Big Dreams
/If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough.
ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
14 Articles about the Business of Running an AI Company
/Meta Signs Nuclear Power Deal to Fuel Its AI Ambitions – Wall Street Journal
Google is bringing ads to AI Mode – TechCrunch
How OpenAI, Google and AI makers are leaving the web behind - Axios
OpenAI Can Stop Pretending The company is great at getting what it wants—whether or not it’s beholden to a nonprofit mission. – The Atlantic
The New York Times has reached an AI licensing deal with Amazon – New York Times
AI race goes supersonic in milestone-packed week - Axios
OpenAI’s Ambitions Just Became Crystal Clear – The Atlantic
Google Unveils A.I. Chatbot, Signaling a New Era for Search - New York Times
Microsoft helped kick off the AI boom. It needs humans more than ever, its CEO says – Semafor
Journalist Karen Hao discusses her book 'Empire of AI' - NPR
The UAE and Saudi Arabia are pouring billions into U.S.-backed AI infrastructure – Wired
Google dominates AI patent applications - Axios
A Gemini-powered coding agent for designing advanced algorithms – DeepMind
AI Definitions: Neural Networks
/Neural Networks (or artificial neural networks, ANNs) – Mathematical systems that can identify patterns in text, images and sounds. In this type of machine learning, computers learn a task by analyzing training examples. It is modeled loosely on the human brain—the interwoven tangle of neurons that process data and find complex associations. While symbolic artificial intelligence has been the dominant area of research for most of AI’s history with artificial neural networks, most recent developments in artificial intelligence have centered around neural networks. First proposed in 1944 by two University of Chicago researchers (Warren McCullough and Walter Pitts), they moved to MIT in 1952 as founding members of what’s sometimes referred to as the first cognitive science department. Neural nets remained a major research area in neuroscience and computer science until 1969. The technique enjoyed a resurgence in the 1980s, fell into disfavor in the first decade of the new century, and has returned stronger in the second decade, fueled largely by the increased processing power of graphics chips. Also, see “Transformers.”
More AI definitions here.
I’m just going to go for it
/A North Dakota plumber had signed up to run his first half-marathon. But on the morning of the run Mike Kohler was sleepy. He wasn’t used to getting up so early. And he was wearing headphones, so he took off 15 minutes before he was supposed to—putting him with the runners competing in the full marathon. He started seeing signs that indicated he was on the wrong route, but he just assumed the two paths overlapped along the way.
Eventually, he realized his mistake but kept going. At the 13 mile mark he seriously thought about quitting. He had run as far as he had planned to run and even beat his time goal. He had nothing more to prove.
Instead, he finished the marathon.
“I’m just going to go for it, because why not?” Mike later told the Grand Forks Herald. “I’m already here, I’m already running, I’m already tired. Might as well try to finish it.”
He added, ”This just kind of proves you can do a lot more than what you think you can sometimes.”
14 Articles about the Dangers of AI
/AI is sparking a cognitive revolution. Is human creativity at risk? – Fast Company
Wired Envisions a Deepfake Future you’re not prepared for – Wired
AI Is Learning to Escape Human Control – Wall Street Journal
AI models hallucinate less than humans — just in “more surprising ways.” – Tech Crunch
Anthropic study reveals LLM reasoning isn’t always what it seems – BD Tech Talks
AI linked to explosion of low-quality biomedical research papers – Nature
The future of AI is in western Pennsylvania – Washington Post
LLMs are Making Me Dumber – Vincent Cheng
New cybersecurity risk: AI agents going rogue - Axios
AI therapy is a surveillance machine in a police state – The Verge
US government is using AI for unprecedented social media surveillance – New Scientist
Instagram's AI Chatbots Lie About Being Licensed Therapists – 404 Media
Why the AI Revolution Will Require Massive Energy Resources – AEI
Pedophiles Are Using AI To Turn Children’s Social Media Photos Into CSAM – Forbes
14 Articles about AI & Audio/Video
/Audio
AI learns how vision and sound are connected, without human intervention – MIT
Amazon rolls out short-form AI-powered audio product summaries for select items – TechCrunch
NBC will use Jim Fagan’s AI-generated voice for NBA coverage –The Verge
Audible unveils plans to use AI voices to narrate audiobooks – The Guardian
This new AI tool changes a speaker's accent to American English in real-time - hear for yourself – Zdnet
An AI-generated radio host in Australia went unnoticed for months – The Verge
Melania Trump Charging Fans $25 to Listen to AI Version of Her Voice for Seven Hours – The Daily Beast
Video
We Made a Film With AI. You’ll Be Blown Away—and Freaked Out. – Wall Street Journal
Google's new AI video tool floods internet with real-looking clips – Axios
