ChatEDU – The AI & Education Podcast

In this lively discussion, Charli Hughes, a UConn student majoring in computer science and molecular biology, shares her unique academic journey. She discusses her startup focused on a low-cost patch for detecting skin conditions and dives deep into how AI is reshaping research methodologies. Charli also highlights the balance between AI's benefits and the essential role of human ingenuity in education. With insights on ethical implications and the importance of interpersonal skills, this chat reveals how AI is influencing both healthcare and college life.

The hosts dive into a hilarious mix-up regarding GPT-5's geography knowledge and the complexities of AI in personal support. They spotlight Utah's innovative approach to integrating AI into K-12 education, showcasing a statewide specialist and enhanced teacher training. Discussions also cover generative AI's role in revolutionizing high school learning and improving administrative tasks. With insights on equity in AI and the future of curricula, the episode highlights the evolving dynamics between education and technology.

VOTE FOR MATT & LIZ (SXSW EDU)Vote for Matt and Liz’s live ChatEDU session -⁠https://participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sxsw26/community-voting-edu/page/community-voting/session/1753650289710001LzZM⁠Vote for Liz’s Personal Interest Project (PIP) session -⁠https://participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sxsw26/community-voting-edu/page/community-voting/session/1753465373604001edhOIn this episode of ChatEDU (Google Claps Back: Guided Learning in Gemini), Matt and Liz open with a whirlwind of AI developments. They share impressions of GPT-5’s quirks and memory mishaps, read a defense of the m dash, and react to the self-loathing loop from Google’s Gemini model. They also tackle AI’s limits, laugh at edible lamp business plans, and break down why threatening a chatbot won’t make it smarter.Story #1: Rundown – GPT-5, Essay Bans, Mental Health Rules, ChatGPT Tune-Ups, AI Predictions, and a Billion Dollar RetreatThis week’s rundown includes GPT-5’s shaky rollout, a top New York high school banning summer essays to prevent ChatGPT cheating, Illinois becoming the first state to prohibit AI-led mental health therapy, and South Korea ending its national AI textbook program. They cover OpenAI’s “What we’re optimizing ChatGPT for” update, aimed at making the chatbot better at detecting distress and less likely to give overly agreeable answers, plus a study showing large language models can predict educational and psychological outcomes from childhood essays with remarkable accuracy. The segment wraps with Google’s launch of Genie 3, a text-to-3D world model that creates interactive scenes on the fly.Story #2: Common Sense Media Assesses AI Teacher ToolsCommon Sense Media’s latest AI Risk Assessment examines teacher-facing tools like Google Classroom, MagicSchool, Khanmigo, and Kiip. The report gives these platforms a moderate risk rating, noting that they perform best when built on high-quality instructional materials and teacher oversight. Risks include bias, inaccurate content, and reduced curricular coherence. Matt and Liz discuss why novice teachers may be especially vulnerable to over-reliance.Story #3 (Beneath the Surface): Guided Learning from GoogleJust days after OpenAI launched Study Mode, Google responded with Guided Learning inside the Gemini app. Matt and Liz test it live, exploring its math support, quiz generator, and visual explanations. They highlight new education-focused announcements from Google, including one year of free Gemini Pro access for college students, a billion-dollar AI education initiative, and a storybook builder that turns photos into narrated adventures.AnnouncementsEmail Matt and Liz at chatedu@edadvance.org for info on their new Student-Facing AI Literacy CourseRegister for the Fall Micro-Credential (starts October) – skills21.org/ai/microGet details on the EdAdvance AI in Education Conference & PL Series – edadvance.org/ai-conferenceLinks and References (as mentioned in the show)McSweeney’s “The M Dash Responds to the AI Allegations”https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the-em-dash-responds-to-the-ai-allegationsBusiness Insider on Gemini’s Self-Loathing Bughttps://www.businessinsider.com/gemini-self-loathing-i-am-a-failure-comments-google-fix-2025-8Common Sense Media Teacher AI Assistant Risk Reporthttps://www.commonsensemedia.org/ai-ratings/ai-teacher-assistants?gate=commsdistributionlinkStanford EdTech AI Study (SchoolAI Usage)https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-k-12-educators-actually-engaging-vsgme/Google Guided Learning Blog Post – Explore Guided Learninghttps://blog.google/products/gemini/storybooks/Dan Fitzpatrick’s Google Edu Updates on Forbeshttps://www.forbes.com/sites/danfitzpatrick/2025/08/06/google-takes-aim-at-chatgpt-study-mode-with-major-gemini-updates/SponsorThis episode is supported by the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, helping students and educators build workforce-ready skills through innovation. www.nextgenmfg.org

