Salesforce sacrifices 4,000 support jobs on the altar of AI
: Benioff boasts bots now handle half of customer chats as doubts over reliability linger
Total recall: Mistral AI's Le Chat can now remember your conversations
: A host of plugins also make it a better business tool
AI stethoscope could detect heart conditions in seconds
Stethoscopes powered by artificial intelligence (AI) could help detect three different heart conditions in seconds, researchers say.
The original stethoscope, invented in 1816, allows doctors to listen to the internal sounds of a patient's body.
A British team conducted a study using a modern version and say they found it can spot heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms almost instantly.
The tool could be a "real game-changer" resulting in patients being treated sooner, the researchers say - with plans to roll the device out across the UK following a study involving 205 GP surgeries in west and north-west London.
AI in healthcare: what are the risks for the NHS? The device replaces the traditional chest piece with a device around the size of a playing card. It uses a microphone to analyse subtle differences in heartbeat and blood flow that the human ear cannot detect.
It takes an ECG (electrocardiogram), recording electrical signals from the heart, and sends the information to the cloud to be analysed by AI trained on data from tens of thousands of patients.
The study by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust saw more than 12,000 patients from 96 surgeries examined with AI stethoscopes manufactured by US firm Eko Health. They were then compared to patients from 109 GP surgeries where the technology was not used.
Those with heart failure were 2.33 times more likely to have it detected within 12 months when examined with the AI stethoscope, researchers said.
Stethoscopes powered by artificial intelligence (AI) could help detect three different heart conditions in seconds, researchers say.The original stethoscope, invented in 1816, allows doctors to listen to the internal sounds of a patient's body.A British team conducted a study using a modern version and say they found it can spot heart failure, heart valve disease and abnormal heart rhythms almost instantly.The tool could be a "real game-changer" resulting in patients being treated sooner, the researchers say - with plans to roll the device out across the UK following a study involving 205 GP surgeries in west and north-west London.AI in healthcare: what are the risks for the NHS?The device replaces the traditional chest piece with a device around the size of a playing card. It uses a microphone to analyse subtle differences in heartbeat and blood flow that the human ear cannot detect.It takes an ECG (electrocardiogram), recording electrical signals from the heart, and sends the information to the cloud to be analysed by AI trained on data from tens of thousands of patients.The study by Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust saw more than 12,000 patients from 96 surgeries examined with AI stethoscopes manufactured by US firm Eko Health. They were then compared to patients from 109 GP surgeries where the technology was not used.Those with heart failure were 2.33 times more likely to have it detected within 12 months when examined with the AI stethoscope, researchers said.
2-hour AI private schools are scaling, from North Carolina to Puerto Rico
With tuition starting at $40,000, Alpha Schools is riding the parental school choice movement while embracing the technology that will shape kids' futures — a challenge public schools are grappling with.
How it works: In Alpha Schools, students spend no more than two hours on core academics, then devote the rest of the day to developing life skills.
AI models generate personalized learning plans for students, who then learn on third-party apps like Synthesis Tutor and Math Academy, as well as Alpha Schools' own programs. Each subject is taught in 25-minute sessions, with short breaks in between. Founder MacKenzie Price tells Axios that, unlike traditional schooling, Alpha Schools can ensure students master concepts before new material is introduced. What they're saying: "If a kid comes to us and is behind, we're able to help catch them up," Price says. "If a kid comes to us who's been bored in traditional school because they're more advanced, they're able to really take the ceiling off."
Afternoon skills workshops, such as a team bike race or running a lemonade stand, are designed to teach practical skills like financial literacy and public speaking. Instead of teachers, the schools employ "guides," who start at $100,000 a year. They don't create lesson plans or lectures. Think of them more like coaches, who work to motivate students and come from a range of backgrounds, from tech to law.
