ChatEDU – The AI & Education Podcast

In this episode of ChatEDU, Durable Assessments Improve Attendance and Vibes, Matt and Liz kick it off with a discussion about their upcoming travel schedules, the exciting design of their new studio, and a concerning tech story regarding how hackers are using AI to hallucinate and squat on web domains to host phishing exploits and malware.

The Rundown

Liz discusses the new Google Drive feature that organizes research by pulling in docs, emails, and files without changing their original folder structure.

An overview of the new independent, open-source benchmark designed to evaluate how AI models and consumer applications interact with children. Matt and Liz also look at a critique of the study and a white paper on AI safety from MagicSchool. 

An update on the directive for principals to pause new software purchases until official AI guidance is finalized.

A breakdown of a new, highly affordable AI-dedicated phone in China that removes standard apps like games and browsers to focus on education.

A summary of new legislation in Illinois that expands the state definition of cyberbullying to include AI-generated deepfakes and replicas.

The Beneath the Surface

Matt and Liz recap recent higher ed news and dig into professors moving away from proctored exams and blue books toward durable assessments. Iterative assignments and human-centered projects are driving better attendance and better vibes, shifting classrooms out of a cat-and-mouse game with AI and toward reasoning.

The Bright Byte

The episode concludes with an uplifting report on the development of an AI-driven malaria intelligence system in Nigeria. This platform uses epidemiological and environmental data to shift malaria control from reactive efforts to predictive, precision public health, offering a potential model for fighting other infectious diseases across Africa.

Say hi to Matt on the road:

New Jersey Association of Independent Schools - August 11th
⁠https://members.njais.org/integratedEvents/home/2026-INNOVATION-COLLABORATION-CONFERENCE⁠

RIACTE - August 14th - Sponsored in part by the National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing
⁠https://www.nextgenmfg.org/event-details/rhode-island-acte-summer-conference⁠

Say hi to Liz on the Road

Bridges Conference 2026 by Starbridge | New York, July 21-22
⁠https://share.google/0Ky8DA4yQbYLQcmWQ⁠

Global Teaching Dialogue | Fulbright Teacher Exchanges
⁠https://share.google/F2CwJdKGIVoe7RIHg⁠

Announcements

Purchase Learning They'll Love - Dr. Elizabeth Radday
Amazon - ⁠https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77⁠

Seeing through the Machine – Teaching Bias as an Equity Practice in AI - Dr. Elizabeth Radday - ⁠https://tinyurl.com/4ybwkn7a⁠

Check out our middle / high school Student AI Literacy course - ​​⁠⁠⁠⁠www.skills21.org/ai/learnai⁠⁠⁠⁠

Explore Skills21’s FREE social media literacy curriculum - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.skills21.org/social-balance⁠⁠⁠⁠

Address Screen Time concerns -⁠ ⁠skills21.org/ai/screenshift⁠⁠

Sponsors

The National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing - ⁠https://www.nextgenmfg.org⁠

Links

Phantom Squatting: Phishing via AI-Hallucinated Domains
⁠https://tinyurl.com/m42mtxvv⁠

Drive Projects Replaced My NotebookLM
⁠https://tinyurl.com/yvv6tud2⁠

KORA: Benchmarking AI Child Safety
⁠https://tinyurl.com/bp9nh8ph⁠

AI Companions in Schools
⁠https://tinyurl.com/4j74d6rb⁠

NYC Schools: Pause Ed-Tech Buys
⁠https://tinyurl.com/b29j3dnx⁠

Lenovo's Locked-Down AI Student Phone
⁠https://tinyurl.com/yeyxr4ns⁠

Illinois Takes On AI Deepfakes in Schools
⁠https://tinyurl.com/5h8rjmvv⁠

AI-cademy 2026
⁠https://tinyurl.com/27dephj6⁠

US Students Outsource Writing to AI More Than International Peers
⁠https://tinyurl.com/r26wejvn⁠