ChatEDU: Best of Beyond the Bot (Matt and Liz)Vote for Matt and Liz’s live ChatEDU session to highlight inspiring stories of students using AI to solve real-world problems and play an interactive game from the that challenges how we protect human values in an AI-driven world.https://participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sxsw26/community-voting-edu/page/community-voting/session/1753650289710001LzZMPersonal Interest Projects (Liz only)Vote for Liz’s Personal Interest Project (PIP) session to support a hands-on, practical session that helps educators guide student-driven, standards-based projects while using AI in thoughtful and ethical ways.https://participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sxsw26/community-voting-edu/page/community-voting/session/1753465373604001edhO

VOTE FOR MATT & LIZ (SXSW EDU)Vote for Matt and Liz’s live ChatEDU session -https://participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sxsw26/community-voting-edu/page/community-voting/session/1753650289710001LzZMVote for Liz’s Personal Interest Project (PIP) session -https://participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sxsw26/community-voting-edu/page/community-voting/session/1753465373604001edhOIn 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 ButtonOpenAI’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 Challengehttps://www.ai.gov/initiatives/presidential-challengeSwiss Multilingual LLM from WINShttps://www.winssolutions.org/switzerland-open-source-llm-new-standard/MIT Technology Review on China’s AI Pushhttps://www.technologyreview.com/2025/07/28/1120747/chinese-universities-ai-use/Hunyuan World 1.0 GitHubhttps://github.com/Tencent-Hunyuan/HunyuanWorld-1.0Study Mode Overview (Neuron)https://www.theneuron.ai/newsletter/chatgpt-became-your-tutorMIT Review on Study Modehttps://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 Carhttps://www.businessinsider.com/chatgpt-study-mode-ai-big-life-decision-making-buy-car-2025-7Forbes on System Promptshttps://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.htmlAI Immunotherapy Designhttps://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv0422YouTube AI Age Detectionhttps://blog.youtube/news-and-events/extending-our-built-in-protections-to-more-teens-on-youtube/AnnouncementsFall Micro-Credential Waitlist is OpenGet on the list at skills21.org/ai/microNew Student AI Literacy CurriculumEmail Matt and Liz to learn more: chatedu@edadvance.org

In this episode of ChatEDU (A United States of AI Policy?), Matt and Liz start off with a quick rundown of AI agents and their many emerging use cases, from helping with cooking to managing spreadsheets. They also touch on AI-driven ticket pricing at Delta and the ongoing AI usage boom (2.5 billion daily prompts!). Then it’s into the three big stories shaping the AI education landscape this week.Story 1: The Rundown – AI Goes for Gold, Canvas x OpenAI, and Baby Grok Worries First up, AI earns a gold medal at the International Math Olympiad, with Gemini and ChatGPT solving some of the hardest problems out there. Meanwhile, OpenAI is teaming up with Canvas to integrate AI tools directly into classrooms, letting teachers build custom chatbots while maintaining visibility over student use. On the wellness side, students are confiding in chatbots about stress and sleep issues more than ever. And yes, we now have “Baby Grok,” Elon Musk’s AI toy for kids. The team raises serious concerns about young learners developing emotional bonds with bots.Story 2: New Federal Guidance – Two Key Docs from the U.S. Department of EducationThe U.S. Department of Education just released two companion documents: a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) and a new Federal Register entry. Together, they offer high-level guidance on how schools can use federal funding to support AI adoption, including instructional tools, tutoring, and professional development. The documents also promote AI and computer science literacy, including credentials and dual enrollment pathways. While the tone is more visionary than directive, the emphasis on ethical, educator-led implementation is clear.Story 3 (Beneath the Surface): States Step Up – AI Guidance from Maine to Ohio More than half of U.S. states have now issued official K-12 AI guidance. North Carolina’s “EVERY” framework and Georgia’s educator ethics additions stand out for their practical approach. Ohio takes it further. All schools in the state must adopt a local AI use policy by 2026. While the move is bold, Matt and Liz warn that top-down policies should still be shaped locally with student, teacher, and parent voices at the table.Bright Byte: AI Finds Hidden Earthquakes Researchers used machine learning to detect over 86,000 earthquakes in Yellowstone, 10 times more than previously known. This breakthrough could improve risk forecasting and support geothermal energy development.Links and ReferencesDCL: Dear Colleague Letter on AI Usehttps://www.ed.gov/media/document/opepd-ai-dear-colleague-letter-7222025-110427.pdfFederal Register AI Priorityhttps://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/07/21/2025-13650/proposed-priority-and-definitions-secretarys-supplemental-priority-and-definitions-on-advancingAlongside Mental Health Chatbothttps://www.edsurge.com/news/2025-07-08-students-ai-chats-reveal-their-largest-stressorsOpenAI + Canvas Announcementhttps://www.axios.com/2025/07/23/openai-chatgpt-schools-canvas-instructureAI Wins Gold at IMOhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/humans-beat-ai-technology-google-openai-math-olympiad-machines-catching-up/Baby Grok Announcementhttps://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/elon-musk-announces-kid-friendly-baby-grok-ai-chatbot-designed-specifically-childrens-learning-needsChatbots and Toddlershttps://www.axios.com/2025/07/21/ai-chatbots-toddlers-brainsAI Quake Discovery in Yellowstonehttps://phys.org/news/2025-07-machine-uncovers-earthquakes-yellowstone-caldera.htmlAnnouncementsThe Fall Teacher AI Micro-Credential waitlist is open:skills21.org/ai/microTo learn more about our new Student AI Literacy Course, email chatedu@edadvance.orgSponsorThis episode is supported in part by the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, helping students and educators build workforce-ready skills through innovation.www.nextgenmfg.org