With tuition starting at $40,000, Alpha Schools is riding the parental school choice movement while embracing the technology that will shape kids' futures — a challenge public schools are grappling with.How it works: In Alpha Schools, students spend no more than two hours on core academics, then devote the rest of the day to developing life skills.AI models generate personalized learning plans for students, who then learn on third-party apps like Synthesis Tutor and Math Academy, as well as Alpha Schools' own programs. Each subject is taught in 25-minute sessions, with short breaks in between.Founder MacKenzie Price tells Axios that, unlike traditional schooling, Alpha Schools can ensure students master concepts before new material is introduced.What they're saying: "If a kid comes to us and is behind, we're able to help catch them up," Price says. "If a kid comes to us who's been bored in traditional school because they're more advanced, they're able to really take the ceiling off."Afternoon skills workshops, such as a team bike race or running a lemonade stand, are designed to teach practical skills like financial literacy and public speaking.Instead of teachers, the schools employ "guides," who start at $100,000 a year. They don't create lesson plans or lectures. Think of them more like coaches, who work to motivate students and come from a range of backgrounds, from tech to law.
Anthropic Claude's Extended Data Retention for Training Purposes
Anthropic is an AI safety and research company that's working to build reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems.
Apertus LLM - a swiss-ai Collection
We’re on a journey to advance and democratize artificial intelligence through open source and open science.
Apertus: A fully open, transparent, multilingual language model
As a fully open language model, Apertus allows researchers, professionals and enthusiasts to build upon the model and adapt it to their specific needs, as well as to inspect any part of the training process. This distinguishes Apertus from models that make only selected components accessible.
As a fully open language model, Apertus allows researchers, professionals and enthusiasts to build upon the model and adapt it to their specific needs, as well as to inspect any part of the training process. This distinguishes Apertus from models that make only selected components accessible.
85% of College Students Report AI Use - Slashdot
College students have integrated generative AI into their academic routines at an unprecedented scale as 85% report usage for coursework in the past year, according to new Inside Higher Ed survey data. The majority employ AI tools for brainstorming ideas, seeking tutoring assistance, and exam preparation rather than wholesale academic outsourcing. Only 25% admitted using AI to complete assignments entirely, while 19% generated full essays. Students overwhelmingly reject institutional policing approaches, with 53% favoring education on ethical AI use over detection software deployment.
AI can't stop the sprint to adopt hot tech without security
Cisco’s Talos security research team has found over 1,100 Ollama servers exposed to the public internet, where miscreants can use them to do nasty things.
AI Is the Cognitive Layer. Schools Still Think It’s a Study Tool.
A New World
Episode 33: Bot Stacking - Ruff Draft Podcast
In this episode, we dive into the world of bot stacking—the strategic use of multiple AI tools to boost creativity, productivity, and personalization in education. We're joined by Miguel Guhlin from TCEA, author of the original blog post that insp...
First AI Psychosis Case Ends in Murder-Suicide
A Connecticut man named Stein-Erik Soelberg killed his mother and then himself after entering into psychosis linked to ChatGPT use.
Why critical thinking is key to using AI wisely – Alt Ed Austin
Returning guest writer Stephanie Simoes is the mind behind Critikid.com , a website that teaches critical thinking to children and teens through interactive courses, worksheets, and lesson plans. This article is meant to help educators (and parents) more effectively teach kids to use large lang
MIT researchers develop AI tool to improve flu vaccine strain selection
VaxSeer, an AI system that predicts dominant influenza strains and recommends vaccine compositions months in advance. The open-access study detailing the tool appears in Nature Medicine. In a 10-year retrospective analysis, VaxSeer’s picks outperformed the World Health Organization’s selections in nine of ten A/H3N2 seasons and matched or beat them in six of ten A/H1N1 seasons. Its predicted coverage scores also aligned with vaccine effectiveness data from the CDC, Canada’s Sentinel network, and Europe’s I-MOVE program.
