In just six months, ChatGPT has become a popular and powerful tool on the internet, and the University of New Mexico is developing an artificial intelligence initiative to educate faculty and students on its pros and cons.

Leo Lo, professor and dean of the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences at the University of New Mexico, said ChatGPT is a generative artificial intelligence tool able to answer complicated questions about a wide range of topics, suggest edits, produce content from images and have conversations with humans.

It could help people do research more quickly, but others worry the tool will also be used to cheat. Lo acknowledged he has concerns, but nonetheless believes librarians and others need to work proactively with tech firms to address the tool's limitations and biases.

"I can see what I call AI literacy, going to become as important as reading and writing in the future," Lo emphasized. "People need to know what this kind of technology is about and how to use it intelligently and responsibly."

Lo admitted AI can sound scary, but it is not going away, and educators need to beef up their knowledge because it is moving into the mainstream much more quickly than the internet did 30 years ago. Lo expects AI technology will eliminate some jobs, but create others.

GPT stands for Generative Pre-trained Transformer, specialized algorithms for finding long-range patterns in sequences of data. Lo is leading the AI Initiative at the university, and noted while it can answer questions, write essays and even compose poetry, it is really a form of autocorrect, or autocomplete like on a smartphone.

"It's really important to know that while it can generate these types of responses, it doesn't really -- I would say -- quote, unquote, understand any of it, like a human does," Lo stressed. "It generates these responses based on patterns it had learned during its training."

Two months after its January launch, ChatGPT said it already had 100 million active users.


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As the State of Arizona grapples with a $1.8 billion budget deficit, public school advocates are demanding urgent reform on the state's Empowerment Scholarship Account voucher program which lets parents use public funds for private-school tuition and other education-related costs.

Rep. Analise Ortiz, D-Phoenix, said the Republican majority is "hell-bent on privatizing education and profiting off the backs of Arizona children."

"The fraud and abuse of ESAs is infuriating," Ortiz asserted. "Especially considering the massive unmet needs of the 90% of families who choose Arizona public schools."

Ortiz pointed out every new ESA voucher subtracts funding from Arizona's public schools, which are funded 49th in the nation according to the Education Law Center. ESA vouchers will cost the state an estimated $825 million in fiscal year 2024, according to the nonpartisan organization Save our Schools Arizona.

And while the numbers tell one story, Republicans in charge of the state's Department of Education contended the ESA program saves taxpayers money while giving parents more options.

Save Our Schools has collected more than 3,000 signatures from Arizonans who want ESA voucher reform.

Beth Lewis, executive director of the group, said the signatures, delivered to lawmakers on Wednesday, represent the majority of Arizona voters who want ESA vouchers to be accountable and want public school funding to be prioritized.

"Our state legislature has a clear choice," Lewis stressed. "Make devastating cuts to our local public schools and essential services or B; work with Gov. Hobbs to reign in this irresponsible, out of control voucher program and return public funds to our schools."

Lewis argued a budget without voucher reform is no budget at all, especially as teachers continue to struggle to afford basic classroom supplies across the state.


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Massachusetts voters could face a possible ballot measure this November to end the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System graduation requirement.

Supporters have until July 3 to complete the signature gathering process to put the measure on the ballot, which would keep the standardized tests in place but allow students who fail to still receive a diploma.

Joy Ahmed of Ashland said her son has a learning disability and gets nervous before tests. She thinks the state should use alternative methods to track students' academic understanding.

"I think it does an injustice for those kiddos to show up every day, put in the work and then not get a diploma when they go to graduate with all the rest of their friends," Ahmed contended.

Opponents of the ballot measure, including Gov. Maura Healy, said the tests ensure aligned standards statewide and have helped expose learning gaps in underfunded districts. Ahmed countered the state can still collect data on test outcomes, but should not penalize students for their scores.

Data show roughly 700 students each year do not pass the test and do not receive their high school diploma. In 2019, about 40% of those students were English-language learners. More than half were students with disabilities.

Carolyn Scafidi, a retired teacher in Tyngsborough, said her special education students lost about 30 hours of learning and extra support in order to prepare for and take the exam.

"I mean, it would take them practically the whole day," Scafidi recounted. "We're talking days and days of MCAS testing, for the math test or the English and Language Arts test. And, you know, it added up to that much time."

Scafidi argued teachers can provide a better assessment of their students' comprehension and the test results are more often an indicator of a student's family income and resources.

A Massachusetts Teachers Association poll found 74% of respondents supported a policy in which students would still take the test but would not need a passing grade to earn their diploma.


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A new report analyzes the workforce dynamics in Oregon and how the state can address gaps for workers and industries.

The 2024 Talent Assessment finds that Oregon's economy is in a strong position, with significant growth in the labor market and more growth anticipated in the future.

Christiana McFarland is director of the Center for Innovation Strategy and Policy with SRI, the firm that conducted the assessment.

She said there are some factors that could be barriers to achieving that future growth.

"We know that jobs are projected to grow, but we know that the population and population growth is relatively stagnant," said McFarland. "So, that's going to be a challenge into the future - particularly for occupations and industries that have a really high demand for workers in the state, particularly health care and child care."

The assessment was conducted for the Workforce and Talent Development Board and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission for the State of Oregon.

The report offers industry-level recommendations.

McFarland said employees in the health care field need more on-the-job training. Same with semiconductor manufacturing, which is ramping up in Oregon.

McFarland said this work is actually closely related to IT work, and that's important to keep in mind so people in the state are well positioned for these jobs.

"It's critical for semiconducting manufacturing programs," said McFarland, "to include coding and programming as the core part of their curriculum."

McFarland said Rural Oregon could be another asset for the state when considering how it closes employment gaps in semiconductor manufacturing and other industries.

"Where are workers coming from?" said McFarland. "Whether it's a matter of attracting talent from out of the state or thinking about who is underserved within the state, namely rural communities, and how can rural communities and rural students better understand the opportunities that are available to them within the state?"

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.




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