Every month, our AI blog provides a selection of literature and resources on artificial intelligence in teaching and learning. Here’s the roundup for August 2025:
Jack P. Colleges meet just a fraction of demand for AI training. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 1. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/artificial-intelligence/2025/08/01/universities-meet-just-fraction-demand-ai
Excerpt: “Interest in artificial intelligence training is soaring, but only a fraction of the demand is being met by higher education, according to a new report.”
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Mowreader A. AI skills needed in many postgrad careers—not just tech. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 1. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/life-after-college/2025/08/01/ai-skills-needed-several-postgrad-careers-not
Excerpt: “More companies are seeking employees with experience using artificial intelligence tools outside of traditional computer science or IT fields, according to a recent report.”
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Steinhorn L. A professor’s dilemma. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 1. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/08/01/professors-dilemma-ai-opinion
Excerpt: “Knowing a student used AI is not the same as being able to prove it...”
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McEvilly C. Using ITHAKA’s Product Tracker to prepare for generative AI. 2025 Aug 4. In: Choice. LibTech Insights [Internet]. Middletown, CT: Choice. Available from: https://www.choice360.org/libtech-insight/using-ithakas-product-tracker-to-prepare-for-generative-ai
Excerpt: “It lists tools that are either widely used in higher ed or intended for a higher ed audience and tracks tools under development. The Tracker is formatted as a table, and it includes basic information about each tool, including fields for Purchasing Model, Description, Key Features, Pros, Limitations, and Comments.”
Green S. Guest post — fear, learning, and Luddites: opportunities to lead the AI revolution. In: Society for Scholarly Publishing. 2025 Aug 5. Scholarly Kitchen [Internet]. Mount Laurel, NJ: Society for Scholarly Publishing. Available from: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/08/05/guest-post-fear-learning-and-luddites-opportunities-to-lead-the-ai-revolution
Excerpt: “Like the Luddites, we stand at the threshold of a technological revolution. Their fight wasn’t against progress, but for progress with a conscience — a reminder that every leap forward should be guided by the question: not just can we, but should we?”
Schroeder R. AI in the university: from generative assistant to autonomous agent. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 5. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/online-trending-now/2025/08/05/ai-university-assistant-autonomous-agent
Excerpt: “This fall we are moving into the agentic generation of artificial intelligence.”
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Good KD. Bring back the blue-book exam. Chronicle of Higher Education [Internet]. 2025 Aug 6. Available from: https://www-chronicle-com.us1.proxy.openathens.net/article/bring-back-the-blue-book-exam
Excerpt: “Like many professors, I’ve recently abandoned take-home essays in favor of blue-book exams. This turn toward low-tech, proctored assessments isn’t about ignoring AI: It’s about giving students the chance to develop as writers and thinkers without its interference.”
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Palmer K. Understanding value of learning fuels ChatGPT’s Study Mode. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 7. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/tech-innovation/artificial-intelligence/2025/08/07/understanding-value-learning-fuels-chatgpts
Excerpt: “Two teaching and learning experts experimented with ChatGPT’s new Study Mode, which promises to support “deeper learning” among college students. Google and Anthropic have also unveiled similar tools, but their effectiveness will likely depend on the student.”
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Nicholson J. Guest post — a smarter way to license research articles for AI. In: Society for Scholarly Publishing. 2025 Aug 7. Scholarly Kitchen [Internet]. Mount Laurel, NJ: Society for Scholarly Publishing. Available from: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/08/07/guest-post-a-smarter-way-to-license-research-articles-for-ai
Excerpt: “LLMs are not yet capable of meaningfully engaging with most peer-reviewed research articles. Why? Because most of the content is locked behind paywalls and isn’t accessible. If LLMs are the future of information discovery, valuable research disseminated by scholarly publishers risks being left behind — unless we build a bridge between authoritative research and intelligent retrieval.”
Knott K. Google to spend $1B on AI training in higher ed. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 7. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/08/07/google-spend-1b-ai-training-higher-ed
Excerpt: “Google is joining other AI companies, including OpenAI and Anthropic, in investing in AI training in higher education. All three companies have rolled out new tools aimed at supporting 'deeper learning' among students and made their AI platforms available to certain students for free.”
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Whittet EO. Students are using ChatGPT to write their personal essays now. Chronicle of Higher Education [Internet]. 2025 Aug 11. Available from: https://www-chronicle-com.us1.proxy.openathens.net/article/students-are-using-chatgpt-to-write-their-personal-essays-now
Excerpt: “AI can replicate the shape of a narrative, but not the struggle that makes it meaningful.
