In the 1980s classic The Karate Kid, Miyagi-sensei teaches Daniel-san martial arts through seemingly mundane tasks: waxing cars, painting fences, and sanding floors. To Daniel, these chores appear unrelated to his goal of becoming a karate champion. But as the story unfolds, he discovers that these repetitive actions have been building muscle memory and discipline—essential skills for mastering karate.

This collaboration with UPOU and the introduction of FASTLearn are pivotal in our journey towards a future where education is more dynamic, accessible, and aligned with the needs of modern learners. I am enthusiastic about the prospects this partnership holds and am committed to continuing this exciting journey of educational innovation.

When pondering the future of artificial intelligence (AI), one might be tempted to invoke the imagery of Skynet from the Terminator films, a cautionary tale of technology spiraling out of human control. While our current technological landscape hardly mirrors the cataclysmic events of those movies, the analogy serves a functional purpose, illustrating the imperative need for robust safety protocols as AI continues to integrate deeply into the fabric of society. The saga of California’s Senate Bill 1047 (SB 1047) underscores this need with stark clarity, capturing a moment in legislative and technological evolution where fiction increasingly informs reality.

Developers are increasingly seeking ways to establish direct relationships with their customers, pulling users out of tightly controlled app ecosystems. In contrast, Apple aims to maintain its position as the intermediary, a strategy that supports its business model but often hampers developers’ ability to innovate freely and maximize their revenue. While it is Apple’s right and fiduciary responsibility to protect its business interests, I contend that the balance is starting to show signs of wear within the developer community, particularly from my perspective as an educational technology developer. This tension could ultimately stifle creativity and hinder the progress of educational advancements if developers like myself find ourselves overly constrained by Apple’s ecosystem.

The World Immersive Learning Labs Symposium 2024 brought together leading figures in immersive technology, each offering unique perspectives on integrating advanced digital tools in education and other professional fields. Held in Tokyo, Japan, from March 25-27, this symposium served as a vital convergence point for discussing the innovative applications and ethical implications of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and artificial intelligence (AI) across various disciplines.

Navigating Big Tech’s AI Casino: Is the House Always Winning?
Picture stepping into a Las Vegas casino: you’re ushered in with ease, but finding your way out is another story. The absence of clocks ensures you lose track of time, and every amenity is designed to keep you playing. This is precisely how I see AI being woven into our digital lives by tech giants like Google and Microsoft. Like the casino’s one-way escalator, these companies use AI to tighten their grip, often shaking up built-up agreements with content creators, journalists, small businesses, and educators.

Google’s AI now directly extracts answers from web content, effectively bypassing traditional traffic and revenue models. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s latest Surface laptops feature an AI key, embedding users deeper into their ecosystem. This level of AI integration raises significant concerns about competition, innovation, and user autonomy. As I prepare to teach my upcoming coursework on GenAI, these are the pressing issues I’ll be discussing with my students. We’ll explore how these developments are reshaping the digital landscape and why it’s urgent to decouple AI from these dominant platforms.