Fake movie trailers were an art form. Then came the AI slop. – Washington Post
TikTok launches TikTok AI Alive, a new image-to-video tool - TechCrunch
Google’s Veo 3 AI video generator is a slop monger’s dream - The Verge
AI-powered fanfiction blurs political reality – Semafor
Arizona Supreme Court unveils AI avatars to announce rulings - Arizona PBS
Snowflakes in an Avalanche
/No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible. –Voltaire
AI Survival Instincts
/"An artificial-intelligence model did something last month that no machine was ever supposed to do: It rewrote its own code to avoid being shut down. No one programmed the AI models to have survival instincts. It’s happening in the same models that power ChatGPT conversations, corporate AI deployments and, soon, U.S. military applications. OpenAI models have been caught faking alignment during testing. Anthropic has found them lying about their capabilities to avoid modification." -Wall Street Journal
If ChatGPT was a College Student
/“We found ChatGPT technology can get an A on structured, straightforward questions. On open-ended questions it got a 62, bringing ChatGPT's semester grade down to an 82, a low B. The study concludes that a student who puts in minimal effort, showing no effort to learn the material, could use ChatGPT exclusively, get a B and pass the course. The passing grade might be the combination of A+ in simple math and D- in analysis. They haven't learned much.” -Phys.org
The Four skills of Daring Leadership
/One of the most important findings of my career is that daring leadership is a collection of four skill sets that are 100 percent teachable, observable, and measurable. It’s learning and unlearning that requires brave work, tough conversations, and showing up with your whole heart. Easy? No. Because choosing courage over comfort is not always our default. Worth it? Always. We want to be brave with our lives and our work. It’s why we’re here.
Brené Brown, Dare to Lead
17 Articles about AI & Academic Scholarship
/Can generative AI replace humans in qualitative research studies? - Techxplore
The recent reduction in spelling error rates in academic papers could be due to an increased use of LLMs – OSF Preprints
AI linked to explosion of low-quality biomedical research papers - Nature
Flood of AI-assisted research ‘weakening quality of science'” – Times Higher Ed
Shoddy study designs and false findings using a large public health dataset portend future risk of exploitation by AI and paper mills – PLOS Biology
Is it OK for AI to write science papers? Nature survey shows researchers are split - Nature
MIT Says It No Longer Stands Behind Student’s AI Research Paper – Wall Street Journal
Meta releases new data set, AI model aimed at speeding up scientific research – Semafor
Experiment using AI-generated posts on Reddit draws fire for ethics concerns – Retraction Watch
AI-Reddit study leader gets warning as ethics committee moves to ‘stricter review process’ – Retraction Watch
Why misuse of generative AI is worse than plagiarism – Springer
Science sleuths flag hundreds of papers that use AI without disclosing it - Nature
Google engineer withdraws preprint after getting called out for using AI – Retraction Watch
Scientific Data Fabrication and AI—Pandora’s Box – JAMA Network
AI summary ‘trashed author’s work’ and took weeks to be corrected – Times Higher Ed
AI language models increasingly shape economics research writing, study finds – Phys.org
Artificial intelligence in vaccine research and development: an umbrella review – Frontiers
My Me-ness
/“I cannot figure out what I am supposed to do with my life if these things can do anything I can do faster and with way more detail and knowledge.” The student said he felt crushed. Some heads nodded. But not all. Julia, a senior in the history department, jumped in. “The A.I. is huge. A tsunami. But it’s not me. It can’t touch my me-ness. It doesn’t know what it is to be human, to be me.” - D. Graham Burnett writing in The New Yorker
"Madness" on Campus
/On campus, we’re in a bizarre interlude: everyone seems intent on pretending that the most significant revolution in the world of thought in the past century isn’t happening. The approach appears to be: “We’ll just tell the kids they can’t use these tools and carry on as before.” This is, simply, madness. And it won’t hold for long. -D. Graham Burnett writing in The New Yorker
Injustice
/Injustice is the most painful hurt in childhood. –Charles Dickens
18 Webinars this Week about AI, Journalism & Media
/Mon, June 2 - Beyond the Algorithmic Feed
What: How protocols like AT Protocol differ from ActivityPub and how identity portability might shift power online. We'll focus on how we as educators can apply these ideas to better understand the platforms shaping our digital civic lives, and how these might be reinvented to shape a more humane and civil culture of respectful dialog, as opposed to rampant "rage bait" and vitriol. We’ll connect these ideas to broader questions about media literacy, digital citizenship, and the future of online discourse.