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Brand A, Carrera D, Gero K, Silbey S. Guest post — who controls knowledge in the age of AI? Part 1. In: Society for Scholarly Publishing. 2025 Aug 12. Scholarly Kitchen [Internet]. Mount Laurel, NJ: Society for Scholarly Publishing. Available from: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/08/12/guest-post-who-controls-knowledge-in-the-age-of-ai-part-1
Excerpt: “The rise of large language models (LLMs) is reshaping knowledge production, raising urgent questions for research communication and publishing writ large. Drawing on qualitative survey responses from over 850 academic book authors from across a range of fields and institutions, we highlight widespread concern about the unlicensed use of in-copyright scientific and scholarly publications for AI training.”
Brand A, Carrera D, Gero K, Silbey S. Guest post — who controls knowledge in the age of AI? Part 2, recommendations for stakeholders. In: Society for Scholarly Publishing. 2025 Aug 13. Scholarly Kitchen [Internet]. Mount Laurel, NJ: Society for Scholarly Publishing. Available from: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/08/13/guest-post-who-controls-knowledge-in-the-age-of-ai-part-2-recommendations-for-stakeholders
Excerpt: “Most authors are not opposed to generative AI, but they strongly favor consent, attribution, and compensation as conditions for use of their work. While the key legal question — whether LLM training on in-copyright content is a fair use — is being actively litigated, universities and publishers must take the lead in developing transparent, rights-respecting frameworks for LLM licensing that consider legal, ethical, and epistemic factors.
Hartberg Y. AI writing disclosures are a joke. Here’s how to improve them. Chronicle of Higher Education [Internet]. 2025 Aug 15. Available from: https://www-chronicle-com.us1.proxy.openathens.net/article/ai-writing-disclosures-are-a-joke-heres-how-to-improve-them
Excerpt: “Scholars should log every step of the process of composition.”
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Conrad LY. INFIDEO Friday: How AI is changing our search experiences. In: Society for Scholarly Publishing. 2025 Aug 15. Scholarly Kitchen [Internet]. Mount Laurel, NJ: Society for Scholarly Publishing. Available from: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/08/15/infideo-friday-how-ai-is-changing-our-search-experiences
Excerpt: “It may feel like AI overviews have been around for ages, but Sundin demonstrates that we’ve been gradually shifting our expectations from search results as a list of sources to direct answers curated by search engines.”
Stokel-Walker C. AI-generated responses are undermining crowdsourced research studies. New Scientist [Internet]. 2025 Aug 19 [updated Aug 21]. Available from: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2492984-ai-generated-responses-are-undermining-crowdsourced-research-studies
Excerpt: “Many answers to online research questions show signs of being generated by AI chatbots, raising doubts about the validity of behavioural data collected this way.”
Schroeder R. AI can facilitate mastery learning in higher education. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 20. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/online-trending-now/2025/08/20/ai-can-facilitate-mastery-learning-higher-education
Excerpt: “What if higher education moved beyond rigid calendars and assembly-line teaching to AI-powered, mastery-based learning where every student truly understands the material before moving forward?”
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University of California Curation Center. Exploring how AI can help research data management. California Digital Library [Internet]. 2025 Aug 21. Available from: https://uc3.cdlib.org/2025/08/21/exploring-how-ai-can-help-research-data-management
Excerpt: “One key application of AI we are exploring is enhancing the quality and scale of our metadata curation activities, including those for the Research Organization Registry (ROR). ROR, a widely adopted persistent identifier service for research organizations, operates on a model where anyone can submit a request to add or update its records.”
Mowreader A. Helping students emotionally before they turn to AI. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 21. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/health-wellness/2025/08/21/helping-college-students-emotionally-they-turn-ai
Excerpt: “A counseling center director shares ways to engage students using technology to mitigate potential harms from emotional reliance on generative AI chat bots.”
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Vines T. Rise of the machine readers: what they really want to read. In: Society for Scholarly Publishing. 2025 Aug 21. Scholarly Kitchen [Internet]. Mount Laurel, NJ: Society for Scholarly Publishing. Available from: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/08/21/rise-of-the-machine-readers
Excerpt: “As AI systems become serious consumers of research, scholarly publishing must rethink its formats, business models, and quality controls — because machine readers don’t want PDFs, they want structured, reliable science.”
