News & Research: The Global Shift from Policy to Practice

News Stories Covered in the Episode

AI Typing Like a Human? – Graham Clay's LinkedIn post on ChatGPT Operator mimicking human keystrokes
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7292163775963557888/

The Vatican on AI Ethics – "Antiqua et Nova" report on AI, human intelligence, and ethics in education
Sacerdotus: Vatican's New Document on AI: Ethical Guidelines and Human Responsibility

Australian Government's AI Study – Treasury report on Microsoft 365 Copilot, estimating it pays for itself if it saves 13 minutes per week
Treasury M365 Copilot review estimates 13-minute efficiency gain needed to justify licence cost - Software - iTnews

California State University & AI – Providing 500,000 stuents access to ChatGPT Edu
https://openai.com/index/openai-and-the-csu-system/

Estonia's AI Strategy – National AI policy giving all students access to AI tutors https://openai.com/index/estonia-schools-and-chatgpt/

Australia's New National AI Centre Director – ex-podcast co-host Lee Hicken appointed to lead the centre. For those keeping count, that's the second of the podcast hosts that's now at NAIC, with current hosts Dan & Ray still waiting for the call 😂
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7306940399086903296/

Manus AI Release – A new AI system focused on reasoning and conversation
McKay Wrigley's X post

Research Papers Discussed

"From chalkboards to chatbots: Transforming learning in Nigeria, one prompt at a time" – World Bank blog on AI tutoring in Nigeria, claiming two years of learning gains in six weeks.
https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/education/From-chalkboards-to-chatbots-Transforming-learning-in-Nigeria

 

We discussed Ethan Mollick's LinkedIn post focusing on the multiple controlled experiments showing that students can be helped or harmed based on how they use AI

"AI Meets the Classroom: When Does ChatGPT Harm Learning?" – Study on ChatGPT's impact on learning; found that using AI without explanations led to weaker long-term retention.
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2409.09047v1

"Generative AI Can Help Learning" – AI tutors improve test results but can hinder deeper learning if students rely too much on direct answers
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4895486

"Effective and Scalable Math Support: Experimental  Evidence on the Impact of an AI- Math Tutor in Ghana" – AI tutor via WhatsApp in Ghana increased learning by the equivalent of one extra school year at $5 per student
https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2402/2402.09809.pdf

"Generative AI in higher education: A global perspective of institutional adoption policies and guidelines" – Study on university AI policies worldwide; most encourage AI use but lack clarity on inclusivity and transparency
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666920X24001516