Stephen Downes

If you haven't yet heard about Einstein, the AI-powered student assistant, don't worry. It's gone. The whole thing came and went within a week. Here's how Einstein (from companion.ai) pitched itself: "Einstein is an AI with a computer. He logs into Canvas every day, watches lectures, reads essays, writes papers, participates in discussions, and submits your homework - automatically. It was breathlessly announced by tech media. Unsurprisingly, people reacted with hostility. Futurism reported the creator as saying "We've also gotten threats from educators to take it down or we won't 'sleep well' and how we're causing the downfall of society." But wait: Michelle Kassorla tried it and freaked out. "I was only recording for 2:30 minutes when I discovered that Einstein is just a wrapper over OPENCLAW! AAAAAAAH I had just installed an agent that runs in the terminal in my son's computer - potentially exposing EVERYTHING on it to the agent." It seems it's more of a nuisance than anything. "It isn't clear if it was a hoax, a failed app launch, or piece of tech posing as performance theater," writes Marc Watkins.