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Welcome to Online Learning Daily, your best source for news and commentary about learning technology, new media, and related topics.

The AI-Copyright Trap
Carys J. Craig, Osgoode Hall Law School, SSRN, 2024/09/11

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Carys Craig (29 page PDF) argues (and I agree) that "Copyright law should neither incentivize and reward the use of generative AI nor obstruct its training and development." However, "it seems clear that copyright law (or a contorted version thereof) is increasingly being invoked as a regulatory response to the harms of AI." This paper is an extended treatment of the argument. In particular, "The so called "3Cs" of 'Consent, Credit and Compensation' are getting a lot of air time these days." Craig argues, "the pursuit of the 3Cs is intended to push back at power, employing the blunt tool of copyright control, but reaching beyond what copyright actually requires by narrowing the scope of what fair use permits (in the name of greater fairness)."  We have to remember that these limits on copyright are "limits that have traditionally restrained corporate power to protect the public interest... copyright is entering the fray as a false friend."

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Generative AI Can Harm Learning
Hamsa Bastani, et al., The Wharton School, 2024/09/11

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So the way this study (59 page PDF) worked is that a teacher taught the students, then they had some AI-assisted practice, then they took a test on the same material with no AI support. They performed worse when they used the AI than when they didn't. I found this a pretty narrow study, and I'm not really sure about the AI the researchers used (it was a ChatGPT 4 'base' model, which they report frequently made math errors). I wouldn't think simply using the AI for a 'practice session' would be particularly interesting or engaging, but maybe that's just my perception.

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Students Are Using AI Already. Here’s What They Think Adults Should Know
Ryan Nagelhout, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2024/09/11

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This article summarizes a report Teen and Young Adult Perspectives on Generative AI and states the main points as follows (quoted):

• Half of teens surveyed have used generative AI, but few (4%) use it frequently
• Most common uses are for getting information (53%) and brainstorming (51%)
• AI can help with homework and creative assignments, not just cheating
• Students bring their questions to generative AI, for better or worse
• Many students are worried about AI used for bullying and disinformation 

None of these should be surprising, except perhaps that so few students report using AI daily.

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Professor tailored AI tutor to physics course. Engagement doubled
Anne Manning, Harvard Gazette, 2024/09/11

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Publication of the study is still pending, but according to this article the use of an AI tutor in a physics course greatly increased engagement and with it the amount of learning. "'We went into the study extremely curious about whether our AI tutor could be as effective as in-person instructors,' Kestin, who also serves as associate director of science education, said. 'And I certainly didn't expect students to find the AI-powered lesson more engaging.' But that's exactly what happened." 

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Mohism
Fraser, Chris, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2024/09/11

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Almost contemporary to Confucius and one of the most famous of the Chinese philosophers we in the west seldom hear about, Mozi was the founder of a philosophical school of ethics and political philosophy based on order and good government. He writes, "Those in the world who perform tasks cannot do without models (fa) and standards. There is no one who can accomplish their task without models and standards." However, "of these three, parents, teachers, and rulers, none is acceptable as a model for order." He argues for a roughly consequentialist approach, a "normative theory based on equal, impartial concern for the welfare of all," and as Chris Fraser reports in this newly revised encyclopedia entry, "moral education is regarded as akin to teaching a practical skill, such as how to speak a language. It is accomplished primarily by emulating the judgments and conduct of moral exemplars." See also Mohist Canons and School of Names by the same author, and also The Ethics of Mozi: Social Organization and Impartial Care, from 1000-word Philosophy.

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We publish six to eight or so short posts every weekday linking to the best, most interesting and most important pieces of content in the field. Read more about what we cover. We also list papers and articles by Stephen Downes and his presentations from around the world.

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