Progress and Reflection in AI Utilization for Education

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In this episode of ChatEDU (Choose Your Adventure - AI Tutor or Cheat?), Matt and Liz open with updates on robot massages, laundry-folding bots, and a favorite new AI memory prompt from Westport, Connecticut, followed by a global rundown, a breakthrough in 3D world modeling, and a deeper look at ChatGPT’s new Study Mode and what it reveals about student learning.

Story #1: The Rundown Goes Global and Local

From robot assistants to policy shifts, this week’s rundown spans AI headlines with big implications: NotebookLM can now build narrated slide decks, the National Science Foundation is investing $100 million in AI research, and the Presidential AI Challenge invites students and teachers to tackle real-world problems. Switzerland launches a green multilingual LLM, China and India expand AI education, and Oregon partners with NVIDIA to grow AI learning. Sam Altman warns of AI dependency, and users discover their ChatGPT chats may not be legally private, news that highlights both momentum and risk.

Story #2: A 3D World from Words

Tencent’s Hunyuan World 1.0 lets users create immersive 3D environments from a simple text prompt. Open-sourced on GitHub, it combines panoramic image generation with interactive object control. Still technical for now, it hints at uses in education, simulation, and storytelling. Today it requires Unity and Python; eventually, students could build explorable science labs or historical settings with a sentence.

Story #3 (Beneath the Surface): Study Mode and the Tutor Button

OpenAI’s new Study Mode turns ChatGPT into a Socratic tutor—on for scaffolded questions, off for full essays. Matt and Liz explore what this reveals about learning and agency, and examine the system prompt behind it. MIT warns it still draws from flawed sources, but it’s more engaging than static study guides. Custom GPTs and student-built tutors may be next. As AI reshapes education, Study Mode offers a sharper view of what’s possible, and what’s at stake.

Links and References (as mentioned in the show)

Presidential AI Challenge

https://www.ai.gov/initiatives/presidential-challenge

Swiss Multilingual LLM from WINS

https://www.winssolutions.org/switzerland-open-source-llm-new-standard/

MIT Technology Review on China’s AI Push

https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/28/1120747/chinese-universities-ai-use/

Hunyuan World 1.0 GitHub

https://github.com/Tencent-Hunyuan/HunyuanWorld-1.0

Study Mode Overview (Neuron)

https://www.theneuron.ai/newsletter/chatgpt-became-your-tutor

MIT Review on Study Mode

https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/29/1120801/openai-is-launching-a-version-of-chatgpt-for-college-students/#:~:text=OpenAI%20is%20launching%20Study%20Mode,academic%20year%20starts%20in%20September.

Business Insider on Study Mode and Buying a Car

https://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-study-mode-ai-big-life-decision-making-buy-car-2025-7

Forbes on System Prompts

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanceeliot/2025/08/03/deciphering-the-custom-instructions-underlying-openais-new-chatgpt-study-mode-reveals-vital-insights-including-for-prompt-engineering/

AI Agents Build COVID Vaccine (Stanford)

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/07/virtual-scientist.html

AI Immunotherapy Design

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv0422

YouTube AI Age Detection

https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/extending-our-built-in-protections-to-more-teens-on-youtube/

Announcements

Fall Micro-Credential Waitlist is Open

Get on the list at skills21.org/ai/micro

New Student AI Literacy Curriculum

Email Matt and Liz to learn more: chatedu@edadvance.org