This is our monthly roundup of what the team have been doing and discovering over the last few weeks. This edition has been edited by Chris Thomson (CT) with contributions from Cat Bailey (CB), Scott Hibberson (SH) and Kathryn Woodhead (KW).
Digital tools and spaces
Ethical use of XR technologies
As part of ALT/ Jisc XR Community’s work investigating the ethical use of immersive technology, Kathryn invited Matthew Coxon (Programme Lead (BSc, Psychology) and Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Psychology at York St John University), who is a member of our XR Community steering group, to share his experiences. (KW)
Creative techniques in 360 video
Chris got a new toy for Christmas so naturally began experimenting with the 360 degree video format to find ways of directing attention to moments or areas of interest. Traditional film and video has been doing this for a century but the 360 video format with it’s freedom of viewer movement brings a challenge when you want to create a bit more of a controlled experience to the mix. (CT)
Moltbot – latest chapter in AI platforms
The latest chapter of generative AI arrives! Here’s the Guardian explainer on new agentic platform, Moltbot. I’m having a hard time getting my head around the value of a site like this other than as novelty entertainment if it’s essentially bots talking to other bots (the next generation of putting 2 iPhones together and getting Siri to talk to itself, but at massively greater compute costs?). The security concerns are notable as pointed out in the Register. (CT)
Approaches to assessment
Cat was gripped by this webinar on how we can ensure valid, reliable and inclusive assessment in the GenAI era. It drew on scores of relevant research, used the story of Adam and Eve to explore the temptations facing our students and discussed how AI can often reflect more humanly than humans. (CB)
Employability in the creative industries
A new QAA blog explores why defining ‘work readiness’ in the creative industries is so challenging and highlights key findings from a national project aiming to build a clearer, more inclusive framework for preparing students for creative careers. (CB)
Skills and capabilities
Online collaboration
Online collaboration has become a defining feature of contemporary academic and professional work. Yet despite widespread familiarity with digital tools, many teams continue to struggle with engagement, inclusion, and effectiveness in virtual environments. Scott’s blog post argues that Tuckman’s model of team development provides a useful conceptual framework for understanding and improving online collaboration practices. (SH)
New UK Government AI training hub launches
The UK Government is putting on a major push to upskill workers in the use of AI with a new training hub. As Ben Williamson said on Bluesky, this isn’t unprecedented as it has echoes of the push for coding skills a few years ago. The site features training material provided by the larger tech firms involved in AI. (CT)
Cat enjoyed reading in this article on how companies are approaching learning and upskilling differently with technology and how AI is being used to create authentic learning scenarios. (CB)
Effective decision making for digital leaders
In the Jisc Digital Leaders Programme we talk about decision making that combines data and story mindsets, blending the empirical with the experiential which is why this post by Doug Belshaw resonated with me. As Doug says: “we’ve inherited a false binary that pits rational analysis against embodied intuition: the head against the heart.” (CT)
Wellbeing and online safety
The impact of chatbots ion student wellbeing
Chatbots and Student Wellbeing: An Emerging Challenge for FE and HE. Scott investigates an emerging challenge for FE and HE across the UK in light of recent findings from the Mental Health UK charity. Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a future concept in mental health support – it is already part of everyday life. More than one in three adults (37%) say they have used an AI chatbot to support their mental health or wellbeing. For educators working in higher education (HE) and further education (FE), this should be a wake-up call. (SH)
I picked up on this related article by the Ada Lovelace Institute on the safety risks behind the UK’s AI companion boom. (CT)
“This data points to a deeper psychological risk, where AI companions are functioning as replacements for human connection, offering the dopamine hit of intimacy without friction, compromise or rejection.”
Continuing controversy about AI tool Grok
After weeks of outcry over the use of X’s AI tool Grok to create non-consensual sexualised images, X has turned off the image creation function for non-paying customers. Where users pay for the service, this allows X to identify people abusing the system (and people!). It remains to be seen how effective this step will be for online safety and whether it leads to more robust regulation politically. (CT)
Sustainability
Another post (see last month’s round up) discussing the environmental impact of AI technology. With a lack of transparency from tech companies on the actual carbon cost of their data centres this article exposes a worrying trend: ChatGPT claims to have several hundred million weekly users three years after its release with countless companies exploring its potential. Add to that, Google, who controls an estimated 90% of the global search engine market has already forced generative AI on to its results page… (SH)
See the Jisc AI Team’s blog for the latest on AI-related developments.
Expanding our horizons
Helen Beetham’s lecture to the Heriot Watt Inspiring Learning (Hey! Jinx!) programme. A thoughtful and in depth look at the fundamental value of a specialist education in a world of AI ubiquity.
Universities can continue to produce graduates with expertise being confident that down the line this is something that employers are going to want. Employers are beginning to realize that experts [working] with AI can find workarounds, can find workflow enhancements, can sometimes be more efficient and effective, can understand what they’re doing with the AI, can be creative with it and innovative.
Content warning: this next item contains swearing.
This is a somewhat provocative piece by Cameron Gorham, Venus Theory to his friends, who is a digital music producer and sound designer, on the creative artist’s perspective on AI. The video title and thumbnail are deliberate click bait, but there’s a lot in here about the purpose of music creation and how music is consumed. I enjoyed hearing this from someone who makes a living from his creativity. It’s a lot more nuanced than human good, AI bad. My favourite quote:
“So maybe what I’m trying to say here is, maybe AI art didn’t kill your career as an artist, maybe it just raised the bar of how interesting your work needs to be to yourself.”
See you next month – Chris.
