Knowledge only takes you so far

My guess is that our creativity and leaps of insight come not from what we know — knowledge — but from how we know it. Unlike current LLMs, our brains are capable of continuous learning. Right now, the smartness of LLMs is based primarily on their encyclopedic knowledge — on extracting the intelligence humans have structured into our encyclopedias, books, and everything we write. That will probably not be enough to go all the way to the kind of creativity and insight human brains can produce. That variety of intelligence will likely require algorithms for continuous learning, or a different design than neural nets alone. -Kevin Kelly

Your Pain

Finding a different way to interact with your pain is hard. People have the most difficulty embracing the paradox of acceptance. Our instinct is to run as far away from our pain as possible, to be as safe as we can be. Making a decision to step into it rather than trying to get rid of it can be excruciatingly difficult. Feeling the intensity of those difficult, painful emotions and sensations can feel very dark and very lonely. I see it in all forms of suffering. The depression that never seems to lift, the drink that has to be drunk, the highway we cannot drive on, the hands that must be washed over and over and over. The reality is that most people are willing to embrace acceptance only when they have run out of options – when what they have been doing, often for years, simply doesn’t work anymore. This is a dark place that feels like there is no light to guide you out. It can be devastating. 

To be able to connect and embrace a lifetime’s worth of suffering in service of a valued end, that – in its very essence – is acceptance. 

Joseph Trunzo writing in Aeon 

Already Dead

Some people have already died. They just haven’t bothered to set the funeral date. -John Maxwell

Default Mode

Our brains never get into what scientists call “default mode.” That default mode allows your mind to wander, which is good for solving problems, exploring creativity and ultimately finding meaning. The reason people would rather pick up their phone than enter default mode is that it can be uncomfortable in the moment. -Arthur Brooks quoted in the Washington Post

18 Webinars this week about AI, Journalism & Media

Mon, July 27 - How to Spread Solutions Journalism on Social Media, Part 1 

What: Creating compelling social-first content that expands the reach and impact of your solutions reporting.

Who: Rahim Jessani, a creator journalist and founder of Bottom Up Media, an independent journalism organization that produces, incubates, and consults on creator journalism for the next generation of audiences.

When: 11 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: Solutions Journalism

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Tue, July 28 - The Rise of South Africa's Indie Info Providers

What: Recent surveys suggest that about one in four South Africans now get news from individuals rather than organisations. In the face of shrinking newsrooms, how are independent content and information providers reshaping the face of South African media? Join us for a look at a new report from the Center for News, Technology & Innovation (CNTI), all about South Africa's independent information providers.

Who: Pheladi Sethusa; Wits Centre for Journalism; Jay Barchas-Lichtenstein & Emily Wright from CNTI; Chris Roper from Code for Africa.

When: 8 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: Wits Centre for Journalism

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Tue, July 28 - How collaboratives can provide journalists safety

What: An overview of the current status quo and shows how news collaboratives join forces to draw and execute a solid safety plan that addresses their particular needs.

Who: Liza Gross is a journalist and media leader with over three decades of experience working in executive positions at news organizations and non profits.

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: eventbrite

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: Collaborative Journalism Resource Hub, which is housed at the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University

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Tue, July 28 - Creating high-quality presentations

What: We will walk through how to shape the narrative, ground the work in relevant context, define slide constraints, create a deck plan, draft speaker notes, and ask for a review trail before sharing. You will also learn where human review matters most, including source accuracy, layout, tone, assumptions, and approvals.  You will leave with a reusable presentation workflow that includes a deck plan, source list, speaker note pattern, and review checklist.

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: OpenAI Academy

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Tue, July 28 - Introduction to AI Strategy Development (Strategic Planning + Technology Assistance)

What: Understanding how your team interacts with AI and tech is extremely important. To do strategic planning correctly, we must now include how AI will assist us in completing our work. There are too few resources and too high a need to get this wrong.