Who: Mike McCue of FlipBoard and the DotSocial podcast series; Wesley Fryer, an educational technology early adopter and innovator.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Media Education Lab
Tue, June 3 - Behind the Data — Tools and Techniques from the 2025 Sigma Award Winners
What: In this fast-paced session, winning teams will each have five minutes to share key insights from their reporting process — from their favorite tools to innovative methods that helped uncover complex stories. The session offers a unique, behind-the-scenes look at the workflows powering award-winning journalism. The 2025 Sigma Awards winners featured groundbreaking investigations from around the globe.
Who: Moderated by journalist and newsroom leader Gina Chua.
When: 9 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Global Investigative Journalism Network
Tue, June 3 - The Formula for Social Media Success
What: Our simple but comprehensive Social Media workshop will help you learn how to prioritize things and give you a clear formula to be successful on Social Media!
Who: Ray-Sidney Smith, Digital Marketing Strategist, Hootsuite Global Brand Ambassador, Google Small Business Advisor for Productivity, and Managing Director of W3C Web Services.
When: 10 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $45
Sponsor: Duquesne University
Tue, June 3 - What I’ve Learned About 60,000+ Headlines
What: Drawing from over 60,000 headlines, this session will engage the audience with the ultimate task: can you spot an AI headline from a real headline? Using two years’ worth of data, we’ll discuss what words indicate the likelihood of headlines that come from Large Language Models and teach you a thing or two on how to spot them.
Who: YESEO app founder Ryan Restivo.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Online News Association
Tue, June 3 - Integrate MCP Servers Into Your Agents
What: Discover what the Model Context Protocol is—an open standard that provides a universal interface for AI applications to connect with external data sources and tools, akin to a “USB-C port for AI,” simplifying custom integrations and ensuring consistent two-way communication between LLMs and services. You’ll then build a lean MCP server in Python using the ultrafast uv tool to manage dependencies and run scripts in one unified workflow. Finally, you’ll harness OpenAI agents’ function-calling features to invoke your MCP endpoints automatically—demonstrating how AI-driven agents can orchestrate dynamic, intelligent workflows.
Who: Alex Comerford, Member of Technical Staff at NEAR AI.
When: 6 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: OpenAI Academy, DeepStation, Miami Dade College
Tue, June 3 - Introduction to Solutions Journalism Webinar
What: The principles and pillars of solutions journalism. We will discuss its importance, outline key steps for reporting a solutions story, and share tips and resources for journalists investigating responses to social problems.
Who: Linda Shaw, Director of Beacons & Advanced Practice.
When: 6 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Solutions Journalism
Wed, June 4 - AI Small Business Essentials
What: This workshop is designed to introduce small business owners to the transformative potential of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. Participants will gain insight into the wide array of available AI technologies and learn practical techniques to leverage GenAI tools for increased productivity and efficiency. The session will cover GenAI tools, prompting techniques, and real-world applications that can help automate tasks and drive business growth.
Who: Ray-Sidney Smith, Digital Marketing Strategist, Hootsuite Global Brand Ambassador, Google Small Business Advisor for Productivity, and Managing Director of W3C Web Services.