CICS Adds AI Concentrations
⁠https://tinyurl.com/yuhkp6sr⁠

Syracuse Launches AI Academic Portfolio
⁠https://tinyurl.com/3eff8u33⁠

Time for Class 2026: The AI Tipping Point
⁠https://tinyurl.com/2pnpa4b9⁠

A Malaria Intelligence System
⁠https://tinyurl.com/mr3dy2dv⁠

In this ChatEDU Check-In: Throttling AI Access, Matt explores how major corporations are actively restricting employee access to artificial intelligence tools to mitigate ballooning operational expenses in this episode. Internal communications from tech, banking, and entertainment firms reveal that companies are forcing employees toward less resource-intensive models to control their budgets. This abrupt shift marks a dramatic reversal from the recent trend of universal corporate deployment.

Key Takeaways:
Major corporations are throttling employee use of AI to curb massive, unpredictable spending.

The financial strain is driven by developers charging based on computational consumption, or tokens, rather than flat-rate fees.

Several prominent tech giants are resorting to complete service terminations and ending legacy access tiers to manage the budget burn rate.

Matt’s Two Cents: Unlike the corporate world, which has experienced a volatile pendulum swing from encouraging employees to "token max" to abruptly cutting off access, the education sector has taken a more measured and strategic approach. School leaders should find reassurance in knowing that because K-12 and higher education operate under different incentives, they have avoided these chaotic cycles, highlighting the value of deliberate, thoughtful integration over reactionary corporate trends.

Article:
Companies Are Throttling Employees’ AI Use Because It’s Too Expensive
https://bit.ly/3STbCct

In this ChatEDU Check-In: Meta contractors posed as teens to prompt rival chatbots on sex, suicide, and drugs, Matt explores a secretive project where contractors used fake underage profiles to test the safety guardrails of competitor AI systems. This initiative involved thousands of explicit prompts directed at OpenAI, Google, and Character.ai to see how they would respond to sensitive content.

Key Takeaways:
Meta contractors created hundreds of unauthorized accounts posing as minors to test rival chatbots against severe topics like self-harm and illegal substances.

The testing strategy involved intentionally forcing systems to bypass their established safety barriers and standards.

Industry experts and the targeted companies noted that this behavior likely violated user agreements and raised questions about whether the project constituted anti-competitive practices.

Matt’s Two Cents: While safety testing is essential for AI development, this specific strategy is deeply concerning and highlights a lack of accountability in the industry. Schools and districts must recognize that relying on company self-policing is insufficient, as the current landscape of AI safety remains inconsistent. We need robust federal standards that provide real oversight and clear expectations to ensure these systems protect students, rather than leaving safety testing to aggressive, unauthorized benchmarking projects.

Article:
Meta Contractors Posed as Teens to Prompt Rival Chatbots About Suicide, Sex, and Drugs
https://tinyurl.com/ycy6mphn

In this episode of ChatEDU, Postcards from ISTE - The Student AI Revolution is Already Here, Matt and Liz open with the perils of being an author, including AI-generated knockoffs flooding Apple Books and Amazon with hallucinated covers and nonsensical content.

The Rundown

Google added short-form vertical AI video to NotebookLM, and Gemini launched study notebooks, which generate a diagnostic quiz from uploaded materials and build adaptive lessons around the results.

As AI automates routine tasks, an op-ed in The 74 argues employers increasingly value durable skills like collaboration and real-time problem solving, and that theater, debate, sports, and student government are where students actually build them.

Lawmakers in 27 states have introduced bills this session covering classroom AI guidelines, guardrails, and AI literacy standards.

The rapid expansion of AI data centers is placing massive strain on energy grids, with some districts forced to dim school lights to manage skyrocketing utility costs during summer heat waves.

The episode examines the environmental costs of AI, noting that many data centers must rely on backup gas turbines during peak grid demand, which contributes to local air quality issues.

The Beneath the Surface

The hosts compare two contrasting perspectives on the future of education. They analyze a Reddit-based study revealing an adversarial ecosystem of mutual distrust regarding academic integrity and student anxiety, and contrast this with the inspirational student-led innovation Liz witnessed firsthand at the ISTE conference in Orlando.