Who: Tina Crouse who works in AI Ethics and Strategy. She is a Responsible AI practitioner and has been delivering webinars and in-person presentations on AI since 2022. She is the author of several articles about AI and Nonprofits

When: 3 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: TechSoup

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Wed, July 29 -  Codex bootcamp 101: Agentic coding

What:  Learn how to use Codex for practical agentic coding workflows. We’ll cover how to scope tasks, provide effective context, steer work as it progresses, and review changes before they’re applied.

Who: Allie Lei AI Deployment Manager, OpenAI; Sean Lubbers Technical Success, OpenAI; Javin Pombra AI Deployment Manager, OpenAI; Alexandra Nanu AI Deployment Manager, OpenAI.

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: OpenAI Academy

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Wed, July 29 - Historical Headlines: Unearthing Stories in Digital News Archives

What: Uncover the lasting value of digital historical newspapers for genealogy, local history, classroom projects, community research, and more. Learn how these rich primary sources can help patrons make meaningful discoveries.

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: Newsbank

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Wed, July 29 - Responsible use and AI ethics in legal aid

What: This panel will focus on themes of responsible AI use and AI ethics in legal aid settings. The discussion will explore practical considerations for organizations adopting AI tools, including confidentiality, accuracy, human review, equity, client trust, and appropriate use.

Who: Gloria Lee, Chief Legal Officer, Everlaw; Bridget McCormack, President & CEO, American Arbitration Association; former Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court Angela Tripp, Program Officer for Technology, Legal Services Corporation Rich Leimsider, Director, AI for Nonprofits Sprint.

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: OpenAI Academy

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Wed, July 29 - AI-Powered Customer Intelligence with Adobe CX Analytics

What: In this webinar, you'll see how leading organizations are using Adobe CX Analytics to cut through complexity and build a clearer, more connected view of their customers. 

Who: Max Cohen, Sr. Marketing Analyst, Major League Baseball; Josh Smiley, Sr. Product Marketing Manager, Adobe.

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: Association of National Advertisers

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Wed, July 29 - Storytelling for Impact

What: Join us as we go through tips, techniques and tools to help the modern marketer tell better and more impactful stories to activate their audiences around ideas and actions.

Who: Kiersten Hill, Director of Nonprofit Solutions.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: Firespring

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Wed, July 29 - The Stories We Tell: The Politics of Stigma and the Language of Immigration Reporting

What: We’ll take a closer look at one aspect of that history and explore how a social justice initiative launched 21 years ago has shaped the language we use and the stories we tell about immigration today. We’ll excavate the recent history of the terms we use when talking about immigrants, explain how they’ve become politically weaponized, and discuss what’s at stake for the health and well-being of immigrant families and communities.

Who: Rinku Sen is a writer and social justice strategist, and the executive director of the Narrative Initiative.

When: 2:30 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsors:  USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism & the Narrative Initiative.

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Thu, July 30 - Reuters Digital News Report 2026

What: A presentation of key findings in this year’s research that reflect the biggest and latest trends in North America.

Who: Jim Egan, Senior Research Associate,

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: Reuters

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Thu, July 30 - Automating workflows

What: We will map the workflow from start to finish: what triggers the work, what context is needed, which tools or source materials matter, who owns each step, where approvals happen, and what a good output looks like. Then we will turn that map into a reusable workflow brief you can use to guide ChatGPT, Codex, a skill, or a workspace agent depending on what is available in your workspace.  You will leave with a practical workflow brief and a checklist for deciding what should be automated, reviewed, or kept human-led.

Who: Juliann Igo GTM, OpenAI

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: OpenAI Academy

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Thu, July 30 - Industry Attitudes and Usage of AI: Year 3 Survey Review

What: The ANA's Year 3 AI Member Survey is back with fresh data on how the industry is adopting, investing in, and integrating artificial intelligence. Join us as we break down the latest findings and explore how organizations at different stages of AI adoption have evolved over the past year. We'll dive into investment trends, organizational strategies, and governance approaches. If you want to know where your organization stands and what it takes to move forward, this is the conversation to join. 

