Ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Stephen Goforth
Purdue University will begin requiring that all of its undergraduate students demonstrate basic competency in artificial intelligence starting with freshmen who enter the university in 2026. - Forbes
Large Language Models (LLMs) - AI trained on billions of language uses, images and other data. It can predict the next word or pixel in a pattern based on the user’s request. ChatGPT and Google Bard are LLMs. The kinds of text LLMs can parse out include grammar and language structure, word meaning and context (ex: The word green may mean a color when it is closely related to a word like “paint,” “art,” or “grass”), proper names (Microsoft, Bill Clinton, Shakira, Cincinnati), and emotions (indications of frustration, infatuation, positive or negative feelings, or types of humor).
Hallucinations – When an AI provides responses that are inaccurate or not based on facts. Generative AI models are designed to generate data that is realistic or distributionally equivalent to the training data and yet different from the actual data used for training. This is why they are better at brainstorming than reflecting the real world and why they should not be treated as sources of truth or factual knowledge. Generative AI models can answer some questions correctly, but this is not what they are designed and trained to do. However, hallucinating AIs can be very useful to researchers, providing innovative insights that speed up the scientific process.
5 AI bots took our tough reading test. One was smartest — and it wasn’t ChatGPT. – Washington Post
If You Turn Down an AI’s Ability to Lie, It Starts Claiming It’s Conscious – Futurism
The People Outsourcing Their Thinking to AI – The Atlantic
What Is Agentic A.I., and Would You Trust It to Book a Flight? – New York Times
Staying Ahead of AI in Your Career – KD Nuggets
How to talk to grandma about ChatGPT - Axios
Research says being 'rude' to ChatGPT makes it more efficient — I ran a politeness test to find out – Tom’s Guide
SEO Is Dead: Welcome To GEO And Generative AI Search – Forbes
She used ChatGPT to win the Virginia lottery and then donated every dollar – Washington Post
The risks of giving ChatGPT more personality – Axios
The state of AI in 2025: Agents, innovation, and transformation – McKinsey
Poll shows a generational divide in how Americans use AI for work, creativity, and personal connection – Milwaukee Independent
AI for therapy? Some therapists are fine with it — and use it themselves. – Washington Post
These students, tech workers and artists just say no to AI - The Washington Post
5 Tips When Consulting ‘Dr.’ ChatGPT – New York Times
A Googler explains how to “meta prompt” for incredible Veo videos – Google
A Beginner’s Guide To Building AI Agents - Bernard Marr
6 AI mistakes you should avoid when using chatbots - The Washington Post
I’m an A.I. Developer. Here’s How I’m Raising My Son. - New York Times
Is it ok for politicians to use AI? Survey shows where the public draws the line – The Conversation
When should students begin learning about AI? – K-12 Dive
It’s become common for writers to mock AI’s stilted, wooden, and em-dash-heavy writing style. But with some gentle coaxing, AI is much better at writing than professional writers want to admit. In one 2025 study, three top AI models were pitted against MFA-trained writers. In initial tests, expert readers clearly preferred the human writing. But once researchers fine-tuned ChatGPT on an individual author’s full body of work, the results flipped. Suddenly, experts preferred the AI’s writing and often couldn’t tell whether it came from a human or a machine. – Derek Thompson
Sitting at the core of many generative AI tools, a foundation model is starting point of many machine learning models. These deep-learning neural networks are trained on massive datasets. In contrasts with traditional machine learning models, which typically perform specific tasks, foundation models are adaptable and able to perform a wide range of tasks. These models are sometimes called Large X Models or LXMs. A video explanation.