In this episode of ChatEDU (Guardrails or Surveillance? The Great Summer Gemini Debate), Matt and Liz kick things off with a peek into robot-filled Austin, Texas. Think driverless Jaguars and winking food-delivery cubes. They also share a few updates from their trip to AESA’s summer conference. From there, they dive into three major stories shaping the fast-moving intersection of AI and education.Story #1: The Rundown ReturnsThere’s no summer slowdown here. From Turnitin’s big pivot with its Clarity platform to Harvard Business School’s AI tutors and a Common Sense Media study on teen AI companions, Matt and Liz work through a packed list. Along the way, they demo NotebookLM’s new interactive features, revisit the Kittle voice agent, and highlight a troubling move by Elon Musk’s Grok: anime bots and vulgar red pandas designed to keep kids engaged and perhaps manipulated.Story #2: Beyond the BotThis week’s Beyond the Bot segment features student-driven innovation from Kenya to New Zealand. First up, a recap of the Africa AI Literacy Week Hackathon, where university students tackled agricultural challenges with custom bots, crop-prediction models, and offline tools. Then Matt and Liz spotlight the InSpirit AI Scholars Program, a standout opportunity for high school students to build real-world AI skills through guided mentorship from top-tier grad students.Story #3 (Beneath the Surface): Guardrails or Surveillance?It’s the summer’s hottest debate: Should student AI chats be monitored or private? Matt and Liz break down reactions to Google’s Gemini launch, which skipped the teacher dashboards favored by MagicSchool, SchoolAI, and Brisk. On one side: concerns about safety, transparency, and accountability. On the other: powerful arguments about student agency, trust, and AI literacy. This story puts competing philosophies head to head and asks what kind of AI education we really want.Bright ByteThis week’s Bright Byte highlights a peer-reviewed study showing how AI is helping hotels and restaurants slash food waste. Using computer vision and deep learning, AI-powered tracking devices identified where food was being lost.Links and References:Turnitin Clarity press release-https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/turnitin-delivers-turnitin-clarity-to-bring-transparency-and-responsible-ai-to-the-writing-process-supporting-academic-integrity-in-education-302504889.htmlHarvard Business Publishing: AI tutors in accountinghttps://hbsp.harvard.edu/inspiring-minds/ai-tutor-bots-harvard-business-schoolCommon Sense Media: AI Companions Report-https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/16/health/teens-ai-companion-wellnessInSpirit AI Scholars Program-https://www.inspiritai.com/Africa AI Literacy Week Hackathon (Ish Kenya)-https://tech-ish.com/2025/07/03/ai-africa-agri-tech-sector/Bright Byte-https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956053X25001072AnnouncementsThe Skills21 Student AI Literacy Course will be available for the fall.To learn more or bring it to your school, email Matt and Liz at chatedu@edadvance.orgSponsorThis episode is supported in part by the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, helping students and educators build workforce-ready skills through innovation.https://www.nextgenmfg.org/

