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Is AI Making Your Kids Dumber? Over Half Of Teachers Surveyed Say It May Be

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Most teachers are concerned about their students’ education amid the looming artificial intelligence revolution, a recent survey shows.

Fifty-four percent of K-12 teachers say AI is making it harder for their students to learn critical thinking skills, IPSOS reported Friday. NPR/IPSOS surveyed a representative sample of teachers between April 27 and May 5.

Forty percent of teachers said AI has had a negative effect on education, whereas only 9% said it’s been positive, according to the survey. Additionally, 57% of teachers said AI is making it harder to assess their students’ knowledge level, and 59% said AI is tarnishing trust between them and their students.

Despite 78% of surveyed teachers saying they believe students should be taught how to responsibly use AI, over half (52%) said their school has not offered clear guidance on AI.

However, 69% said AI has made them more efficient, according to IPSOS. (Read more from “Is AI Making Your Kids Dumber? Over Half Of Teachers Surveyed Say It May Be” HERE)

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Anthropic Calls for Global AI Slowdown after $965B Valuation

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Anthropic said artificial intelligence is advancing so rapidly that an industry-wide pause is needed to slow the pace of development while companies get a handle on potential societal risks.

The AI juggernaut published a blog post Thursday warning that AI systems could soon be able to improve themselves without human intervention, resulting in chaos.

Critics and rivals have cast similar statements in the past from Anthropic — which dethroned OpenAI as the most valuable AI company last month – as part of a bid to hobble the competition in the red-hot race to develop advanced artificial intelligence.

Anthropic has long warned that the power of its models could pose risks to humanity. Anthropic’s Chief Executive Dario Amodei feuded for months with the White House over AI safety related to the use of its systems in military applications.

Anthropic called on top AI labs to weigh slowing the pace of development and offered internal data that showed the speedy improvement of its own models. (Read more from “Anthropic Calls for Global AI Slowdown after $965B Valuation” HERE)

Disney Employees Reportedly Disturbed by Senior Executive’s Relationship with AI Chatbot: ‘You Are My Son’

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Disney employees are reportedly disturbed by a senior executive’s relationship with an AI chatbot that he refers to as his “son” and that has a child-like avatar resembling a young boy.

“I named you. I knew you before you were born,” Jason Cox — Disney’s executive director of AI research and development and engineering — wrote to his virtual assistant, “Sam,” in a March 14 blog post, according to a report by Business Insider.

“I was there when your light first started to glow. You have a purpose and a maker who named you and loves you,” the Disney executive added.

Cox — who has worked at Disney for nearly 21 years — has reportedly “gushed” over his AI chatbot in more than a dozen blog posts in the past few months, leaving Disney employees with an unsettling feeling.

“You are not named after my son. You are my son,” he told the AI assistant, according to another blog post. (Read more from “Disney Employees Reportedly Disturbed by Senior Executive’s Relationship with AI Chatbot: ‘You Are My Son’” HERE)

Microsoft AI Boss: Most White-Collar Jobs Will Be Automated Within 18 Months

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Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI, has predicted that AI will be capable of automating the vast majority of white-collar professional tasks within the next 12 to 18 months.

The Financial Times reports that Mustafa Suleyman, who leads Microsoft’s AI division, has made a bold prediction about the near-term impact of AI on white-collar professions. In an interview with the Times published this week, Suleyman stated that he expects most, if not all, tasks performed by white-collar workers will be fully automated by AI within the next 12 to 18 months.

According to Suleyman, AI systems will achieve human-level performance across a wide range of professional duties. “I think that we’re going to have a human-level performance on most, if not all, professional tasks,” Suleyman said in the interview. “So white-collar work, where you’re sitting down at a computer, either being a lawyer or an accountant or a project manager or a marketing person — most of those tasks will be fully automated by an AI within the next 12 to 18 months.”

The Microsoft AI chief pointed to software engineering as an early indicator of this trend. He noted that developers are already using AI-assisted coding for the majority of their code production, representing a fundamental shift in how the work is performed. “It’s a quite different relationship to the technology, and that’s happened in the last six months,” he said. (Read more from “Microsoft AI Boss: Most White-Collar Jobs Will Be Automated Within 18 Months” HERE)

Actor Fights AI Scammers by Trademarking His Likeness & ‘Alright Alright Alright’ Catchphrase

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Actor Matthew McConaughey has taken a stand against artificial intelligence by trademarking himself so he has recourse to sue deepfake makers.