Google to launch its first AI-powered glasses next year – CNBC
How artificial intelligence can help achieve a clean energy future – MIT
The AI model that uses sounds like coughs & sniffles to predict early signs of disease – Mashable
AI unreliable in identifying retracted research papers, says study – Retraction Watch
What Investing in the Age of AI Will Look Like – Wall Street Journal
OpenAI looks to replace the drudgery of junior bankers’ workload - Bloomberg
AI and the Fountain of Youth - Wall Street Journal
Police are drowning in data. Could a chatbot help? – Washington Post
AI Is Going to Consume a Lot of Energy. It Can Also Help Us Consume Less. - Wall Street Journal
ChatGPT-powered dolls are becoming caregivers in South Korea – Semafor
AI-driven private schools are popping up around the U.S., from North Carolina to Florida – Axios
IBM and NASA made an open-source AI model for predicting solar weather – Engadget
Want to take better photos? Google thinks AI is the answer. - Washington Post
Determining whether accurate AI systems can apply that process to a different area – MIT
Air Force aiming to turbocharge wargaming with AI – Defense Scoop
Replace your boss before they replace you. Generate thought leadership at the push of a button. AI CEO: Delivering total nonsense, with complete confidence.
World Models are AI systems that build up an internal approximation of an environment. Through trial and error, these bots use the representation to evaluate predictions and decisions before applying the results to real-world tasks. This contrasts with LLMs, which operate based on correlations within language and not on connections to the worth itself. In the late 1980s, world models fell out of favor with scientists working on artificial intelligence and robotics. The rise of machine learning has brought interest in developing these systems back to life.
An early look at the Pentagon’s plan to deliver AI at scale under Trump - Defense Scoop
A.I. Fighter Jets and Cockroach Spies: Inside the Changing Business of War – New York Times
Pentagon begins deploying new satellite network to link sensors with shooters – ArsTechnica
AI-Powered Drone Swarms Have Now Entered the Battlefield – Wall Street Journal
A band of AI innovators reimagines the spy game for a world with no cover – Washington Post
Air Force aiming to turbocharge wargaming with AI – Defense Scoop
Can AI and Drones Replace Soldiers and Jets? - Wall Street Journal
How Big Tech learned to love America's military – Quartz
Israel developed new A.I. tools to gain an advantage in the war in Gaza. - New York Times
Anthropic launches new Claude service for military and intelligence use – The Verge
Israel’s A.I. Experiments in Gaza War Raise Ethical Concerns - New York Times
AI drones are America's newest cops – Axios
Military experts warn security hole in most AI chatbots can sow chaos – Defense News
China’s AI warpath – Politico
Who will lead on military AI, the government or industry? – Breaking Defense
The Army’s linking big guns, drones, and AI with its new command system and testing how it’ll fight future wars – Business Insider
Air Force Using AI to Plan Storage for Munitions – Air & Space Forces
CalMatters this year launched a new feature that takes this kind of civic watchdog function a big step further. Its AI Tip Sheets feature uses AI to search through all of this data, looking for anomalies, such as a change in voting position tied to a large campaign contribution. These anomalies appear on a webpage that journalists can access to give them story ideas and a source of data and analysis to drive further reporting. - The Guardian
Moravec’s Paradox - What is hard for humans is easy for machines, and what is easy for humans is hard for machines. For instance, a robot can play chess or hold an object still for hours on end with no problem. Tying a shoelace, catching a ball, or having a conversation is another matter. This is why AI excels at complex tasks like data analysis but also struggles with simple physical interactions, and why developing robots that are effective in the real world will take time and extraordinary technological advances. This paradox is attributed to Hans Moravec, an Austrian who worked at Carnegie Mellon.
What: Join us for a friendly, hands-on workshop designed to help older adults explore the basics of artificial intelligence. We’ll walk through what AI is, how tools like ChatGPT work, and simple ways you can use them in your daily life— from staying organized to getting help with writing, planning, or learning new skills.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsors: OpenAI Academy & AARP
What: In this webinar, we will explore how automation and Generative AI technology can: automate repetitive tasks like data entry, volunteer onboarding, and impact reporting - freeing up nonprofit staff to focus on what matters most.
Who: Grace Chung, Automation Anywhere
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Nonprofit Learning Lab
What: This once-monthly webinar is an opportunity for general professional development for members and the mentorship program community. For this month’s event, we welcome Joe Diorio as he brings to our community,
Who: Joe Diorio, who has a book about writing after years working PR. He holds a degree in journalism.
