ChatEDU – The AI & Education Podcast

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

In this ChatEDU Check-In: An Unusual Response to AI in the Classroom, Liz explores a professor's decision to award perfect scores and cancel a final assignment after discovering widespread AI use. The episode highlights the growing tension between authentic student learning and AI detection in education.

Key Takeaways:
A professor gave all students full credit to avoid becoming a punitive detective focused on surveillance rather than teaching.

Outsourcing academic writing to AI deprives students of essential long-term communication, reasoning, and advocacy skills.

The unearned perfect scores were intended as a severe warning about future professional and personal consequences rather than a reward.

Liz’s Two Cents: When grading becomes an adversarial game of AI detection, the core purpose of teaching degrades. If education is treated as a purely transactional exercise where students use shortcuts, educators cannot be expected to care more about the learning process than the students themselves. District leaders must confront how AI integration threatens to shift the focus from genuine feedback to counterproductive policing.

Article:
Professor gives his class perfect scores after realizing most were cheating on their final papers
https://bit.ly/4giwL9E

In this episode of ChatEDU Keeping Student Thinking Visible: Why AI is Making Classrooms Harder (In a Good Way), Matt and Liz kick it off with an informal pop quiz distinguishing Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) from Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI) and then Artificial Slider Intelligence (ASI-2 - as in burgers). They dive into a study from NPJ Science of Food detailing this new ASI coined by Ethan Mollick where researchers utilized a two-stage generative AI diffusion model to analyze human food data and successfully generate optimized, nutritious, and sustainable burger recipes.

The Rundown

The state passed a comprehensive piece of artificial intelligence legislation establishing a statewide AI academy and a higher education alliance, while requiring every public school district to integrate computer science and AI into its curriculum.

A major sweep of ecosystem updates from Orlando includes new Gemini features like study notebooks and expanded exam prep, alongside fresh Chromebook tool locks and massive google.org funding investments for non-profits like AIEDU.

Spurred by a listener tip and an analytical piece in Wired Magazine, the hosts discuss a growing European movement to establish localized tech platforms and break free from a reliance on American big tech infrastructure.

The Beneath the Surface

High school English teacher and Connecticut Teacher of the Year semifinalist Kate Avcollie joins the show to discuss her classroom strategies for shifting student focus away from simple compliance and toward authentic cognition. She details how she utilizes custom chatbot "Gems" as structured interventions to pressure test student ideas, requiring them to unpack and annotate their logic. This process ultimately makes student thinking entirely visible and elevates classroom rigor during live evaluations like Socratic seminars and shark tank presentations.

The Bright Byte

The episode closes with a positive look at Intercept, a new 500 million dollar philanthropic initiative aiming to eliminate common respiratory infections like colds and the flu. The project relies heavily on advanced AI protein design tools like AlphaFold to engineer specialized molecules and create broad spectrum treatments without harmful side effects.

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 

Links

The Visible Thinker
thevisiblethinker.com

Generative artificial intelligence creates burgers
https://tinyurl.com/mw4cjy2w

Connecticut AI law could reshape how students learn from kindergarten to college
https://tinyurl.com/5n6nekdp

Google for Education Launch Guide: ISTE Orlando 2026
https://tinyurl.com/37uu4nvk

Google.org is funding three long-term partners on education and AI
https://tinyurl.com/4txc8cax

Patricia Rootsaert
https://tinyurl.com/yc62h3pc

CIV AI
www.civai.eu

Europe Is Fed Up and Wants Its Own AI
https://tinyurl.com/3n8kk24h

Intercept: Ending Respiratory Infections
https://tinyurl.com/mrxxfbk5