IDK: When the AI Revolution Meets the Bored Teenager | Ep. 108

In this episode of ChatEDU IDK: When the AI Revolution Meets the Bored Teenager, Matt and Liz open with the world of AI-generated influencers, including an Indian medical student who used Google Gemini to spin up "Emily Hart," a fictional MAGA persona, for revenue and engagement. They unpack how this "rage bait" entrepreneurship reflects the growing tie between AI personas and political polarization.Gemini in Chromebooks brings near-universal AI access to New Hampshire schools.A new feature shows parents student AI use on school devices, doubling as literacy curriculum.Utah's new law bars AI grading and limits device access in younger grades.The EU's new age verification app was reportedly bypassed in two minutes.A Chicago professor swapped take-home essays for a 10,000-word class collaboration.Rasmussen is moving to D2L Brightspace to personalize learning with AI.A learning theory built on delegating to AI while maintaining "epistemic monitoring."Meta engineers are reportedly chasing "Slop KPIs," prizing AI token volume over quality.Meta is logging employee mouse and screen activity to train "computer use" AI models.Penn State students won cash for AI projects from car crash analysis to sign language translation.The Beneath the SurfaceMatt and Liz unpack Khan Academy's "pivot," where Sal Khan conceded the AI tutor revolution has stalled because students lack the inquiry skills to engage with the bot. With commentary from Justin Reich and Dan Meyer, they ask whether the dream needs a reality check.The Bright ByteThis week's Bright Byte features the Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Science, a 30 million dollar initiative funding AI-driven health and climate breakthroughs.AnnouncementsPurchase Learning They'll Love - Dr. Elizabeth RaddayAmazon - https://tinyurl.com/22t9hz77Register for our educator + leader AI Micro-Credential in partnership with Southern Connecticut State University - skills21.org/ai/micro.Check out our middle / high school Student AI Literacy course - ​​⁠⁠⁠www.skills21.org/ai/learnai⁠⁠⁠ Explore Skills21’s FREE social media literacy curriculum - ⁠⁠⁠https://www.skills21.org/social-balance⁠⁠⁠Register for the Spring AI Conference (5.1.26) in Litchfield, CT - ⁠https://www.skills21.org/event-details/ai-in-education-spring-2026-conference⁠ Address Screen Time concerns - ⁠skills21.org/ai/screenshift⁠ SponsorsThe National Center for Next Generation Manufacturing: Your Gateway to Next Generation Advanced Manufacturing - https://www.nextgenmfg.orgLinksAI-Generated MAGA Girl Used to Grift "Super Dumb" Menhttps://tinyurl.com/bdzm7kheAlarm Grows Over AI Integration in Schoolshttps://tinyurl.com/5axwzna4Safety Platform Opens Window Into Students' AI Usage for Parentshttps://tinyurl.com/4zzmexhjUtah Curbs AI Grading and School Device Usehttps://tinyurl.com/4sk967maEU Age Verification Fix May Backfirehttps://tinyurl.com/ysm58u8wHow I Fixed My AI-Ruined Philosophy Classeshttps://tinyurl.com/4ky2n23tRasmussen University replaces Blackboard with Brightspacehttps://tinyurl.com/rf8b385wAgentivism: Learning Theory for the AI Agehttps://tinyurl.com/mpn75exyHow Tokenmaxxing Is Making AI Worsehttps://tinyurl.com/5x2jewr2Meta Staff Revolt Over AI Tracking Programhttps://tinyurl.com/69j9ua2jRockefeller Bets $100M on AI Job Disruptionhttps://tinyurl.com/3428bpfdStudents Win Cash for AI Solutions in Nittany AI Challengehttps://tinyurl.com/y7zjzxymSal Khan on Why His AI Revolution Has Stalledhttps://tinyurl.com/mp5rcey5