When: 11:30 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Military Veterans in Journalism
What: In this session, we’ll explore cutting-edge methods that are reshaping content accessibility, personalization, and reach. Imagine turning your learning modules into audio podcasts on the fly, offering real-time multilingual access to your courses, and deploying AI-powered coaches that support learners with contextual guidance—anytime, anywhere. You’ll see how these innovations aren’t just futuristic—they’re ready now, and they’re reshaping how we think about learner engagement, scale, and inclusivity.
Who: Garima Gupta, CTDP Founder & CEO, Artha Learning.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Open Sesame
What: This sessions provides a hands-on walkthrough of ChatGPT Edu, with demonstrations of core features and education-specific use cases such as lesson planning and grading assistance.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: OpenAI Academy
What: Our panel will examine: How escalating threats are shaping reporting on health, science, the environment, and campus news; How to approach vulnerable sources ethically; How to verify information when anonymity is necessary; What tools like SecureDrop can do to keep sources safe.
Who: Lizzy Lawrence, Food and Drug Administration reporter at Stat News; Grace Hussain, solutions correspondent at Sentient Media – Emily Spatz, editor-in-chief of The Huntington News; Sharon Lerner, reporter at ProPublica; Harlo Holmes, chief information security officer and director of digital security at Freedom of the Press Foundation; Caitlin Vogus, senior adviser at Freedom of the Press Foundation.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsors: Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Association of Healthcare Journalists, and the Society of Environmental Journalists
What: A regular gathering for ONA members already using AI in journalism to connect and share ideas, even if you’re not an expert.
Who: Hosted by Director of Programs Meghan Murphy, who leads the AI in Journalism Initiative.
Where: Zoom
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Cost: Free to members
Sponsor: Online News Association
What: Hear from government and industry leaders about the most common obstacles agencies face when deploying AI — and how to overcome them.
Who: Natalie Buda Smith, Director Digital Strategy and AI, Library of Congress; Beth Simone Noveck, Chief AI Strategist, New Jersey; Kent Brake, Solutions Architect, Elastic; Jonathan Hasak, Senior U.S. Public Sector Partnerships Lead, Coursera; Aaron Hunter, Enterprise Account Manager, Coursera; John Lange Product Marketing Manager Public Sector, Tricentis; Jason Langone, Senior Director Global AI Business Development, Nutanix; Luke Norris, Vice President Platform Strategy & Digital Transformation, Granicus.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: GovLoop
What: Join us for a conversation on how agentic AI is reshaping creative strategy. Explore how to enhance ideation, elevate storytelling, and deliver content that connects, while staying ahead of shifting consumer expectations and competitive pressure.
Who: Jennyfer Gouné, head of creative tech & ai product marketing at Amazon Ads; Ryan Sueoka, senior digital advertising strategist at Pattern; Madison Hemphill, lead content strategist at Global Overview.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Amazon Ads
What: You’ll explore the year’s best new and newly updated digital tools for journalism. Learn which AI tools can support your investigative reporting, and explore a range of free or affordable options for social media monitoring, examining websites, and capturing or archiving webpages. By the end of this session, you’ll have an updated digital toolkit and practical ideas to supercharge your investigative work.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $40
Sponsor: Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas
What: This webinar confronts this “Agency Dilemma” directly. We will move beyond the debate of “to use or not to use” and instead explore practical, “human-in-the-loop” pedagogical frameworks designed to manage this tension. Participants will learn concrete strategies to reposition GenAI from a crutch to a “collaborator” or “cognitive stimulator”, ensuring the tool augments—rather than replaces—the development of the learner’s independent critical thinking and personal voice.
Who: Joshua Paiz, Frederick Community College.
When: 3:30 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: University of Arizona
What: We will continue (from the 101 session) a walkthrough of ChatGPT with more advanced applications, including student engagement strategies, productivity workflows, and how-to examples for additional features.