Who: Stacey Lynn Schulman, Founder & Chief Executive at Human Insight.

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: Association of National Advertisers

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Thu, July 30 - Automating workflows

What: We will map the workflow from start to finish: what triggers the work, what context is needed, which tools or source materials matter, who owns each step, where approvals happen, and what a good output looks like. Then we will turn that map into a reusable workflow brief you can use to guide ChatGPT, Codex, a skill, or a workspace agent depending on what is available in your workspace.

Who: Juliann Igo GTM, OpenAI.

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: OpenAI Academy

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Thu, July 30 - From SEO to AEO and beyond: Building resilient newsrooms in the AI era

What: Diversifying traffic and deepening audience relationships are key to building resilience in the AI era. With AI answers on the rise and search traffic declining, news organizations can’t simply replace SEO with AEO. Instead, publishers need to strengthen their foundations by diversifying traffic and revenue sources while building deeper connections with their audiences. In this session, we will share strategies that every news publisher should be investing in now--whether you’re all in or all out on AI, or still exploring your approach.

Who: Laura E. Davis, Indiegraf's entrepreneur in residence.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: Indiegraf

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Thu, July 30 - Get started with ChatGPT Work

What: We’ll show you how Chat and Work complement each other. You’ll see Work tackle two projects from start to finish: building an offsite planning workbook from scattered materials and creating a leadership presentation from business data and team updates.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: OpenAI Academy

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Fri, July 31 - Meet Fernanda Santos

What: IRE's Investigative Editors and Managers of Color Community is holding free ongoing webinars aimed at helping professionals connect.

Who: Fernanda Santos is an editorial director at The 19th.

When: 12 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free                                                   

Sponsor: IRE

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People & Places

A sign that someone is growing is that they expose themselves to people and places that are better than they are, different than they are, and more successful than they are. -John Maxwell

Why Not?

Some men see things as they are and say, "Why?" I dream of things that never were and say, "Why not?" -George Bernard Shaw, born July 26, 1856

Smart is

Smart is not something that you just are, smart is something that you can get. -Jeff Howard

Some problems

Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them.

24 Articles about AI & Writing

The Most Famous AI Writing Tic Is Also the Most Mysterious – The Atlantic

AI Writing Strips Mystery and Complexity From Stories – Neuroscience News

‘Humanizer’ tool can erase signs of AI-written text — alarming scientists – Nature

Pastors Using AI to Help Write Sermons Grapple With Where to Draw the Line – Wall Street Journal

Pentagon boasts of using AI to write reports mandated by Congress – Ars Technica

Student Cheating Is Becoming Impossible to Detect in an A.I. Era – New York Times

A Meta-Epistemological Reason for Rejecting AI-Written Philosophy – Daily Nous

What AI’s Style Tells Us About It – The Atlantic

AI can write SEO content, but it can’t replace real experience – Search Engine Land

Could a Machine Write This Column? – The Free Press

What 370,000 College Essays Tell Us About A.I.’s Effects on Creativity - New York Times

How AI is changing language – The Guardian

The Biggest Tell That Something Was Written by AI - The Atlantic

When AI Does the Writing, Who's the Author? – Psychology Today

Best practices for GEO: Strategies for AI search visibility – MuckRack

How To Make Sure Human Writing Stands Out In The AI Era - Forbes

How AI citations have changed in the last 6 months: New insights from ‘What is AI Reading?’ - MuckRack

Can A.I. Produce Writing That We Actually Want to Read? – New Yorker

We Asked the Future of Truth Author to Explain How He Used AI. It Didn’t Go Well – Wired

AI fiction is the new fast food – Washington Post

AI Changes Its Feedback on Students’ Writing When It Knows Their Race, Gender – EdWeek

Someone Used A.I. to Write an Unauthorized Biography of Me. I Don’t Recommend Reading It.- New York Times

Writing with and without AI  - The Berkshire Edge

Study finds nearly half of all LinkedIn long posts are AI-generated, and that's only the start – Tech Radar

Shrink it

Shrink the change. Break it down so it's not so scary.

