In dusty factories, cramped internet cafes and makeshift home offices around the world, millions of people sit at computers tediously labelling data. These workers are the lifeblood of the burgeoning artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Without them, products such as ChatGPT simply would not exist. That’s because the data they label helps AI systems “learn”. But […] … learn more→
Monthly Archives: October 2024
AI is a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s underpinned by an invisible and exploited workforce
What is special consideration for exams? How does it work?
Many Year 12 students are preparing for final exams throughout October and November. What happens if something unexpected happens that makes final preparations or performance on the day more difficult? This is where special consideration or special provisions can help. How might you be eligible? Students who experience something unexpected during the exam period may […] … learn more→
How foreign operations are manipulating social media to influence your views
Foreign influence campaigns, or information operations, have been widespread in the run-up to the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Influence campaigns are large-scale efforts to shift public opinion, push false narratives or change behaviors among a target population. Russia, China, Iran, Israel and other nations have run these campaigns by exploiting social bots, influencers, media companies and generative AI. At the Indiana University Observatory on Social Media, my colleagues and […] … learn more→
Mobile phones in the classroom: weapons of mass distraction or useful tools?
Let’s imagine that before going to work we are asked to leave our mobile phone in a box and we are told that we can get it back when we leave. Let’s imagine that our boss tells us that if he or she catches us looking for a flight or checking WhatsApp during working hours, […] … learn more→
How ChatGPT Undermines Motivation to Write and Think for Oneself
Are students who use AI at risk of losing some valuable writing habits for their thinking and creativity? They are aware that the new tools can change their style and they sometimes feel dispossessed of their texts. Investigation in the United States and Europe. When OpenAI launched its new AI program, ChatGPT, in late 2022, education experts […] … learn more→
Understanding rising oceans: a game to educate young people about the environmental crisis
How can we show young people that the future is not fixed and that they have a role to play in it? This is the challenge taken up by PROTECT, a European research project, combined with an interactive digital game. In May 2024, the last glacier in Venezuela disappears . At the same time, in Panama, the first […] … learn more→
Some online conspiracy-spreaders don’t even believe the lies they’re spewing
There has been a lot of research on the types of people who believe conspiracy theories, and their reasons for doing so. But there’s a wrinkle: My colleagues and I have found that there are a number of people sharing conspiracies online who don’t believe their own content. They are opportunists. These people share conspiracy theories to […] … learn more→
AI has a stupid secret: we’re still not sure how to test for human levels of intelligence
Two of San Francisco’s leading players in artificial intelligence have challenged the public to come up with questions capable of testing the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) like Google Gemini and OpenAI’s o1. Scale AI, which specialises in preparing the vast tracts of data on which the LLMs are trained, teamed up with the Center for […] … learn more→
Decolonising the curriculum hasn’t closed the gap between Black and white students – here’s what might
Students at UK universities are less likely to get a top degree – a first or 2:1 – if they are from an ethnic minority. This is known as the race or ethnicity award gap. It is measured by comparing the proportion of white undergraduates who recieve a top degree with the proportion of students […] … learn more→
At work, women are more stressed than men
It is well established that the existence of stressful work environments has negative consequences for employees (deterioration in health, loss of income), organizations (decreased productivity, increased sick leave, increased absences from work and worsening of the company image) and society in general (increased resources allocated to health, decreased production of the country, etc.). In short, […] … learn more→