When: 12:00 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: OpenAI Academy
What: The Smart Brevity practices you can apply to your presentations and speaking sessions. We’ll cover the strategy called “simplify to exaggerate” and walk through how to: Find and outline your story so everything you present supports your desired outcome; Build your deck with a style and format that’s audience first; Deliver your presentation so attention and retention soar; And much more.
Who: Kate Samano, Lead Editor, Axios; Allison Carter, Editor-in-Chief, Ragan Communications and PR. Daily
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Regan Communication
What: Questions around granting confidentiality and anonymity to sources when covering immigration stories.
Who: Lyle Muller, adviser for Grinnell College’s student-run Scarlet & Black newspaper.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $35
Sponsor: iMediaCampus
What: In this session, our speaker will walk you through setting up your TikTok account, and discuss how to create simple video content potential readers want to see. Whether you're a new author or a seasoned pro, this session will equip you with the tools and knowledge you need to thrive on TikTok in the New Year.
Who: Laura Perez, an author/publisher with Palmas Publishing and Manra Moon Press.
When: 1:30 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Author Learning Center
What: This event offers a behind‑the‑scenes look at the scope, goals, and real‑world challenges of AI‑focused roles—from designing innovative digital tools to navigating ethical and technical complexities.
Who: Kate Boyd & Vandana Srivastava from the University of South Carolina’s University Libraries; Anne Grant, Clemson University’s AI Literacy Coordinator.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Association of Southeastern Research Libraries
What: Join us as we dive into the new digital literacies every learner needs. We will explore how to balance human creativity with AI tools, examine the ethics and rights surrounding digital content, and shed light on the growing impact of deepfakes on trust and truth. And yes, the people who live this every day will be with us, our student panelists. They will share how they create, question, remix, and navigate the digital world in real time.
Who: Adam Phyall, Director of Professional Learning, All4Ed; Joseph South, Chief Innovation Officer, ISTE; Shannon McClintock Miller, Future Ready Librarians; Student Panelists.
When: 5 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: All4Ed
What: In this webinar, meet a panel of professionals working in communications and content marketing, who can provide practical guidance on finding clients in these spaces. Learn how to break in, determine your rates and protect yourself from conflicts of interest. Leave with fresh contacts for flexing your freelancing in new directions.
Who: Kim Howard, Director of Communications and Marketing at EMDR International Association; David Rynecki, Founder of Blue Heron Research Partners; Candace White, Deputy Director of Communications and Digital Strategy at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University; Katherine Reynolds Lewis, Founder, IIJ.
When: 12:00 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free (though there is a suggested donation of $15)
Sponsor: Institute for Independent Journalists
What: This is the final session of this series ties together everything discussed so far and offers practical guidance on how to communicate the key concepts and best practices, and how they might apply to your particular type of organization, to your colleagues and patrons.
When: 12:00 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Authors Alliance + OCEAN (Open Copyright Education Advisory Network)
What: Learn how to get your journalism into TV and films in a free workshop organized by the team that developed The IP List 2025, a nonprofit project dedicated to surfacing and promoting incredible journalistic IP for the optioning market.
Who: Christine McLaren, Pathos Lab, Head of Journalism Initiatives Pathos Labs.