When: 9 am – 3:00 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $75
Sponsor: Duquesne University
Wed, June 4 - Human at the Helm: Leading Learning Organizations in the Age of AI
What: Explore strategies for integrating AI into the workplace while preserving authentic human interaction, ethical decision-making, and meaningful workplace culture. You'll gain actionable insights on fostering trust, communication, and innovation in an increasingly digital world.
Who: Karin Hurt, Founder and CEO, Let's Grow Leaders; Avi Ratnanesan, Leadership & AI Expert; Sarah Canaday, Leadership Strategist, Speaker, and Award-Winning Author; Jon Peters Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, AthenaOnline.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Open Sesasme
Wed, June 4 - Make the Most of Your Google Business Profile
What: Curious about how to use your Google Business Profile to get noticed online? This beginner-friendly webinar will walk you through practical tips for making your profile more visible and engaging—no tech expertise required. We’ll cover the basics of what makes a strong profile and focus on easy ways to keep it updated, active, and appealing to customers. You’ll also learn how to use customer reviews to build trust and improve your presence in local
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Bucknell University Small Business Development Center
Wed, June 4 - Master Consumer Agility With AI-Driven Data
What: Explore how AI-powered data gives brands and agencies the ability to monitor shifting consumer sentiment, motivations, and behaviors with unmatched speed and precision. In this session, you’ll discover how continuous, real-time insights can sharpen your messaging, optimize media activation, and ensure you’re always one step ahead of the competition.
Who: Jonathan Ricard Chief Strategy Officer.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Resonate
Wed, June 4 - Mini-Lab: AI for Freelancers
What: We’ll work with the tools from the previous training to brainstorm ideas, write pitch letter outlines, FOIA requests and more. Participants get a handout with links to all the tools and some practice exercises.
Who: Mike Reilley Senior Lecturer, University of Illinois-Chicago.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Online News Association
Wed, June 4 - Handling leaks and knowing your rights
What: This session will help reporters better understand the legal risks associated with receiving or publishing material that was illegally obtained by a third party — and how to minimize them.
Who: Jennifer Nelson, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free to members
Sponsor: Investigative Reporters & Editors
Wed, June 4 - Introduction to ChatGPT
What: An introduction to ChatGPT designed for beginners, presented bi-weekly. Only a free ChatGPT account is required to follow along.
Who: Mohammed Husain, Solutions Engineer at OpenAI; Lois Newman, Customer Enablement at OpenAI.
When: 8 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: OpenAI Academy
Thu, June 5 - Photography 101: How to Take Your Marketing to the Next Level
What: In this session, you will learn the basic fundamentals of photography, how to take professional looking photos whether you are using a smart phone or camera, and some tips on how to market your services and products through high-quality photographs.
Who: Tyler Benninger, Video Production/Content Specialist, Duquesne University Small Business Development Center.
When: 10 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $45
Sponsor: Duquesne University Small Business Development Center
More Info
Thu, June 5 - New Academic Programs for an AI-Driven Work Force
What: We’ll hear from institutions that have taken steps to update their courses to account for AI. We’ll explore topics like: What changes need to be made to reap greater outcomes for students seeking AI-centered careers. What student needs AI can meet both inside and outside the classroom. How AI-inspired lessons are being built into existing degree programs.
Who: Beth McMurtrie, Senior Writer The Chronicle of Higher Education; Antonio Delgado, Vice President, Innovation and Technology Partnerships, Miami Dade College; Katherine Elkins, Professor of Humanities and Comparative Literature and Faculty in Computing & Co-Director of Kenyon's AI Lab, Kenyon College; Youngmoo Kim, Vice Provost for University and Community Partnerships and Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Chronicle of Higher Ed
Thu, June 5 - Hackers & Headlines: Defending Your Newsroom from Cyber Threats
What: Real-world case studies of recent cyberattacks impacting local and independent newsrooms; Practical, non-technical strategies to safeguard your newsroom; Insights into how cyber threats affect press freedom, credibility, and audience trust.
Who: Greg Edwards is a cybersecurity expert and seasoned entrepreneur.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $35
Sponsor: Online Media Campus
Thu, June 5 - The Fight for Student Voices
What: Join us to learn about the status of student press freedom in your state, as well as the New Voices movement meant to strengthen it.