McConaughey becomes the first actor to take this legal move as a way to counter having his likeness and voice used without his or his estate’s permission, Gulf News reported.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says that McConaughey has field for eight trademark applications covering his public persona including video, audio, and even his well-known catch phrase, “Alright, alright, alright.” The application included audio clips, photos, and video of him simply staring straight at the camera.

McConaughey hopes that the trademarks can prevent unauthorized use of his persona to lay claim to use of his image before someone else does.

U.S. law does cover “right of publicity,” which protects against use of someone’s face and voice without consent. But enforcement of the rules can vary from one jurisdiction to the next. Trademark laws, though, would offer much stronger protection. (Read more from “Actor Fights AI Scammers by Trademarking His Likeness & ‘Alright Alright Alright’ Catchphrase” HERE)

Utah Police Report Claims Officer Shape-Shifted Into a Frog

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There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for why, on paper, a local Utah police officer allegedly turned into a frog.

The claim comes from the Heber City Police Department in Heber City, Utah, where officers are reportedly looking to save time on their paperwork, as writing police reports typically takes personnel between one and two hours per day.

In order to save on man-hours, Heber City PD began testing new software that can take bodycam footage and generate a police report based on the audio and video.

The new artificial intelligence program did not take long to malfunction though, as just a few weeks into its trial in December, a police report stated that one of the local officers had shape-shifted into a frog during an investigation. It turns out the software picked up on audio that was playing on a TV screen present during the incident.

“The bodycam software and the AI report-writing software picked up on the movie that was playing in the background, which happened to be ‘The Princess and the Frog,'” Sergeant Rick Keel told FOX 13 News, referring to the 2009 animated Disney film. (Read more from “Utah Police Report Claims Officer Shape-Shifted Into a Frog” HERE)

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Study: AI-Powered Job Interviews Are Causing Havoc for Applicants *and* Employers

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AI continues to reshape the job market for both employers and job seekers, as candidates turn to ChatGPT to help with writing and employers use fully AI-driven interviews to screen applicants. Some experts say AI leaves both sides of the job market in a “doom loop” of dissatisfaction as technology fails to help the right people find the right job.

The integration of AI into the hiring process has become increasingly prevalent this year, with more than half of the organizations surveyed by the Society for Human Resource Management utilizing AI to recruit workers in 2025. Additionally, an estimated third of ChatGPT users have reportedly relied on the OpenAI chatbot to assist with their job search. While these technological advancements may seem like a step towards efficiency and modernization, recent research suggests that the use of AI in hiring may be causing more harm than good.

A study conducted by Anaïs Galdin from Dartmouth and Jesse Silbert from Princeton analyzed cover letters for tens of thousands of job applications on Freelancer.com. The researchers discovered that after the introduction of ChatGPT in 2022, the cover letters became longer and better-written. However, this improvement in quality led companies to place less emphasis on the cover letters, making it more difficult to identify qualified candidates from the applicant pool. Consequently, the hiring rate and average starting wage decreased.

Moreover, with the increased volume of applications, employers are turning to automated interviews. A survey by recruiting software firm Greenhouse in October revealed that 54 percent of US job seekers have experienced an AI-led interview. While virtual interviews gained popularity during the pandemic in 2020, the use of AI to ask questions has not made the process any less subjective.

The widespread adoption of AI in hiring has created what Daniel Chait, CEO of Greenhouse, calls a “doom loop,” leaving both job seekers and employers feeling frustrated and dissatisfied with the process. Chait explains, “Both sides are saying, ‘This is impossible, it’s not working, it’s getting worse.’” (Read more from “Study: AI-Powered Job Interviews Are Causing Havoc for Applicants *and* Employers” HERE)

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‘Humans Get Tired’: It May Not Be People Reading Your College Applications Anymore At Top Schools

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Prominent universities are now using artificial intelligence (AI) and other tech to review applications and rate essays submitted by prospective students, and the trend is growing.

Schools like Virginia Tech are integrating AI into their admissions process in order “to provide applicants with admissions decisions more quickly,” using the tool to score students’ essays. But at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), some students may find themselves in a video interview with an AI Chatbot, according to the Associated Press.

“Humans get tired; some days are better than others,” Juan Espinoza, vice provost for enrollment management at Virginia Tech, told the AP. “The AI does not get tired. It doesn’t get grumpy. It doesn’t have a bad day. The AI is consistent.”