Where: Zoom
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The IP List from Popshift
"The next time you encounter an unusually polite reply on social media, you might want to check twice. It could be an AI model trying (and failing) to blend in with the crowd. A new study reveals that AI models remain easily distinguishable from humans in social media conversations, with overly friendly emotional tone serving as the most persistent giveaway. Also, the AI models struggled to match the level of casual negativity and spontaneous emotional expression common in human social media posts." -ArsTechnica
Woman Scammed by Ad With Deepfake of Her Doctor – NBC’s Today Show
What the next generation of doctors needs to know about AI – WBUR
AI Accurately Predicts Complication Risk After Kidney Cancer Surgery – Cancer Nursing Today
AI fails to reliably detect pediatric pneumonia on X-ray – Univ of Wisconsin Medicine
People Are Uploading Their Medical Records to A.I. Chatbots – New York Times
Instead of an AI Health Coach, You Could Just Have Friends – Wired
The AI model that uses sounds like coughs & sniffles to predict early signs of disease – Mashable
The right place for AI companions in mental health care – Stat News
We found what you’re asking ChatGPT about health. A doctor scored its answers. – Washington Post
How AI can monitor your movements to improve your health – Fast Company
The perils of politeness: how large language models may amplify medical misinformation – Nature
How conspiracy theories infiltrated the doctor’s office - MIT Technology Review
Microsoft launches 'superintelligence' team targeting medical diagnosis to start – Reuters
AI steps in to detect the world's deadliest infectious disease – NPR
Agentic AI advantage for pharma - Mckinsey
5 Tips When Consulting ‘Dr.’ ChatGPT – New York Times
AI May Be the Cure for Doctor Burnout, After All – Newsweek
Answering your questions about using AI as a health care guide – Washington Post
RTP startup uses AI to fight health insurance denials – Axios
OpenEvidence, the ChatGPT for doctors, raises $200M at $6B valuation – TechCrunch
Low-quality papers are flooding the cancer literature — can this AI tool help to catch them? – Nature
How AI is taking over every step of drug discovery - Chemical & Engineering News
Coalition for Health AI faces escalating attacks by Trump officials, loss of founding member Amazon – StatNews
Empathetic, Available, Cheap: When A.I. Offers What Doctors Don’t – New York Times
How AI scribes could usher in higher medical bills - StatNews
Review of Large Language Models for Patient and Caregiver Support in Cancer Care Delivery – ASCO
Researchers: Toxicity is harder for AI to fake than intelligence – Ars Technica
Journalist Caught Publishing Fake Articles Generated by AI – Futurism
AI video slop is everywhere, take our quiz to try and spot it – NPR
Deepfake of North Carolina lawmaker used in award-winning Whirlpool video - The Washington Post
An MIT Student Awed Top Economists With His AI Study—Then It All Fell Apart. – Wall Street Journal
Deepfakes flood retailers ahead of peak holiday shopping – Axios
AI comes to local elections. Fake videos hit contentious school board races – Columbus Dispatch
Georgia Rep.’s campaign uses AI-generated deepfake of opponent in tight Senate showdown – CBS News
Welcome to the Slopverse Generative AI isn’t hallucinatory. It is multiversal. – The Atlantic
Town’s Christmas art contest ends in scandal: Did the winner use AI? - The Washington Post
The number one sign you're watching an AI video – BBC
AI-generated evidence is showing up in court – NBC News
Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era – The Local
How would-be authors were fooled by AI in suspected global publishing scam – The Guardian
University of Hong Kong probes non-existent AI-generated references in paper; prof. says content not fabricated – Hong Kong Free Press
People can't tell AI-generated music from real thing anymore, survey shows – CBS News
Major Study Finds Many Mistakes in AI-Generated News Summaries – TV Tech
AI-generated news sites spout viral slop from forgotten URLs – Harvard’s Nieman Lab
Deepfake Videos Are More Realistic Than Ever. Here's How to Spot if a Video Is Real or AI - CNET
Teacher pleads guilty after being accused of using AI to make sexual videos of 8 students – KGNS-TV
Woman Scammed by Ad With Deepfake of Her Doctor – NBC’s Today Show
Woman accused of using AI to create fake burglary suspect – Fox13 Tampa Bay
AI deepfakes are costing billions in fraud. Can you detect one? Take our quiz - NBC Bay Area
Why major in computer science when you can major in artificial intelligence? From the NYT: At MIT, a new program called “artificial intelligence and decision-making” has become the second most popular major. At the University of California, San Diego, 150 first-year students signed up for a new AI program. The State University of New York at Buffalo has created a stand-alone “department of AI and society.” More than 3,000 students enrolled in a new college of AI & cybersecurity at the University of South Florida.
AI Overviews and AI Mode are dramatically changing organic search traffic. Content creators are focusing on “position zero” — that is, in the search snippet or AI Overview, which appears at the top of many Google search result pages.