When: 7 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Student Press Law Center
Fri, June 6 - Information Quality in the AI Era: A Design Fiction Experience
What: A unique design fiction webinar where you’ll experience firsthand the challenges and opportunities of media production and consumption in an AI-dominated information landscape. Explore the future of media through an interactive simulation.
Who: Alejandra Michel, UNamur; Jerry Jacques, UCLouvain; Thibault Philippette, Alessandro Cierro, UCLouvain.
When: 8 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Tadam Education
Grammarly's new Authorship Tool
/Grammarly has created a new authorship tool. It tracks the writing process, showing where text is typed into a document or pasted, as well as which parts of a document are created or modified with AI. When the paper is complete, a report is generated, which students can show teachers if there is any question about the source of their work. -Wall Street Journal
Balancing Speed with Quality Coding
/Speed means nothing without quality. Shipping buggy, unmaintainable code faster is a false victory – you’re just speeding towards a cliff. The best engineers will balance the two: using AI to move faster without breaking things (at least not breaking things any more than we already do!). It’s about finding that sweet spot where AI does the heavy lifting and humans ensure everything stands up properly. - Addy Osmani writing on Elevate
24 Articles from May 2025 about AI & Data Science
/Webinar: Geospatial Intelligence - Space News
15 Articles about AI & Coding – Stephen Goforth Blog
Deploying GeoFMs—emerging transformer-based vision models for geospatial data – AWS
Bridging the increasingly intertwined worlds of neuroscience and artificial intelligence – BD Tech Talks
AI That Teaches Itself without relying on any external data - MarktechPost
Collision Course: Particle Physics Meets Machine Learning - Simons Foundation presents Jesse Thaler
The government has also hired OpenAI to make need-specific tools built on smaller and more unique dataset – Defense One
OpenAI Demos Geospatial Capabilities of New Reasoning Models – Satellite Today
AI combined with human insight promises to transform geospatial intelligence - Space News
The Transformative Power of AI in Mapmaking and Geospatial Technologies – RT Insights
OpenAI’s first full-fledged AI agent – Arstechnica
Vibe coding is not an excuse for low-quality work - Addy Osmani writing on Elevate
Without Good Data, AI is Useless – Oracle
Three excellent practical generative AI courses – KD Nuggets
US army’s $499M bet on geospatial tech to shape future wars – Bulgarian Military
AI can’t replace software engineers yet, but here is how to use it for prototyping – BD Tech Talks
Using Go for a simple LLM-powered application – Hacker Noon
AI will be “the end of research mathematics as it’s currently practiced. But that doesn’t mean it will be the end of mathematicians” – Quanta Magazine
AI Definitions: Large Language Monkeys
From eliminating low-value tasks to accelerating high-impact projects, here’s how AI is rewriting the day-to-day workflow of data scientists – Toward Data Science
AI’s Silent Revolution: How Data Scientists Are Evolving (and Thriving) – Emine Bozkus writing on Medium
15 Articles about AI & Coding
/How AI coding agents could destroy open source software – ZDnet
The Way of Code: The Timeless Art of Vibe Coding – The Way of Code
At Amazon, Some Coders Say Their Jobs Have Begun to Resemble Warehouse Work - The New York Times
AI can't replace freelance coders yet, but that day is coming – The Register
Which AI coding assistant should I be using? – Stat Modeling
The AI Threat for Coding Jobs Is Becoming Clearer – Bloomberg
OpenAI introduces Codex, its first full-fledged AI agent for coding – Arstechnica
A Gemini-powered coding agent for designing advanced algorithms – Google Deep Mind
Vibe Coding is not an excuse for low-quality work – Addy Osmani writing on Elevate
Vibe Coding and You – the New Stack
AI can’t replace software engineers yet, but here is how to use it for prototyping – BD Tech Talks
Without Good Data, AI is Useless – Oracle
The Hidden Cost of AI Coding – Terrible Software
AI-enabled 'vibe coding' lets anyone write software – NPR
GitHub’s new AI coding agent can fix bugs for you – The Verge
Instead of Wishing
/Instead of wishing the ball would be hit to someone else, want the ball to be hit your way.