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Category Archives: Education

ChatGPT is bullshit

Hicks, M.T., Humphries, J. & Slater, J. ChatGPT is bullshit. Ethics Inf Technol 26, 38 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5. Full text available free. “Recently, there has been considerable interest in large language models: machine learning systems which produce human-like text and dialogue. Applications of these systems have been plagued by persistent inaccuracies in their output; these are… Continue Reading

South Korea’s plan for AI textbooks hit by backlash from parents

FT.com / no paywall: “South Korea’s plan to introduce artificial intelligence-powered digital textbooks in schools has provoked a backlash from parents and academics concerned about children’s overexposure to digital devices and potential misinformation. Education minister Lee Ju-ho said this week that tablets loaded with AI features were “pivotal” to a planned overhaul of the Korean… Continue Reading

Yale Library – Objects from 200-plus collections are new online

“April 1 through June 30 of this year, more than 8,500 new object landing pages were created. These pages contain 30,000-plus images of individual items, including handwritten letters, manuscripts, photographs, maps, and more. The Lewis Walpole Library alone added digital images for more than 2,000 items, including objects from the British Theatrical and Literary Prints… Continue Reading

Exploring Goodreads Data: An Analysis of 10 Million Books

Ammar Alyousfi’s Blog: “Goodreads is one of the largest book websites on the internet. It has data about millions and millions of books from different genres and in many languages. It’s hard not to find a book on Goodreads whether it’s published hundreds of years ago or just a few days ago. Today, I present… Continue Reading

How the World Wide Web Gets Spun Out of Thin Air

The Washington Post [unpaywalled]: “The World Wide Web might sound metaphorical, but it’s actually grounded in a physical web of translucent glass filaments crisscrossing the globe. These fiber-optic cables transmit internet data through tiny beams of light, making it possible for us to be online. They run under oceans and across deserts. It is the… Continue Reading

Deceptive AI systems that give explanations are more convincing than honest AI systems

Deceptive AI systems that give explanations are more convincing than honest AI systems and can amplify belief in misinformation. Valdemar Danry, Pat Pataranutaporn, Matthew Groh, Ziv Epstein, Pattie Maes – Advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, specifically large language models (LLMs), have the capability to generate not just misinformation, but also deceptive explanations that can justify… Continue Reading

Has your paper been used to train an AI model? Almost certainly

Nature – Artificial-intelligence developers are buying access to valuable data sets that contain research papers — raising uncomfortable questions about copyright. “Academic publishers are selling access to research papers to technology firms to train artificial-intelligence (AI) models. Some researchers have reacted with dismay at such deals happening without the consultation of authors. The trend is… Continue Reading

Study finds 94% of business spreadsheets have critical errors

PHYS.org – A recent study published in the journal Frontiers of Computer Science “reveals that 94% of spreadsheets used in business decision-making contain errors, highlighting significant risks of financial and operational mistakes. Phys.org reports: Errors in spreadsheets can lead to poor decisions, resulting in financial losses, pricing mistakes, and operational problems in fields like health… Continue Reading

Groundbreaking Agreement Provides Libraries with Permanent Ownership Rights Over Tens of Thousands of Digital Titles

Digital Public Library of America and Independent Publishers Group have partnered to rewrite the future of providing ebooks to benefit libraries, authors and readers alike. Chicago, August 13, 2024 – The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and Independent Publishers Group (IPG) have announced a groundbreaking agreement that will transform how American libraries provide access… Continue Reading

Figures and insights from Harvard Undergraduate Survey on Generative AI

Harvard Undergraduate Survey on Generative AI – Shikoh Hirabayashi, Rishab Jain, Nikola Jurković, Gabriel Wu. “How has generative AI impacted the experiences of college students? We study the influence of AI on the study habits, class choices, and career prospects of Harvard undergraduates (n=326), finding that almost 90% of students use generative AI. For roughly… Continue Reading

I Love Book Stores

I Love Book Stores: “There are 6,001 bookstores in the United States. Well, not really. There are 6,001 non-chain bookstores in the United States.  Again, not really accurate.  There are, however, 6,001 bookstores on this map of bookstores in the United States.  Quite a few caveats apply, but I’m going to run with that number… Continue Reading