The process of optimizing your website’s content to boost its visibility to AI-driven search engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and Google AI) through GEO (generative engine optimization) has some similarities to increased visibility to search engines (Google, Microsoft Bing) through SEO (search engine optimization). SEO is a sort of guessing game, a digital Jeopardy! in which the person creating web content tries to anticipate the query that will bring users to their content. GEO has the same goal, only toward AI overviews and AI mode.
The game has some similarities for both SEO and GEO. They use keywords and contextual phrasing, prioritize engaging content and aim to connect with conversational user queries. Both consider how fast a website loads, mobile friendliness, and prefer technically sound websites.
However, while SEO focuses on metatags, keywords and backlinks, AI models are trained to provide quick, direct responses from the synthesized content gathered from multiple sources. GEO is about, not only the query, but information about the user — from their social media footprint to their Google Docs usage. This informs, not only the search at hand, but future searches. AI will evaluate who created the content, its trustworthiness, and how it fits within the broader knowledge graph the AI is using.
Generative search efforts, therefore, attempt to fit into this reasoning process. AI judges the content value, not just on whether it ends up a part of the final answer, but whether it helps the model reason its way toward that answer. This is why, despite performing all the typical SEO common practices, a GEO effort may not make it to the other side of the AI reasoning pipeline. It’s not enough to be generally relevant to the final answer. Your content is now in direct competition with other plausible answers, so it must be more useful, precise, and complete than the next-best option. In fact, the same content could go through the pipeline a second time and yield a different result. And since newer models are rapidly changing right now, the best GEO may be effective when using an older model but not with a more recently trained model.
There is also a user shift to consider toward longer, more natural queries, from one- or two-word keywords to three- and four-word search terms. Research indicates that queries in AI mode are generally two to three times the length of traditional searches.
What do AI Overviews avoid? Content that is overly generalized, speculative, or optimized for clickbait over clarity. Vague and generic writing underperforms. So what kind of content does the Google AI Overviews favor?
Content that contains the who, what, why
Straightforward content offering distinctiveness; AI rewards niche-specific content
Is written in natural, conversational terms (AI will attempt to deliver its answer in that same way)
Uses strong introductory sentences that convey clear value
Has H2 tags (subheadings) that align with user questions
Is structured to match common question structures (open, closed, probing)
Answers complex questions
Allows for restatement of quires and implied sub-questions, where a main question is broken down into smaller parts; content structured in a way to be easily grabbed — in citable chunks
Contains multi-faceted answers
Is rich in relationships
Has explicit logical structures and supports causal progression
Has clear headlines
Cites sources and has clear authorship
Includes statistics & quotations
Has multimedia integration
Content that tells the world something new
Uses HTML anchor jump links to connect different sections of content to one another
Podcasts that include full transcripts in YouTube video descriptions, which are easily searchable
Appears on YouTube (a Google-owned company) based on the titles, descriptions & transcripts of videos
More information:
What is AI reading? Takeaways from a report on AI brand visibility
How AI Mode and AI Overviews work based on patents and why we need new strategic focus on SEO
What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
How To Get Your Content (& Brand) Recommended By AI & LLMs
Google Ads data shows query length shift post-AI Mode
The winners and losers of Google’s AI Mode
Stephen Goforth
Experts suggest that computer science degree requirements should move away from coding and align with the expectations of a liberal arts degree—critical thinking and communication skills, along with computational thinking and AI literacy. The new CS coursework would include basic principles of computing and AI, along with hands-on experience in designing software using new AI tools. AI tools can help with the building of prototype programs, check for coding errors and serve as a digital tutor.
Computational thinking involves breaking down problems into smaller tasks, developing step-by-step solutions and using data to reach evidence-based conclusions. AI literacy is an understanding — at varying depths for students at different levels — of how AI works, how to use it responsibly and how it is affecting society. Nurturing informed skepticism should be a goal.
Read more at the NYT: How Do You Teach Computer Science in the AI Era?
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