Learning Curve

Will AI lead to an arms race of detectors and humanizers, or will it bring on bigger changes in teaching that might make college better?

Related links:

Signs of AI writing, on Wikipedia

“How An AI Detector Made Me Trust People Less,” by Marc Watkins.

EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported and produced by Jeff Young
Music by Komiku
©Copyright 2026 Learning Curve Productions LLC

On this episode, Jeff talks with two prominent artists with different takes on AI. One experimental artist sees her students doing new kinds of work thanks to AI, and a celebrated science-fiction author argues AI is sold as a shortcut that takes away human agency and encourages a form of plagiarism masked by technology.

Related links:

New Learning Curve web app to help hone your thinking on the episode, developed by Tara Baumgarten, a learning experience designer.

“Kinds of Space, Ways of Seeing,” by Angela Ferraiolo in The AI Art Magazine, March 2026.

A Liquid Cinema: AI and the Transition from Montage to Morphology, a talk by Angela Ferraiolo.

Angela Ferraiolo website.

“Why A.I. Isn’t Going to Make Art,” By Ted Chiang in The New Yorker.

“No, Artificial Intelligence Is Not Conscious,” by Ted Chiang in The Atlantic.

Thanks to this week’s advertiser, Studiosity

And check out Jeff's AI newsletter, Jagged Intelligence

EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported and produced by Jeff Young
Music by Komiku
©Copyright 2026 Learning Curve Productions LLC

A series of town halls aimed to explore how AI could be adopted across Baltimore in positive ways. Led by an unusual center at the University of Baltimore, the forum brought together city officials, local business leaders, folks from community organizations, professors, and just curious people in the community. Is it a model for educators bring AI literacy to a broader community?

AI Personas Briefing Report, Center for AI Learning and Community-Engaged Innovation, University of Baltimore.

Thanks to this week’s sponsors, Studiosity and Social Research: An International Quarterly.

EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported and produced by Jeff Young
Music by Komiku
©Copyright 2026 Learning Curve Productions LLC

On this episode, Jeff talks to a veteran college enrollment official who is leading an AI experiment at his university, and an admissions consultant who has changed her mind about what she advises applicants about using AI.

Related links:

“Should AI score admissions essays?” by Jeff Young in The Chronicle of Higher Education

“I’m a college admissions counselor. I’ve changed my mind about students using ChatGPT,” by Sophie Sajnani in The San Francisco Examiner.

“What will be scarce?” by Alex Imas on his Ghosts of Electricity Substack.

Thanks to this week’s sponsor, Studiosity.

EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported and produced by Jeff Young
Music by Komiku
©Copyright 2026 Learning Curve Productions LLC

This episode dives into the experiences of Chief AI officers at universities, including some misadventures and lessons learned.

“I’m an ‘AI Czar.’ This is the Role,” by Jeffrey Bardzell.

"AI-Enhanced Pedagogies: Rethinking Learning, Curriculum, and Human Potential in the Age of Intelligent Machines,” by Alexander (Sasha) Sidorkin.

"The Rise — and Fall? — of the AI Czar," in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Jeff's new Jagged Intelligence newsletter about AI on campuses.

Thanks to this episode's sponsor, Studiosity.

EPISODE CREDITS:
Reported and produced by Jeff Young
Music by Komiku
©Copyright 2026 Learning Curve Productions LLC