In this episode of ChatEDU (College Degrees to Beat the Bot), Matt and Liz kick things off with a voice AI agent for small businesses (including Liz’s very own Studio 217) and trippy new uses for chatbots. From there, they dig into the fast-moving world of robotics, sharing stories of clumsy soccer-playing humanoids, robot warehouse takeovers, and AI-assisted classroom companions. Then, they go Beneath the Surface with a deep dive on seven college majors that may just “beat the bot” — plus an acronym from MIT you’ll actually want to remember. Finally, this week’s Bright Byte delivers a surprising (and heartwarming) AI breakthrough in infertility treatment.Story #1 — Tsunami of Early-Summer AI StoriesMatt and Liz cover a load of stories in the AI news including prompt injection in academic papers, reports from ISTE, and reported big K-12 AI investments.Story #2 — Robots on the RampageHumanoid robots fall down (a lot) in 3-on-3 soccer matches. Amazon’s warehouse bots are on the rise, and on track to outnumber human workers. Misty II charms students in special education, and Hugging Face releases a DIY robot you can program yourself. It’s fun, freaky… and definitely closer than you think.Story #3 (Beneath the Surface) — College Majors that Beat the BotCognitive science, bioinformatics, creative tech, and more. Forbes calls these “AI-durable” degrees that blend human creativity, ethics, and empathy with AI savvy. Matt and Liz also explore MIT’s EPOCH framework for future-proof skills: Empathy, Presence, Opinion, Creativity, Hope. Whether you’re advising students or thinking about your own next move, this one’s worth the listen.Bright ByteAfter 18 years of infertility, AI called STAR (Sperm Tracking and Recovery) helped a couple conceive by finding viable sperm human eyes missed, no invasive surgery required. Sometimes AI really is a miracle worker.Links and References11 Labs AI Voice Agent Toolhttps://elevenlabs.io/app/talk-to?agent_id=agent_01jzxnd7e5fsv9cvve4g6np8v7Hugging Face Reachy Mini Robot https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/09/hugging-face-opens-up-orders-for-its-reachy-mini-desktop-robots/ISTE AI in Education Highlightshttps://www.edweek.org/technology/can-ai-make-history-class-more-fun-for-students/2025/07OpenAI, Anthropic and Microsoft Invest in AI/K-12https://www.forbes.com/sites/danfitzpatrick/2025/07/08/microsoft-openai--anthropic-fund-a-national-ai-academy-for-teachers/Japan Times on AI Peer Review Hackshttps://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/04/japan/ai-research-prompt-injection/3 v 3 Robot Soccerhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPL7sK0pJOEAmazon Scales Robotshttps://unionrayo.com/en/amazon-new-autonomous-robots/Misty IIhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/danfitzpatrick/2025/07/07/how-an-ai-robot-helped-silent-kids-speak/Forbes: College Majors to Beat the Bot https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhernholm/2025/06/30/7-college-majors-that-prepare-you-to-lead-in-an-ai-driven-economy/MIT EPOCH Framework on Human Capabilitieshttps://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/these-human-capabilities-complement-ais-shortcomingsCNN on STAR AI and Infertility Breakthroughhttps://www.cnn.com/2025/07/03/health/ai-male-infertility-sperm-wellnessSponsorThis episode is supported in part by the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing — nextgenmfg.org