Goldsher NB. Rise of the incompetents. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 22. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/views/2025/08/22/rise-incompetents-opinion
Excerpt: “We’re not paying enough attention to the dangers AI poses to the competence of our future electorate—and the workforce...”
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Warner J. On the AHA AI Guidelines. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 22. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/just-visiting/2025/08/22/american-historical-association-comes-close-misses
Excerpt: “A great document to start a conversation, but off the mark for the conversation we need to be having.’
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Zappavigna M. ‘I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that’: Moral regulation in refusals by LLM chatbots. New Media & Society. Published online August 25, 2025. doi: 10.1177/14614448251356686.
Excerpt: “This article explores how Large Language Model (LLM) chatbots regulate moral values when they refuse ‘unsafe’ requests from users. It applies corpus-based discourse analysis to examine how the chatbots employ tenor resources of positioning, tuning, and orienting in the rhetoric of their refusals. This method is informed by Systemic Functional Linguistics, in particular the discourse semantic system of appraisal, which models evaluative meaning. Despite their contrite openings, chatbot refusals tend to raise stakes in terms of tenor. They deploy prosodies of propriety targeted at moral and taboo stances and behaviours. This rhetoric of oppositioning involves encapsulating key values into iconised attitudes as the chatbots advise users about what is ‘important’ and ‘not appropriate’.”
Zhou H & Soulière M. From detection to disclosure — key takeaways on AI ethics from COPE’s Forum. In: Society for Scholarly Publishing. 2025 Aug 25. Scholarly Kitchen [Internet]. Mount Laurel, NJ: Society for Scholarly Publishing. Available from: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/08/25/from-detection-to-disclosure-key-takeaways-on-ai-ethics-from-copes-forum
Excerpt: “On July 1, the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) hosted a Forum discussion on Emerging AI Dilemmas in Scholarly Publishing, exploring the main challenges facing the scholarly community. Top of mind, of course, is how rapidly evolving AI technologies are transforming the way research is conducted, reported, reviewed, and published, raising opportunities and also complex ethical and practical issues for all parties involved. “
Baiocchi A. An AI tool says it can predict students’ grades on assignments. Instructors are skeptical. Chronicle of Higher Education [Internet]. 2025 Aug 26. Available from: https://www-chronicle-com.us1.proxy.openathens.net/article/an-ai-tool-says-it-can-predict-students-grades-on-assignments-instructors-are-skeptical
Excerpt: “Students looking for feedback on their assignments typically go to office hours, join study groups, or share drafts with classmates for peer review. Now there’s a new artificial-intelligence tool that says it can do the same thing.”
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Smith T. Want to disguise your AI writing? Start with Wikipedia's new list. Fast Company [Internet]. 2025 Aug 27. Available from: https://www.fastcompany.com/91392747/want-disguise-your-ai-writing-start-wikipedias-new-list
Excerpt: “It’s a master class in clichés, strange tropes, obsequious tones of voice, and other assorted oddities of AI-generated prose.”
Doyle B, Gentle-Genitty C, Studley JS. Working smarter in the age of AI. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 28. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/columns/beyond-transfer/2025/08/28/how-technology-can-smooth-pain-points-credit-evaluation
Excerpt: “Members of the LEARN Commission outline a vision to improve credit evaluation and bring more learners into higher education.”
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Katz DS, Hosseini M, Edmunds SC. Guest post – code plagiarism and AI create new challenges for publishing integrity. In: Society for Scholarly Publishing. 2025 Aug 28. Scholarly Kitchen [Internet]. Mount Laurel, NJ: Society for Scholarly Publishing. Available from: https://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2025/08/28/guest-post-code-plagiarism-and-ai-create-new-challenges-for-publishing-integrity
Excerpt: “One may argue that AI is not taking over coding from human developers, but rather augmenting their capabilities. Although such gains may be true in some contexts, similar to the increasing usage of AI tools in writing text, when using AI to write code, responsibility for the integrity of the code is diffused.”
Flaherty C. How AI is changing—not ‘killing’—college. Inside Higher Ed [Internet]. 2025 Aug 29. Available from: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/students/academics/2025/08/29/survey-college-students-views-ai
Excerpt: “Key findings from Inside Higher Ed’s student survey on generative AI show that using the evolving technology hasn’t diminished the value of college in their view, but it could affect their critical thinking skills.”
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