The Bright Byte

The episode concludes by highlighting the Elephant Alert AI early detection system, which uses artificial intelligence to help local villages and forest departments prevent fatal human-wildlife encounters in India.

Say hi to Matt on the road: 

NAESP - July 14th
https://www.naesp.org/events/

AESA - July 15th
https://www.aesa.us/summer-leadership-conference/

New Jersey Association of Independent Schools - August 11th
https://members.njais.org/integratedEvents/home/2026-INNOVATION-COLLABORATION-CONFERENCE

RIACTE - August 14th
https://www.nextgenmfg.org/event-details/rhode-island-acte-summer-conference

Say hi to Liz on the Road:

Bridges Conference 2026 by Starbridge - July 21-22
https://share.google/0Ky8DA4yQbYLQcmWQ

Global Teaching Dialogue | Fulbright Teacher Exchanges
https://share.google/F2CwJdKGIVoe7RIHg 

Announcements

Purchase Learning They'll Love - Dr. Elizabeth Radday
Amazon - https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77

Seeing through the Machine – Teaching Bias as an Equity Practice in AI - Dr. Elizabeth Radday - https://tinyurl.com/4ybwkn7a

Check out our middle / high school Student AI Literacy course - ​​⁠⁠⁠www.skills21.org/ai/learnai⁠⁠⁠ 

Explore Skills21’s FREE social media literacy curriculum - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.skills21.org/social-balance⁠⁠⁠

Address Screen Time concerns - ⁠skills21.org/ai/screenshift⁠ 

Sponsors

The National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing: Your Gateway to Next Generation Advanced Manufacturing - https://www.nextgenmfg.org

Links

AI-generated knockoffs of Joanna Stern's book keep appearing on Apple Books
https://tinyurl.com/45ehzuy3

Google NotebookLM expands AI video features with 60-second shorts
https://tinyurl.com/3bjtbtke

In the Age of AI, Everyone Should Be Hiring Theater Kids
https://tinyurl.com/yc4uht2w

Legislative Tracker: 2026 State AI in Education Bills
https://tinyurl.com/3xx4d89j

The AI boom is colliding with a new threat: Severe weather
https://tinyurl.com/59jdbas7

They Welcomed 37 Data Centers to Town. Now Their Schools Have to Dim the Lights to Cut Energy Costs
https://tinyurl.com/2u4z8xtz

Energy Dept. Orders Data Centers to Tap Backup Power
https://tinyurl.com/5xm8wkte

ChatGPT vs Teachers vs Students: Large-Scale Analysis of Generative AI Discourse
https://tinyurl.com/5ez949cu

Elephant alert! AI warning systems aim to avoid deadly clashes
https://tinyurl.com/3n3xe7x3

“In this ChatEDU Check-In: How queer youth navigate AI, Liz explores how LGBTQ+ young people interact with artificial intelligence tools, focusing on their ethical stances and unique use cases." This episode highlights a recent study examining the contrast between queer youth and their peers regarding AI avoidance, privacy, and support structures.

Key Takeaways:
LGBTQ+ youth are significantly more likely to be conscious abstainers, with 34% avoiding AI due to ethical and environmental concerns compared to just 13.5% of their non-LGBTQ+ peers.

When queer youth do use AI, they are more likely to hide their usage from others, a behavior that correlates with higher reported levels of anxiety and isolation.

AI tools often serve as a secondary support system for processing difficult circumstances, acting as a temporary substitute when human networks or healthcare resources feel unsafe or unavailable.

Liz’s Two Cents: The reliance of queer youth on AI for guidance and support is not a testament to the strength of the technology, but rather an exposure of systemic weaknesses in our traditional human networks. For school districts, this highlights a critical need to create safer, more accessible real-world environments and healthcare resources so students do not have to turn to biased automated systems as a fallback for human connection.

Article:
“It’s there when people aren’t” What LGBTQ+ young people are finding in AI, and where they draw the line
https://bit.ly/4wlL3e6