In this episode of ChatEDU (Viral or Villain - Is the AI Backlash Just Beginning?), Matt and Liz open with travel updates from Liz’s time at ISTE/ASCD, shoutouts to listeners met on the road, and a quick prompt hack before diving into three big stories shaping the tension between AI’s rapid adoption in schools and growing backlash in society. From AI-powered literacy tools to global assessment changes and the tension between usage and resistance, this episode explores what happens when AI goes viral, and when the backlash begins.Story #1: Amira’s AI Literacy Screening in NewarkNewark Public Schools is rolling out Amira, an AI-powered literacy screener assessing K-3 students by listening to them read aloud. The tool helps identify fluency challenges and personalizes interventions while emphasizing augmentation, not replacement, of teachers. While promising for early literacy, experts highlight the need for human oversight, particularly for English learners, to ensure equitable outcomes.Story #2: PISA Adds AI Literacy to Global AssessmentsThe OECD’s PISA assessment will add a Media and AI Literacy domain in 2029 to measure students’ critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and ability to navigate misinformation in an AI-mediated world. Using simulations of search engines, social media feeds, and chatbot interactions, this marks a major shift in what global assessments will value, preparing systems to measure skills relevant to the digital age.Story #3 (Beneath the Surface): The Walton Study, Wired, and the Growing AI BacklashA new Walton Family Foundation survey with Gallup shows teachers are saving nearly six weeks a year using AI while improving lesson quality and work-life balance. Meanwhile, 97% of Gen Z students are using AI for homework, test prep, and college essays. Yet, a rising backlash is building outside schools as concerns over automation, environmental impact, and copyright issues grow. Matt and Liz discuss what leaders should do to pair intentional AI adoption with policy, dialogue, and equity to navigate the coming tension.Bright Byte: Microsoft’s MAI-DXO Diagnoses Faster and CheaperIn healthcare, Microsoft’s MAI-DXO has diagnosed 85% of complex medical cases accurately while lowering costs by reducing unnecessary testing. This signals how AI can streamline diagnostics, save money, and improve care, if implemented with thoughtful clinical validation.Links and ReferencesAmira Literacy Screening (Chalkbeat + NJ.com)https://www.nj.com/mosaic/2025/06/newark-launches-ai-tool-to-boost-literacy-for-struggling-students.htmlPISA Media & AI Literacy Domain – OECD Announcementhttps://www.oecd.org/en/about/projects/pisa-2029-media-and-artificial-intelligence-literacy.htmlWalton/Gallup AI Survey – Teach for Tomorrow Reporthttps://www.gallup.com/analytics/659819/k-12-teacher-research.aspxWired on AI Backlash – Reese Rogers, June 28https://www.wired.com/story/generative-ai-backlash/Microsoft MAI-DXO Diagnostic Orchestratorhttps://microsoft.ai/new/the-path-to-medical-superintelligence/Skills21 AI Resources and Policy Samplesskills21.org/ai/resourcesSponsor: National Center for Next Generation Manufacturingnextgenmfg.org

In this episode of ChatEDU (Check Please: Is Your AI Paying Off?) Matt and Jonathan open with updates about Liz’s at ISTE/ASCD. From there, they tackle a practical and philosophical look at AI’s rapid growth, job impacts, classroom adoption, and hidden trade-offs as leaders rethink what to automate. The episode closes with a bright byte on how AI is helping India map heat risks, proving that machine learning can drive real-world climate adaptation.Story #1: The AI Resume Arms RaceMatt and Jonathan unpack a recent New York Times piece on how employers are overwhelmed by a flood of AI-generated resumes, while companies fight back with AI-powered screening tools. It’s an HR arms race with clear parallels to the college essay challenge, forcing educators and employers alike to rethink what authentic assessment and hiring should look like in the age of generative AI.Story #2: What Gets Measured Gets AutomatedPulling from a Harvard Business Review analysis, Matt and Jonathan explore which tasks AI will automate first, from grading quizzes to lesson planning to even attendance tracking via facial recognition. They discuss where AI makes sense, where human judgment is still essential, and how this ties into deeper conversations about what education is truly for in an AI-saturated world.Story #3 (Beneath the Surface): Is Your AI Actually Adding Value?Going deeper, they highlight an HBR “AI Value Audit” to help educators and leaders assess when using AI saves time versus when it erodes critical learning, skill development, and human connection. They apply this audit live, pulling real tasks from ChatGPT histories and discussing which uses genuinely amplify their work—and which risk making things shallower.Bright Byte: India Uses AI to Map Heat RisksIndia is now using AI and satellite data to map heat vulnerability building-by-building across major cities. This lets communities target interventions like cool roofs and green spaces, helping residents adapt to extreme heat events made worse by climate change. It’s a crisp example of how AI can drive practical climate resilience at scale.AnnouncementsThe Summer Micro-Credential is still open, with a special ISTE/ASCD promo for attendees. skills21.org/ai/microLinks and ReferencesAnthropic’s Claudius Experimenthttps://time.com/7298088/claude-anthropic-shop-ai-jobs/NYT on AI and Hiringhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/27/technology/ai-spending-openai-amazon-meta.htmlHarvard Business Review: What Gets Measured Gets Automatedhttps://hbr.org/2025/06/what-gets-measured-ai-will-automateHarvard Business Review: Audit Your AI Usehttps://hbr.org/2025/06/recalculating-the-costs-and-benefits-of-gen-aiIndia Heat Mapping with AIhttps://www.wired.com/story/india-is-using-ai-and-satellites-to-map-urban-heat-vulnerability-down-to-the-building-level/?utm_source=chatgpt.com.SponsorThis episode is supported in part by the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturingwww.nextgenmfg.org