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The Refraction Principle: How AI Bends (But Doesn't Break) Human Purpose
Nick Potkalitsky, Educating AI, 2026/01/15

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I'd put this post under the heading of 'human-AI teaming' (or 'human-autonomy teaming (HAT)', which is the exploration of the idea of how humans and AI work together (as opposed to the more usual approach where a human 'supervises' an AI). The model specifically describes a "Seminal Intention (the original human impulse), AI as Refractive Medium (bending and focusing without generating new intentions), and Hybrid Intention (the evolved form that remains fully human-owned)." They also distinguish between centrifugal (exploratory, divergent) and centripetal (focused, convergent) approaches. I guess the question is, is this what AI actually does? Do we use it to parse complexity, surface assumptions, offer diverse perspectives, or provide logical scaffolding? I think a lot of people would say that these are things we as humans bring to the table. But a lot of people could be wrong...

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The AI Ad Gap Widens
Caroline Giegerich, Jack Koch, Debra Aho Williamson, IAB, 2026/01/15

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The use of AI in advertisements doesn't concern me, but only because my own opinion of advertising in general couldn't be lower than it is now. If (as I often say) advertising is the original fake news, AI-generated advertising is the original fake fake news. This article reports on a couple of trends, the most notable of which is the continued use of AI to produce advertising (and where advertising and that other industry lead, content production in general is sure to follow). For me, I think the key distinction is this (and reading this story made me think of this, which is why it appears in the newsletter): AI-generated content is fine by me if I ask for it and know that's what I'm getting. But if I don't ask for it, then if it's artificially generated it doesn't feel like there's any genuine reason why I should be paying attention to it.

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Guardex.ai
2026/01/15

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With the arrival of multi-modal AI our lives will get more complicated, not simpler. Multi-model AI uses more than just text, and uses what are called 'world models' to interpret data from cameras and sensors. The experimentation in the classroom has been underway for a while now. Illustrated here is an experiment "to use the AI monitoring application inside our classroom. Just for fun, honestly." The equipment is provided by a company called Guardex.ai, which also promotes the use fo cameras and AI-based analysis to monitor areas for unauthorized intrusion, idle equipment, safety violations, and employees not hard at work. The classroom equivalent of this is what we are told 'only teachers can do'. But when it becomes so questionable when done by a machine (and make no mistake, people won't like it), it's worth asking whether we should be doing it at all.

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A new direction for students in an AI world: Prosper, prepare, protect
Emma Venetis, Mary Burns, Natasha Luther, Rebecca Winthrop, Brookings, 2026/01/15

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This is a lengthy new report from Brookings on the use of AI in learning. "We find that at this point in its trajectory, the risks of utilizing AI in education overshadow its benefits. This is largely because the risks of AI differ in nature from its benefits - that is, these risks undermine children's foundational development." It risks eroding trust between teacher and student, for example. Nonetheless, they recommend a stragegy based on the principles of prosper ("students can prosper through carefully titrated AI use"), prepare (AI literacy and professional development "and systemic planning and access"), and protect ("safeguards on AI for student privacy, safety, emotional well-being, and cognitive and social development"). "A narrow focus on developing effective AI-supported teaching approaches could obscure how students' very ability to learn is being undermined by AI overuse, inappropriate use, and non-productive use, both in and, increasingly, outside the classroom."

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Royal Roads University: A Canadian University Without Tenure or Senate
Alex Usher, HESA, 2026/01/15

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This is quite an interesting interview with Phillip Steenkamp, who has been President of Royal Roads University since 2018, on the current state of the small west coast institution here in Canada. Royal Roads was established to do what so many are recommending: there's no Senate, no tenure, and "a very focused mandate to serve the needs of the labour market and only offer applied and professional programs." So how has it fared? "We have to be very adaptive, very responsive, very nimble." I think the article tries to put the best light on it, but the university has remained small and is struggling. It has retrenched with voluntary retirements and a 10 percent workforce cut. "We've moved from seven schools to three. We've merged the two professional program faculties into a single Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies." They're making more money from research, and they are launching satellite campuses in places like the Emirates. "We've had a Netflix series filmed here. We do about 60 weddings a year."

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Debunking the AI food delivery hoax that fooled Reddit
Casey Newton, Platformer, 2026/01/15

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Casey Newton shares this item in Platformer (often closed access, but this item appears to be open) describing how he cause a scammer trying to promote a story about a corporation squeezing its delivery employees. As he notes, this is the sort of information he would have accepted without question in the past, but which now requires extra scrutiny because it has become so easy to create. He was able to catch it this time - but what about next time? "That future was worrisome enough when it was a looming cloud on the horizon. It feels differently now that real people are messaging it to me over Signal." Yeah. There's no short-term fix for this. "If there's anything that gives me comfort here, it's that old journalism-school maxims can still help us see through the scams. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. If your mother says she loves you, check it out. Always get a second source."

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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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