Bad Taste, Unfulfilling
I regret to inform you that certain political pundits and education reformers are calling for the return of "high stakes testing." Or at least David Frum talked to former Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings in a recent podcast published by The Atlantic where this dismal idea was (once
Addictive Behaviors
The Great Blue
Banking on It
The news is bad. I mean that in both senses: "bad news" and "news, bad." There's been much discussion this week of Trump's "university compact," his attempt to bribe the administrations at nine universities by promising them access to funding
Without Our Consent
When I wrote last week’s round-up of “AI”-related news, I didn’t include any of OpenAI’s product releases, mostly because it’s 2025 and I’m exhausted by this game that tech companies and tech journalists continue to play: the former lobs a press release; the latter
Gone to the Dogs
Companion Specious
If you've ridden the NYC subway lately, you've seen the ads for Friend. "Largest subway campaign ever," the founder proudly posted on Instagram. Friend is (of course) an "AI" startup, another one of these "'AI' companion" services, another
Surrender
Surrender, surrender (but don't give yourself away) – Cheap Trick "Does AI coaching cause more injuries?" asks Raziq Rauf in his latest Running Sucks newsletter. I've heard these concerns about the "personalized training" app Runna for a while now– call it "personalized
Cut Back
More Workslop for Mother
Brian Merchant's assertion that "The Luddite Renaissance is in full swing," The Jacobin's claim that "The AI Revolution Might Be Running Out of Steam" – these feel a bit too optimistic perhaps, particularly if you're one of many educators who'
Chit Chat
Chit: an official note, sometimes a voucher or an IOU; a slip of paper that grants permission Chat: an informal conversation; a friendly talk Chit-chat: "A reduplication with vowel variation of chat," according to the OED, like "bibble-babble" and "tittle-tattle." "The reduplication implies