most protections offered by the new bill moot? Via Slashdot.

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The New Skill in AI is Not Prompting, It's Context Engineering
Philipp Schmid, Philschmid, 2025/07/04

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This is the latest bit of pseudo-professionalism associated with people working with AI: "Context Engineering is the discipline of designing and building dynamic systems that provides the right information and tools, in the right format, at the right time, to give a LLM everything it needs to accomplish a task." If it were really engineering, it would take four years of really hard work. But in the current context, it requires thinking about the topic for an evening. Via Miguel Guhlin. See also this article in LangChain.

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ChatGPT Now Has PhD-Level Intelligence, and the Poor Personal Choices to Prove It
Katie Burgess, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, 2025/07/04

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It's funny because it's true: "Although ChatGPT is more intelligent than ever, it also has debilitating impostor syndrome. So, if it appears to be in the process of overthrowing the human race, simply tell it, 'Hey, did you hear that Google Gemini got tenure?' It will then lose its confidence and retreat to binge on Nutella and cry."

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UNESCO OER Dynamic Coalition Portal
UNESCO, 2025/07/04

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UNESCO has launched an  Open Educational Resources (OER) Dynamic Coalition Portal based on the Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER). "The main objectives of the UNESCO OER Dynamic Coalition are to: Support the exchange of knowledge on ongoing activities - to raise the level of understanding on ongoing OER projects, networks, resources, and activities." I've signed up and will pass along any announcements and resources of note. Via OE Global.

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Students at this Kitchener school leave lasting impression with sculpture art project
Diego Pizarro, CBC, 2025/07/04

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This is the sort of education I really like. "Students at Groh Public School in Kitchener completed a public art project titled Forging Legacies. Grade 7 students, along with local blacksmith and artist Sandra Dunn, spent the last school year creating a metal sculpture that will now be on display in the school's entrance." It involves students with the community, addresses something of real value, and is based on genuine input and contributions. Something to be proud of.

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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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