Is This Still Art? Debating AI’s Role in Storytelling and Sound | Ep. 78
ChatEDU – The AI & Education Podcast
AI-Produced Music and a Record Deal
Liz covers the Suno-created AI artist Hania Monet and Talisha Jones's multi-million dollar record deal and chart success.
In this episode of ChatEDU (Is This Still Art? Debating AI’s Role in Storytelling and Sound), Matt and Liz open with studio chaos, jokes about AI “slop” at work, and a survey from their AI Strategies team. They turn to two big stories: a rundown of education and parenting updates, and a dive into AI and creativity across film, music, and journalism, then close with a Bright Byte on AI and post-surgical care.
Story #1: The Rundown
Computer Science and Grades: A University of Tartu study finds frequent AI chatbot use linked to lower programming test and exam scores. Some students rely on bots for shortcuts, others avoid them to preserve authentic learning.
100 College Chats: OpenAI’s 100 Ways College Students Use ChatGPT showcases prompts from resume comparisons to dorm cooking guides. Matt and Liz highlight favorites and remind listeners to explore the interactive library.
Women and AI Editing: Axios reports on women using ChatGPT and Claude to self-edit workplace communications, balancing confidence with tone. Liz shares why it resonated.
Parents Lawyer Up: Education Week finds parents increasingly use AI to generate legal-sounding complaints to schools. Administrators urge face-to-face conversations instead.
AI Starts at Home: Jason Neifer of AASA argues AI education must begin with parents. Schools like Stratford, CT are stepping up with webinars and monthly AI challenges.
Story #2: Beneath the Surface – AI and Creativity
AI Actress Debuts: A synthetic actor, Tilly Norwood, takes the stage at the Zurich Film Festival, sparking backlash and SAG-AFTRA concerns.
OpenAI’s Feature Film: Critters, a $30M animated film built with GPT-5 and Sora, shows how Hollywood could be disrupted by ultra-small teams.
AI Music Deal: Mississippi poet Talisha Jones creates “Hania Monet” through Suno and lands a multi-million-dollar record deal. The AI artist already topped Billboard’s digital R&B chart.
Journalism’s AI Assist: Business Insider allows reporters to use AI tools for drafting, research, and image editing. Final stories must be vetted by humans, but AI’s growing newsroom role raises trust questions.
The segment ends with a human-centered twist: Oakland’s Stork Club bans AI-generated concert flyers, preserving punk’s DIY ethos and protecting local artists.
Bright Byte: AI in Post-Surgical Care
Johns Hopkins researchers show how AI can predict complications after surgery using hidden signals in ECGs. With 85% accuracy, this model could transform surgical care by surfacing patterns humans could never spot.
Announcements and Sponsors
Check out the new Student AI Course for middle and high school. Email Matt and Liz at chatedu@edadvance.org
The Fall Micro-Credential is open. Join us for the educator and school leader course starting in October - skills21.org/ai/micro
Sponsors
The National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing. www.nextgenmfg.org
EDIA The AI-powered platform helping schools reduce absences and boost achievement edia.app/contact
Links and References
Axios on Workslop
https://tinyurl.com/4yuxkpec
100 Ways Students Are Using ChatGPT
https://tinyurl.com/yk3fd2pj
Tilly Norwood AI Actress
https://tinyurl.com/ycy3tny4
Critterz Film News
https://tinyurl.com/ymrws3wa
Xania Monet Signs Deal
https://tinyurl.com/5n8pe82m
Business Insider AI Policy
https://tinyurl.com/ysmdywkk
Thee Stork Club Bans AI Flyers
https://tinyurl.com/35nvmv7x
Johns Hopkins AI ECG Study
https://tinyurl.com/mptnf2yk
University of Tartu Study on AI and Grades
https://tinyurl.com/5n8sxwh6
Parents Use AI to Sound Like Lawyers
https://tinyurl.com/4ktea4mm
AI Starts at Home
https://tinyurl.com/2zxpwnyc
Stratford, CT Parent Webinars on AI
https://sites.google.com/stratk12.org/ins-tech-familyhub/learning-opportunities
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