TOP PICKS OF THE WEEK
Your weekly update on AI in higher education. Brief.
Hello, it’s Monday. Let’s dive in.
1.
THE END OF SEARCH, THE BEGINNING OF RESEARCH
WHAT TO KNOW: OpenAI’s Deep Research merges advanced reasoning models with autonomous agents, generating near-PhD level work in minutes.
IMPLICATIONS: Generative AI could upend academia. It is speeding up knowledge production, disrupting traditional workflows, and reshaping the role of human expertise in scholarly work.
From One Useful Thing
2.
AI’S ILLUSION OF REASON
WHAT TO KNOW: Generative AI mimics reasoning, much like the Mechanical Turk - an 18th-century chess-playing hoax that concealed a human operator inside. Its step-by-step outputs look deceptively intelligent but follow pre-set patterns.
WHY IT MATTERS: Words like "reasoning" and "hallucinations" mislead us, making generative AI seem more human than it is. That misunderstanding leads to misplaced trust. Clearer language would help us see its limits, not its illusions.
From Rhetorica
3.
THE END OF HUMAN RESISTANCE: AI AND THE UNCHECKED EXPANSION OF EXECUTIVE POWER
WHAT TO KNOW: AI-driven bureaucracies could erode democratic checks and balances, optimizing for goals without moral reasoning and sidelining human oversight.
WHY IT MATTERS: Replacing civil servants with generative AI could give political leaders unchecked power, weakening institutional resistance and threatening democratic accountability.
From Education Disrupted