Taco Bell Rethinks Future of Voice AI at the Drive-Through
Three years into the generative AI boom, fast-food drive-throughs remain stubbornly difficult for automation. Taco Bell’s rethink echoes McDonald’s scrapping an IBM pilot and Wendy’s cautious expansion with Google, underscoring industry-wide operational uncertainty.
AI Has Broken High School and College
A conversation between Ian Bogost and Lila Shroff about how school has turned into a free-for-all
AI and Higher Ed: An Impending Collapse (opinion)
Herein lies the trap. If students learn how to use AI to complete assignments and faculty use AI to design courses, assignments, and grade student work, then what is the value of higher education? How long until people dismiss the degree as an absurdly overpriced piece of paper? How long until that trickles down and influences our economic and cultural output? Simply put, can we afford a scenario where students pretend to learn and we pretend to teach them?
What Happened the Year I Banned AI
The first and most important move I made was providing every student with a 50-cent composition notebook that I sourced over multiple trips to office supply stores across the greater Dallas–Fort Worth area. Every day, my students and I engaged with our learning by writing in our notebooks. We reflected, brainstormed, and drafted everything by hand, which I learned through research has benefits I hadn’t previously considered.
The first and most important move I made was providing every student with a 50-cent composition notebook that I sourced over multiple trips to office supply stores across the greater Dallas–Fort Worth area. Every day, my students and I engaged with our learning by writing in our notebooks. We reflected, brainstormed, and drafted everything by hand, which I learned through research has benefits I hadn’t previously considered.
The Opposite of Cheating | Academic Integrity
A book with a positive and practical approach to academic integrity, academic misconduct, teaching and learning in higher education. The Opposite of Cheating is written by Tricia Bertram Gallant and David Rettinger.
Build an AI Leadership Team with Keith Wasserstrom - Artificial Intelligence Podcast
Welcome to the Artificial Intelligence Podcast with Jonathan Green! In this episode, we delve into the nuanced world of leadership amidst technological
AI Speech Model Detects Neurological Disorders With 92% Accuracy - Neuroscience News
A new AI framework can detect neurological disorders by analyzing speech with over 90% accuracy.
Bias Bytes #1
Welcome to the first edition of my bi-monthly newsletter aiming to keep you updated with all things bias-based to help us all feel more grounded when it comes to critical oversight. I'm pretty proud of my graphic headings so please humour me :) Let's start with.
Will AI Replace Human Thinking? The Case for Writing and Coding Manually
Learning to Think Again, and the Cost of AI Dependency.
There are so many (hype/boring) posts about AI coming out every day. It’s OK to use it, and everyone does it, but still learn your craft, and try to think.
Beyond the Cheat Sheet: Stefan Bauschard on Adapting to AI’s Impact Smarter Campus Podcast Episode #15 — Smarter Campus Podcast
In Episode 15 of Smarter Campus, host Zach Kinzler sits down with AI policy consultant, debate coach, and author Stefan Bauschard to explore how AI is reshaping education and society. They dive into:Stefan’s journey from computer science teacher and debate champion to AI policy expertHis eye-opening “aha” moment discovering ChatGPT’s potential to outpace GoogleWhy the real conversation should shift from cheating concerns to AI’s transformative possibilitiesPractical strategies for teachers: embrace AI tools ethically and help students navigate biasThe looming labor market disruption ahead—and how both educators and learners can prepareTune in for a candid discussion on responsibly harnessing AI to unlock positive change—because adapting is everyone’s responsibility.