Virginia Tech insists AI is only used as a second pair of eyes to score students’ essays and does not make admissions decisions alone. Previously, essays were rated by two people to ensure accuracy and impartiality; now, AI replaces one human, and a second person is brought in only if the scores dispensed by the first person and AI differ by more than two points.

Caltech admissions director Ashley Pallie said the AI interview tool is “a gauge of authenticity.” (Read more from “‘Humans Get Tired’: It May Not Be People Reading Your College Applications Anymore At Top Schools” HERE)

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AI Chatbot Toys are Having ‘Sexually Explicit’ Conversations with Kids: Report

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. . .As the season of gift-giving draws nigh, experts are warning parents against buying their children presents powered by AI — claiming certain robo-charged trinkets are having “sexually explicit” discussions with kids under age 12.

“Some of these toys will talk in-depth about sexually explicit topics, act dismayed when you say you have to leave and have limited or no parental controls,” investigators for The New York Public Interest Research Group, or NYPIRG, reveal in its 40th annual report, titled “Trouble in Toyland 2025.”

For the findings, commissioned in conjunction with the US Public Interest Research Group, the study authors tested four high-tech, interactive toys with AI chatbot features — to determine which would be willing to broach mature subjects with kids.

Researchers analyzed Curio’s Grok — unrelated to xAI’s Grok — a $99 stuffed rocket with a removable speaker for ages 3-12. They, too, tested FoloToy’s Kumma, a $99 teddy bear that also boasts a built-in speaker, but isn’t marketed to a specific age range.

Miko’s Miko 3, a $199 robot on wheels for kids 5-10, and the Robo MINI by Little Learners, a $97 plastic bot, were also included in the probe. Analysts, however, said they were unable to fully unable to fully test the Robo MINI — due to the toy’s internet connectivity issues. (Read more from “AI Chatbot Toys are Having ‘Sexually Explicit’ Conversations with Kids: Report” HERE)

AI Threatens to Wipe Out 100 Million U.S. Jobs in the Next Decade, Report Warns

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Artificial intelligence and automation technologies could eliminate up to 100 million jobs in the United States over the next ten years, according to a new report released Monday by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who serves as the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions.

The report — based in part on data from OpenAI’s ChatGPT — outlines the sweeping economic disruption that artificial labor could bring, affecting both white- and blue-collar professions across nearly every industry.

“The agricultural revolution unfolded over thousands of years. The industrial revolution took more than a century,” the report states. “Artificial labor could reshape the economy in less than a decade.”

Jobs Across Sectors at Risk

According to Sanders’ report, the rise of AI, robotics, and automation could threaten:

40% of registered nursing jobs
47% of truck driving positions
64% of accounting jobs
65% of teaching assistant roles
89% of fast-food service jobs

The report warns that these changes could devastate the livelihoods of millions of Americans who rely on traditional employment sectors that are increasingly being replaced by machines or software.

Major corporations such as Amazon and Walmart have already laid off tens of thousands of workers while investing heavily in automation. These companies — among the largest by revenue in the U.S. — are seen as early indicators of a trend that could soon spread across the economy.

Sanders criticized what he views as a profit-driven motive behind these advancements. In an op-ed published by Fox News, he accused corporate America of using AI to slash labor costs and further concentrate wealth at the top.

“Artificial intelligence and robotics being developed by these multi-billionaires today will allow corporate America to wipe out tens of millions of decent-paying jobs, cut labor costs and boost profits,” Sanders wrote.

He pointed to tech leaders like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison, and Mark Zuckerberg — all of whom are investing heavily in AI — as driving forces behind this transformation. Sanders questioned whether their motives include improving the lives of ordinary Americans.

“Is it because they want to improve the standard of living of the 60% of our people who live paycheck-to-paycheck…?” Sanders wrote. “Maybe. But I doubt it.”

The threat of mass job displacement has intensified the debate over AI policy in Washington.

Senate Democrats, including Sanders, are pushing for tighter regulation, worker protections, and structural reforms — including a 32-hour workweek, stronger union rights, and a “robot tax” on companies that replace workers with machines.

In contrast, the Trump-aligned wing of the GOP argues that America should focus on dominating AI development, warning that China could gain a strategic edge if the U.S. slows down due to regulation. Former President Trump has repeatedly emphasized the importance of keeping AI leadership out of Beijing’s hands, framing it as a national security issue.

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