Show up

Show up in your life everyday.

15 Articles about AI & the Creative Arts

What AI Will Do to Art – The Atlantic  

1,273 designers tell all: Their rates, real pay, and how they really feel about AI – Fast Company

Taste cannot be delegated The death of design by committee in the age of AI – UX Design

A.I. Chatbot Helps a $100 Thrift Store Painting Sell for Over $250,000 – New York Times

The Four Design Jobs AI Created (So Far) – NN Group

The 80/20 problem: Will AI ever create great art? – Technical.ly

How AI Will Make Art Worse – TIME

A look inside Dataland in Los Angeles, dedicated entirely to A.I.-generated art - New York Times

I Work in Hollywood. Everyone Who Used to Make TV Is Now Secretly Training AI. – Substack

The state of generative AI in the creator economy – Digiday

Landmark New Report Warns That A Flawed AI Content Market is Accelerating ‘Content Cannibalization’ – Open Market Institute

Aesthetics of AI - AColorBright

Craft is Untouchable: AI doesn't threaten craft—the temptation to skip iteration does – A Color Bright

Take my job, AI! - Jeff Zych

AI Art Is Human Art An interview with a cognitive scientist about creativity and pleasure – Nautilus

18 Articles about the Business of Running an AI Company

Google Is Building an A.I. Fence Around the Internet It Once Championed – New York Times

These AI-Native Companies Have Tiny Staffs and Fewer Bosses - Wall Street Journal

The hottest AI models in Silicon Valley face a powerful source of competition – Washington Post

A.I. Is Running on Borrowed Money - New York Times

Alibaba’s A.I. Is a Hit, but Hard to Turn Into a Moneymaker – New York Times

New York bans data center construction for a year, rattling AI industry – Arstechnica

China’s Moonshot AI Releases Model to Challenge Top U.S. Systems - Wall Street Journal

New York becomes first state to impose one-year pause on new AI datacenters – The Guardian

Start-ups are paying white-collar professionals to teach their jobs to artificial intelligence models – New York Times

Apple Sues OpenAI, Accusing It of Stealing Company Secrets – New York Times

What AI companies want for the millions they’re spending on elections – CNBC

Distillation Challenges AI Giants, Threatens Profit Margins - Business Insider

American A.I. Companies complain that competitors in China are unfairly copying their A.I. systems using a technique that has been around for years. – New York Times

Databricks Releases General AI Agents for Businesses – Wall Street Journal

Today's AI buildout resembles earlier technological revolutions and capital booms that ended in painful busts – Axios

Silicon Valley backed Trump to kill AI regulation, now the industry is begging for rules – The Next Web

The semiconductor industry that has become a major choke point in the global contest for artificial intelligence leadership – New York Times

Chinese Supercomputer Overtakes U.S. as World’s Fastest – Wall Street Journal

The Constant is Change

We cling to our identity, our relationships, and our ideologies as if they are fixed forever. We make ridged life plans and feel guilty when they break. We hold grudges against people who no longer exist, and we feel betrayed when someone else changes. But if everything is flex, then change isn’t a failure, it’s natural. Change and transformation are normal. You, me, and everyone will move on. We will all become someone new. So, stop trying to freeze the river. Stop demanding that things stay the same because everything and everyone will change. -Jonny Thomson

What is distinctively human about writing

What is distinctively human about writing: Moments in the narrative that are unexpected, seem imperfect, incomplete or controversial. From those moments, stories truly unfold. The flaw, the uncomfortable, the anomaly are markers of originality, authenticity and sources of growth. -Andrea Larson, Duke University

AI Definitions: The Illusion of Competence

The Illusion of Competence – This cognitive bias takes place when individuals mistakenly believe they have mastered a subject or skill when they have not. Studies have shown that AI users can develop this overconfidence when they outsource their thinking to generative AI, avoiding the deep mental engagement and friction required for learning and aptitude. Delegating the heavy lifting to AI is sometimes referred to as “cognitive offloading.”