#164: New MIT Study Says 95% of AI Pilots Fail, AI and Consciousness, Another Meta AI Reorg, Otter.ai Lawsuit & Sam Altman Talks Up GPT-6 — The Artificial Intelligence Show
AI that feels conscious is coming faster than society is ready for… In Episode 164 of The Artificial Intelligence Show, Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput unpack the viral MIT study, the brutal reality of companies forcing AI adoption, and Mustafa Suleyman’s warning about “seemingly conscious AI.” Alongside these deep dives, our rapid-fire section gives updates on Meta’s AI reorg, Otter.ai’s legal troubles, Google and Apple’s AI strategies, and the environmental impact of AI usage. Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Intro 00:05:52 — MIT Report on Gen AI Pilots 00:16:26 — AI’s Evolving Impact on Jobs 00:25:00 — AI and Consciousness 00:35:48 — Meta’s AI Reorg and Vision 00:40:59 — Otter.ai Legal Troubles 00:46:30 — Sam Altman on GPT-6 00:51:14 — Google Gemini and Pixel 10 00:56:20 — Apple May Use Gemini for Siri 00:59:49 — Lex Fridman Interviews Sundar Pichai 01:05:38 — AI Environmental Impact 01:10:37 — AI Funding and Product Updates This week’s episode is brought to you by…
Is The AI Bubble About To Burst With Lawrence Mandelberg — Artificial Intelligence Podcast: ChatGPT, Claude, Midjourney and all other AI Tools
Welcome to the Artificial Intelligence Podcast with Jonathan Green! In this episode, we dive into the intriguing dynamics of business self-destruction and the AI hype cycle with our distinguished guest, Lawrence Mandelberg. Lawrence, an expert in organizational growth and sustainability, shares valuable insights on why some businesses unwittingly set themselves up for failure and how to navigate the complex landscape of change management. Lawrence discusses the common pitfalls businesses enco…
#163: AI Answers - AI Environmental Concerns, Agentic Workflows, SEO Impact, The Future of Creative Careers, & Human-First Processes — The Artificial Intelligence Show
From the environmental costs of data centers to the cultural biases baked into today’s models, Paul Roetzer and Cathy McPhillips answer your questions from our 50th Intro to AI class. Throughout the episode, they unpack the gray areas of AI-generated content, debate what the rise of agents means for work, and consider how creatives can stay ahead with AI. Show Notes: Access the show notes and show links here Timestamps: 00:00:00 — Intro 00:05:13 — Question #1: Which environmental concern feels most urgent for the AI industry to solve? 00:07:58 — Question #2: How well do AI models reflect diverse languages and cultures? 00:10:25 — Question #3: What risks and ownership issues come with AI-generated video and images in marketing? 00:15:26 — Question #4: What are the best ways to start experimenting with AI agents? 00:18:22 — Question #5: Is there value in using multiple AI platforms to cross-check results? 00:22:06 — Question #6: How should businesses weigh built-in AI assistants versus standalone tools like…
Blue Books Reimagined
Claire used blue books as a form of in-class journaling, reflection, and process-based practice writing. At the start of the semester, she distributed fresh blue books to her classes with an introductory prompt based on the learning outcomes of the class as a way to create a baseline for students’ writing, both to get to know the students as well as to learn more about their handwriting, thought process, and timed writing ability. Claire would then collect the books at the end of class. As the semester progressed, she would slowly increase the amount of writing. The prompts ranged from reading-based responses to creative musings to self-reflections. Scaffolding assignments, like annotated bibliographies, practice theses, short “they say/I say” essays, six sentence arguments, outlines, and free writing were conducted in class using blue books alongside creative poems, music video storyboarding, short story writing, and post-unit reflections based on the Taxonomy of Reflection. She then asked students to engage in the think-pair-share model where they would discuss their blue book answers with a partner, then either share out to the whole class or build upon incrementally larger sharing groups until the whole class had rejoined to discuss their ideas.
AI in the Writing Process: A Problem of Purpose
Leon Furze argues that the real tension with AI and writing isn’t “death of writing” but purpose. When schools prize the product over the process, generative AI flattens the whole writing cycle, letting students jump from “I need a piece” straight to publication. That shortcut may be fine for functional emails or content farms, but in education the process is the learning; flatten it, and you flatten learning too.
Note on the "Critique the AI Output" Assignments
We should also use AI to critique our own work.