WN #6

Chatbot Wars: Part 2

I normally save tech features and updates for the “Bulletin Board” section of the newsletter, but the past few days have seen such massive updates in the AI space that they are worth mentioning here. With the looming release of Google’s multimodal AI model, Gemini, competitors are rushing to upgrade their own products. Just a few weeks ago I wrote about the “Chatbot Wars” taking place between various AI companies, yet it seems we are already moving on to “Chatbot Wars: Part 2”. Let’s lay out the updates (be sure to check out the demos!), then we can dive into what it all means for educators.

• OpenAI has given ChatGPT the ability to see, hear, and speak, create images, and browse the internet (no more 2021 knowledge cutoff). If you want to use these features, you’ll need to be signed up for ChatGPT Plus (GPT-4), though internet browsing is expected to be rolled out to all users soon. If you want to try the image creation feature for free, you can access GPT-4 through Bing Chat creative mode. Quick Demos (60-90 seconds each): See, Hear & Speak, Create Images, Browse Internet 

• Even with Google’s upcoming release of Gemini, their existing AI chatbot, Bard, got some pretty major updates as well. Bard can now connect to Google apps and services like Drive, Docs, Gmail, YouTube, Maps, Flights, etc., allowing you to pull data from any of these sources into your chat (not available in workspace accounts yet). Quick Demo: Bard Updates

• Microsoft is releasing its omnipresent Copilot AI assistant for Windows 11 which incorporates a slew of AI features for users, with additional integration into Microsoft 365 (Word, PowerPoint, etc.) slated for November. Quick Demo: Microsoft Copilot

• Meta has introduced its own AI chatbot, Meta AI, with various features to be incorporated across its apps (WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger). More on this in the “Bulletin Board” section below.

• Amazon is giving Alexa a generative AI upgrade, bringing genAI into your living room (literally).

Implications for Educators

If it wasn’t already clear, sticking with “the way you’ve done things in the past” is no longer an option. As educators, we must adapt to the realities of this new technology and understand that AI integration into all aspects of our lives has already started, and will continue to grow. The use cases for these tools are immense, and they are not going back in the bag. Our students (and ourselves) will be consumers of this technology whether we like it or not, so it’s on us to help them become informed consumers and harness the power of AI for good.

As the industry continues its rapid evolution, foundational AI skills and knowledge are imperative. The best way to learn is to explore and play around with different types of AI tools. All of these new features and updates, while seemingly overwhelming at first, are just iterations of the same basic AI principles. The more you play and explore, the more they will all start to fit together and make more sense. Try not to get hooked on one tool because it works for you now. That tool may quickly become obsolete, and you’ll find it more difficult to pivot later. Knowledge and flexibility will be key. Reading this newsletter weekly is a good place to start!

What do Students and Parents Think?

As we carry on with endless debates and narratives about AI’s impact on education, hearing from teachers, administrators, academics, and thought leaders, sometimes we forget to check-in on other key stakeholders. How do students and parents feel about all of this? One high school senior shares her opinion on the immense value in the shift to AI, and wonders why we aren’t moving faster to embrace it. Parents seem to agree.

Opportunity for All?

AI has the power to be a democratizing force in education. Costly private tutors and services for everything from test prep to college application assistance have, up until now, been reserved for students from higher economic brackets. AI can change all of that, so long as we prioritize accessibility and equity.

Preparing Students for the Future of Work

The emergence of generative AI has a lot of people re-thinking our education system. Author Ryan Craig is one of them, seeing a great opportunity for alignment between schools and employers to offer work-integrated learning, internships, and apprenticeships, helping prepare students for AI-enhanced employment.

📌 Transcripts for Podcasts

As a history teacher, I love a good podcast, but incorporating podcast content into a classroom can be difficult. I often find myself re-listening to podcasts in search of a specific quote or section I remember that would work great transcribed onto a slide or into an assignment. Now Spotify is using AI to generate transcripts and chapters for millions of podcasts, making it much easier to find the content you are looking for. This comes on the heels of their announced plan to clone podcasters’ voices and translate them to other languages.

📌 3D AI-Generated Worlds for Thinglink

Thinglink is a great edtech tool that has been around for years, allowing teachers to create interactive images and videos by embedding media within media. Now Thinglink has partnered with Skybox Labs to provide the option to generate your own 3D immersive world (using a simple text prompt) into which you can embed websites, videos, images, maps, quizzes, etc.

📌 Meta Leans into Chatbot Characters

In addition to its new AI chatbot, Meta is releasing chatbot characters with distinct personalities, some based on celebrities, across its apps (quick demo). This follows the massive growth of character.ai, a character-based AI app that attracts mostly younger users. There are certainly use cases for character-based AI in the classroom, but it’s also helpful to know that these are the types of AI tools that many of our students will be interacting with outside of school.

Fun with Creative Constraints

Have ChatGPT or another AI tool generate sets of random words for students to build a story around. Let them choose which set they want to work with, then let them write!

You can also extend this from a creative writing lesson to a lesson on AI: Pick a student’s story, then have AI generate its own story based on that same set of words. Read the stories out loud and have students try to guess which is which, discussing the distinction between human & AI.

Finding Local Angles

Bringing local angles to your lessons has never been easier! Give ChatGPT or another AI tool some context like:

• Fantasy football season is upon us. AI is here to trash-talk your friends.

• Create cool AI illusion art with free tools like Fusion Art and Illusion Diffusion, or in video form with Pika Labs.

• The Hollywood writers’ strike is finally over, with some new rules governing the use of AI in the industry.

• AI is helping seismologists predict earthquake aftershocks.

That’s all for this week! If you appreciate the content in this newsletter, consider subscribing for free, or sharing with people in your network who may find value in it.