More AI Definitions

21 Recent Articles about AI & Academic Scholarship

AI reviewers make it easier to get research published. US study calls it paper-laundering – The Print

Doctored data sets could trick AI agents - Nature

Award-winning Korea studies scholar accused of using AI-fabricated citations – NK News

AI tools meant to vet science are surprisingly easy to fool – Science News

‘Humanizer’ tool can erase signs of AI-written text — alarming scientists – Nature

AI-assisted reviews will result in ordinary, uncontroversial research – The Times Higher Ed

AI Slop Is a Tenure Problem, Not Just a Tech Problem – Inside Higher Ed

In the AI era, the human struggle can no longer be the point of research - The Times Higher Ed

Artificial intelligence in scientific review and writing: What should we be doing? – Oxford Acamdemic

A large language model pipeline for automated citation quality scoring across engineering journal quartiles with expert validation – Nature

Research integrity in the age of AI (podcast) - The Lancet

French research thrown into turmoil by a multifaceted crisis that includes funding, publishing volume, and AI – Le Monde  

University launches investigation into its faculty member's paper allegedly containing AI watermarks in graphics – Global Times

Scientists decry conference’s use of hidden prompts to snare AI peer reviews – The Transmitter

New AI Agents Pose ‘Existential Threat’ to How Grants Are Awarded – Inside Higher Ed

Publication fraud in the era of generative artificial intelligence – British Pharmacological Society

Anyone can fake a scientific image with AI, tricking even academic journals – and undermining trust in science – The Conversation

AI promised to democratise academic publishing – the evidence says otherwise – The London School of Economics

Journal investigating paper on cognitive impact of generative AI – Retraction Watch

Did AI write this article? Perish the thought. But we tracked how artificial intelligence is changing five creative fields – The Economist

Scientists want you to read their research papers—so they’re using gen AI to turn them into TikTok videos – Fast Company

A little spark of madness

You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it. -Robin Williams (born July 21, 1951)

22 Articles about Job Negotiation

5 Questions Veterans Should Ask When Negotiating a Starting Salary - Military.com

7 Ways To Win At Salary Negotiation In A Tough Job Market -Forbes

8 Reasons you should turn down that job offer - Salary.com

Ask For Too Much And You Might Lose The Offer: New Rules Of Salary Negotiation - Forbes

Don’t Accept A Job Offer Without Doing These 3 Things - Forbes

Don’t make this AI mistake in salary negotiations, says HR expert: ‘You still have to do your homework’ - CNBC

Don’t Waste Your Money: How to negotiate your salary/raise - ABC 27

The era of salary negotiation is ending - The Hill

Gen Z is using ChatGPT to practice salary negotiations and tough conversations before they happen – Fortune

How AI can help you negotiate better deals on rent, salary and more - FOX-10 News

How Salary Negotiations Uncover A Company’s True Priorities - Forbes

How to negotiate your salary to help with inflation - Fast Company

How to negotiate your salary: A 5 W's approach - ZDNet

How to Negotiate Your Salary When You Don't Have Any Work Experience - LifeHacker

How to use a new job offer to re-negotiate your current salary - Glassdoor Blog

I'm a salary negotiator. Here are 6 things I'd never do - Business Insider ($)

The million-dollar mistake: Women fall short when negotiating salaries - bizwomen

Not So Fast! Ask These 5 Questions Before Signing Any Job Offer In 2026 - Metro News

This simple phrase can get you up to 20% more in compensation, according to a negotiation coach - Business Insider

Tired of unpaid internships? Here's how to negotiate pay - MSNBC

Why employees don’t negotiate compensation, according to researchers - HR Dive

Why I Teach Negotiation Skills to Undergrads - Inside Higher Ed

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