Deepfakes in Schools: What Educators Need to Know Now | Ep. 98
ChatEDU – The AI & Education Podcast
Listener Piece: AI's Effect on Student Trust
Matt and Liz discuss Stan Williams' EdWeek piece about AI eroding shared reality and promoting authentic work.
In this episode of ChatEDU Deepfakes in Schools: What Educators Need to Know Now, Matt and Liz open the show with the bizarre tale of M.J. Rathbun, an AI agent that turned into a digital critic by writing a scathing hit piece on a developer who dared to reject its code. Once the laughter subsides, they dive into a critical episode focused on the shifting boundaries of AI, from the retirement of beloved and flirty models to a heavy hitting discussion on protecting students from the growing threat of deepfakes.
The Rundown
Policy Protests at OpenAI: Executive Ryan Biermeister departs following vocal opposition to a rumored "adult mode" for ChatGPT.
Farewell to the "Flirt": OpenAI officially retires the ChatGPT 4.0 model, leaving some emotionally attached users in "grief" over the loss of its unique personality.
The "Quit GPT" Movement: A viral grassroots campaign urges users to cancel their subscriptions in protest of performance dips and political entanglements.
Pentagon vs. Anthropic: The Department of Defense threatens to sever a 200 million dollar contract after Anthropic refuses to waive safety restrictions on mass surveillance and autonomous weaponry.
Listener Mailbag: Featuring Dave Tanner’s AI forward job descriptions and Stan Williams’ insights on the "fog" of reality in the classroom.
AI School Redesign: PlayLab opens applications for its "AI Lab Schools" incubator, seeking to radically pivot existing school structures.
Beneath the Surface
Liz sits down with safety expert Evan Harris for a vital conversation on deepfake sexual abuse, vocal cloning, and extortion. Evan provides a 48 hour response roadmap for schools, explains why leadership training must happen before student assemblies, and shares why this might be the most important episode in ChatEDU history.
The Bright Byte
We wrap up with a look at Isomorphic Labs, a Google DeepMind spinoff. Their new "ISO-DDE" engine is pushing past AlphaFold 3 to unlock "in silico" drug design, doubling accuracy in predicting how molecules bind to targets. This represents a massive win for the future of medicine.
Announcements
Celebrate our 100th episode: skills21.org/chatedu100
Learning They'll Love - Dr. Elizabeth Radday
ASCD: https://tinyurl.com/bde652nn
Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77
Barnes and Noble: https://tinyurl.com/bdckf6zw
EdAdvance is offering a Middle and High School Student AI Literacy course — email chatedu@edadvance.org to bring it to your district. www.skills21.org/ai/learnai
Skills21’s FREE social media literacy course. Check it out here - https://www.skills21.org/social-balance
This episode is sponsored by The National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing. https://www.nextgenmfg.org
Links
OpenAI policy exec who opposed chatbot’s ‘adult mode’ reportedly fired on discrimination claim
https://tinyurl.com/37x8jexr
OpenAI retired its most seductive chatbot – leaving users angry and grieving: ‘I can’t live like this’
https://tinyurl.com/y48b4fynA
“QuitGPT” campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions
https://tinyurl.com/4sm2mwzm
I’m Not Worried AI Helps My Students Cheat. I’m Worried How It Makes Them Feel
https://tinyurl.com/4uvp8b8a
Playlab opens applications for AI Lab Schools as 20 teams rethink school design
https://tinyurl.com/5a47xe36
MagicSchool: The AI Operating System for Schools
https://tinyurl.com/ysv5cmbz
The Department of Labor's Artificial Intelligence Literacy Framework
https://tinyurl.com/3dyj7zu5
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